Lean Six Sigma for Good Podcast Brion Hurley: Lean Six Sigma for Good

I had a great interview with Aleshia Jordan a few weeks ago, to discuss how she transitioned from finance to Lean and Six Sigma consulting, and how she is now taking her Master Black Belt skills and over 20 years of experience into her firm Virtualocity, LLC to help organizations, nonprofits and individuals in their personal life.







She discusses setting up a nonprofit in 2011 called Our Daughters, Inc. which is an all girls club, working to develop young ladies from ages 8-16 in St. Louis to help them write their own story, improve relationships and well-being using problem solving tools and skills.







She also set up a foundation for her late husband, Victor Jordan Sr. who passed away in 2020. She shares her grief journey in her first book, “Lifting The Veil.”







Tune in to this episode and discover:









* Why she created a nonprofit organization and how Lean and Six Sigma tools were integrated into the work







* Why she created Virtualocity LLC and how she helps individuals in their personal life







* Her purpose for writing a book about the loss of her husband in 2020 and encouraging others to become authors







* Why change management is often overlooked, but such a critical part of improvement projects







* The challenge of companies seeing belts as external consultants rather than facilitators







* The importance of letting teams organically develop solutions rather than prescribing them







* Why it is critical to properly define scope on projects to mitigate risks







* Why soft skills (like relationship building) are key complements to the technical skills and methods







* Why influencing change is more important than just getting results









Listen to the podcast on this page, or watch the video below, or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJkHopiqLg



















Links









* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleshia-jordan-a78561a/







* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aleshia.jordan.9







* Virtualocity LLC: https://www.virtualocityllc.com/



* List of courses and services











* Our Daughters, Inc: https://www.facebook.com/OurDaughterInc/







* Victor Jordan Sr Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557977292103&mibextid=LQQJ4d







* Her published book:



* Lifting The Veil: Seeing the Unseen – Power in Paradise – A Supernatural Journey Through Grief











* Famous Western Union videos (one of her Black Belt...

Making a real difference in your organization can be a struggle, but there is a way to leverage powerful tools and strategies to drive positive change, while also boosting your own career development.







In this episode, I introduce you to Sarah Tilkens, a former biologist turned operational excellence leader, who cracked the code on impactful problem-solving. She shares her journey from the science lab to the world of Lean Six Sigma, revealing how she achieved her Black Belt certification independently and used it to spearhead significant improvements at GE Healthcare (ramping up production capacity by over 40% and conducted around 50 kaizans). She also has experience working at a nonprofit, The Blood Center, where she was first introduced to process improvement.







From capacity enhancement to process optimization, she dives into practical applications of Lean Six Sigma methodologies like Kaizen events and receiving coaching from the famous Japanese consulting firm, Shingijutsu. Her experience spans nonprofits, healthcare, construction and now executive coaching. Inspired by her success, she founded The KPI Lab to empower leaders beyond the corporate walls. Now, she’s offering a chance to unlock your own problem-solving potential and become a catalyst for positive change.







Tune in to this episode and discover:









* How Lean Six Sigma can equip you with the skills to advance your career







* Practical strategies for implementing Lean concepts in your daily work







* The power of continuous learning and personal development for sustainable leadership success







* How to connect with Sarah and explore coaching opportunities through The KPI Lab









Links









* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-tilkens-acc-cpcc-ssbb-91987322







* The KPI Lab: https://www.thekpilab.com/







* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_tilkens/









If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us on your favorite podcast app. Any ratings you could give us, or shares across social media would be greatly appreciated!









* Read full show notes | Subscribe or rate this podcast









Promotions









* FREE online course called “Lean Six Sigma and the Environment”







* OpEx Six Sigma Online Training and Certification







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Sally worked many years in the hospitality industry applying Lean Six Sigma, and she shares her experiences to improve the guest experience. She also shares an example of a project that determined the optimal reward points to get customers to agree to reduced or no housekeeping, which was good for the environment, resulting in less linen being washed and less ergonomic risk to housekeepers. She has recently retired, and is now involved in helping nonprofits apply Lean Six Sigma methods. She is Vice Chair and an active board member of Kitchens for Good (K4G) in San Diego.







I first learned about K4G from Tracy O’Rourke, who Sally mentioned in the interview, explaining how she connected her to the organization as a volunteer during COVID. Tracy shared her experiences with K4G in our interview back in episode #91 from February 2022., and she wrote about it in more detail in the book, “Lean Six Sigma for Good: Lessons from the Gemba (Volume 2).” K4G also received the IISE Sustainable Development award in 2023, which is an award that I have sponsored since its inception.







You can watch the entire presentation below, or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzyZZQNsQ7s



















Links









* Kitchens for Good







* Sally Toister – LinkedIn







* Kitchens for Good awarded IISE Excellence in Sustainable Development Award for 2023







* Episode 91: Process Improvement in Not-for-Profit Sectors with Tracy O’Rourke







* Lean Six Sigma for Good: Lessons from the Gemba (Volume 2)









If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us on your favorite podcast app. Any ratings you could give us, or shares across social media would be greatly appreciated!









* Read full show notes | Subscribe or rate thi...

In this podcast, I share the presentation given by my peers who helped us create the Lean Portland group back in 2015. They gave this presentation at the Lean Global Connection on November 30, 2023. It is a free annual online event put on by the Lean Global Network (LGN). The event took place over a 24-hour period. All the presentations were recorded, and I encourage you to check out all the presentations on their YouTube channel.







LGN is a “consortium of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to advancing Lean Thinking and Practice throughout the world to make things better.” They are currently comprised of 30 institutes and partners across the globe with an online community of over 300,000.







In this presentation, Maria Grzanka, Dominic Stokes and Matt Horvat share their experiences setting up and participating within Lean Portland. They discuss project examples of teaching Lean to nonprofits in the Portland area, and what they learned and benefitted from those experiences.







Nonprofit organizations mentioned include: Friends of the Children, The Rebuilding Center, Free Geek, DePave and Solve Oregon.







You can watch the entire presentation (without edits) below, or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwoRBFyN8_8



















There were numerous presentations provided during this event, so you can check out all of them in the links below.







Links









* ⁠Lean Portland







* Maria Grzanka – LinkedIn







* Matt Horvat – LinkedIn







* Dominic Stokes – LinkedIn







* Lean Global Connection 2023⁠







* Presentations from Lean Global Connection 2023









If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us on your favorite podcast app. Any ratings you could give us, or shares across social media would be greatly appreciated!









* Read full show notes | a href="http://leansixsigmaenvironment.org/itunes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer no...

In this podcast, I share the presentation I gave virtually at the Lean Global Connection on December 1, 2023. It is a free annual online event put on by the Lean Global Network (LGN). The event took place over a 24-hour period. All the presentations were recorded, and I encourage you to check out all the presentations on their YouTube channel.







LGN is a “consortium of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to advancing Lean Thinking and Practice throughout the world to make things better.” They are currently comprised of 30 institutes and partners across the globe with an online community of over 300,000.







In this presentation, I share my examples of how Lean tools can be applied or slightly modified to help organizations reduce their impact on the environment and help address challenges in their local community. This topic is ideal for those working at a for-profit company with sustainability goals, nonprofit organizations (NGOs), public services (education, fire, library) or in a government agency.







I discuss the currest state of Lean improvements and how they differ greatly from the current problems in society. I share examples of Lean applied to better distribute food and medical supplies, and reduce water usage. I also give examples of value stream maps (VSM) focused on water usage, electricity usage and racial inequity. I share a swimlane map for providing aid to crime victims, gemba walks to reduce environmental issues and homelessness. I also show how lean has worked for deaf and Blind workers. I also share templates to help you green your 5s and kaizen events. Finally, I challenge the attendees to come up with their next experiment (modeled after Toyota Kata) to work towards a social or environmental challenge.







You can watch the entire presentation (without edits) below, or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6JJxU-n87g



















Links









* Lean Global Connection







* Presentations from Lean Global Connection 2023







* John Hamalian – LinkedIn







* Brion Hurley – LinkedIn







* Links mentioned in the presentation



* NY Food Bank (Meals per Hour): https://www.tssc.com/projects/nfp-fbny-vid.php







* AccraFab Lean and Green project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDLkUmNkO4Y







* Project C.U.R.E.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIXDQAUSJD0

In this podcast, I share an interview I had with Reed Harrison, Executive Director of Mind Matters Portland, and Maria Grzanka, a process improvement expert and prolific volunteer in Portland, Oregon.







Reed worked in Supply Chain management and Operations with major companies like Adidas and Columbia Sportswear, but ended up as Executive Director at Mind Matters Portland.







Maria also had a career in Supply Chain, Logistics and process improvement and is now running her consulting firm, Idea Maria. She has spent hours volunteering her time with local nonprofits near Portland, Oregon, including Mind Matters Portland in 2010. She is also leading a group called Lean Portland that offers pro-bono consulting to nonprofits, and is involved with her local neighborhood association.







In this podcast, we discuss their backgrounds in process improvement, along with:









* How Reed moved from corporate life to running a nonprofit







* How Mind Matters has had success with documentation using 1-page checklists instead of lengthy SOPs







* How Maria has applied Lean principles to her volunteer work with her local neighborhood association, including the importance of gemba walks







* How Maria has seen improvements at Mind Matters since she was a volunteer over 10 years ago







* How they avoid talking about the word “process” as it has a negative connotation







* Ways that people can get more involved with nonprofit volunteering









You can watch the video below, or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LzzK6mvbIc



















Links









* Mind Matters Portland







* Reed Harrison – LinkedIn







* Maria Grzanka – LinkedIn









If you enjoy this podcast, please follow us on your favorite podcast app. Any ratings you could give us, or shares across social media would be greatly appreciated!









* Read full show notes | Subscribe or rate this podcast









Promotions









* FREE online course called “Lean Six Sigma and the Environment”







* OpEx Six Sigma Online Training and Certification







* Creative Safety Supply – Free 5S Guide...