by Ted Eytan, on 21 Jul 2007 02:38 pm
The Journey
A walk with Lee
….I never get to see this guy anymore, except on this blog :). We did catch up though. His work is having impact far beyond the model line and is inspiring to many.
This week, I gave the first presentation I have ever given on LEAN to our own medical staff, which is very impressive to think about. I mean, I have been giving 30-45 second versions of our intent before the 30 or so rapid process improvement events and working to “show” rather than “talk” about LEAN. I think that’s been really successful. But I haven’t until this week been able to stand up in front of medical leader colleagues and talk about the philosophy behind LEAN, our journey, and how we could use it in the clinical environment. This is also not to say that they haven’t been given this information in other venues.
This is the first week that I have done it though, after 2 years of active work in the area. Does that make me happy? I think so. What I can speak to today is all of the things the organization has done to bring respect and thoughtfulness to a multitude of processes we use to take care of people. We have not become a factory or distanced ourselves from our commitment to our members. I would say in my work, it’s very much the opposite - our commitment has always been great, now it’s even better represented in what we DO. If we had not improved the way we take care of people, I would not have been able to be in front of this audience 2 years later.
All of this said, this also highlights that our work to date is mostly….in the administrative areas of our organization. This week, and weeks before, and weeks following are starting to change that. I attended the first organization wide report-out led by a clinical care team on Friday. Outstanding. As a member of the profession responsible for spending 84 cents of every health care dollar in the United States, I never forget our duty to lead and not follow in creating maximum value.
on 22 Jul 2007 at 2:39 pm 1.Mark Graban said …
“We have not become a factory or distanced ourselves from our commitment to our members.”
Ted, thank you so much for sharing that comment there. That’s exactly what is supposed to happen with Lean. It should bring us closer to our employees and our customers, the patients.
I hope you can scream that single message, from the rooftops, especially as you move into more direct patient care areas.
on 23 Jul 2007 at 9:38 am 2.Mike Keaton said …
The one resounding quote I heard from the clinical team report out - “We all agree this is the right work to be doing, and it’s what we have been wanting to do.” Another great message to share with teams past, present and future.
on 28 Jul 2007 at 9:23 am 3.Ted Eytan said …
Mike - Right on. The clinician-clinician endorsement means everything.
I sometimes get “does not compute” looks from local physicians when I suggest that they have more power than I when it comes to endorsing new ideas. In an introspective organization, they do, and rightly so.