Meet-up: Improve With Me's Brian Buck

Today I am proud to introduce a long time friend and frequent guest blogger Brian Buck. Brian is the blogger behind Improve With Me. I have been following and talking with Brian since I started blogging myself. I have always admired his simple approach to Lean. He transitioned from applying Lean in the Logistics industry to Lean Healthcare several years ago so it has been fascinating following his experiences and lessons along the way.

Who are you and what do you do?
I am Brian Buck. I am an internal kaizen promotion office consultant for an academic pediatric hospital.

How and when did you learn Lean?
I first learned about Lean in 2007 when I was looking for a transition from doing project management at a tech company. I used to lead improvements as a business analyst for a shipping company prior to the tech company. The KPO position seemed like a good fit for me since it merged my improvement background with my project management skills. While I wasn’t doing Lean as a business analyst, I discovered retroactively that I was using many of its principles!

How and why did you start blogging or writing about Lean?
I was once told to learn like I was going to have to teach it. A blog felt like an opportunity to help solidify my learning by making me present it in a way that teaches people. It also functions as a journal of sorts because I can go back and see my progress.

What does Lean mean to you?
I have a passion for people and have seen how continuous improvement unlocks great potential in them. When people can create value for customers without hassle or feats of heroics, they can feel a sense of accomplishment or progress every day. Customers benefit greatly from organizations that are filled with people who are happy and utilizing their creative brains.

What is the biggest myth or misconception of Lean?
Leaders often add Lean work to already filled schedules and improvement activities become a source of overburdening waste. People often think of Lean as “extra work” instead of building it into their schedule.

What is your current Lean passion, project, or initiative?
I am primarily working with our nutrition department to be able to meet an increased demand for meals and baby-formula due to a new tower being built.