# See to Solve > Succeeding Starts With Seeing ## Posts - [Don't Be a Zombie Organization](https://seetosolve.com/dont-be-a-zombie-organization/): Steven Spear, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, discusses how organizations can display either zombie or agile hero qualities. Resources: Order Steve’s book, The High-Velocity Edge here Order Steve’s book, Wiring the Winning Organization here Steven Spear DBA MS MSPrincipal, See to Solve LLCSenior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of ManagementSenior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare ImprovementAuthor, The High Velocity EdgeClick Here For Steve Spear’s LinkedIn - [Exponentially better run your organization two min tip with author Dr. Steven Spear](https://seetosolve.com/exponentially-better-run-your-organization-two-min-tip-with-author-dr-steven-spear/): Slowify, Simplify, Amplify with Wiring the Winning Organization Author Dr. Steven Spear. Resources: Order Steve’s book, The High-Velocity Edge here Order Steve’s book, Wiring the Winning Organization here Steven Spear DBA MS MSPrincipal, See to Solve LLCSenior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of ManagementSenior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare ImprovementAuthor, The High Velocity EdgeClick Here For Steve Spear’s LinkedIn - [Collaborative Process Mapping for Innovation Success](https://seetosolve.com/collaborative-process-mapping-for-innovation-success/): Collaborative process mapping empowers innovation by revealing invisible handoffs, bottlenecks, and friction points in workflows. By bringing diverse teams together to co-create visual maps of processes, organizations accelerate alignment, break silos, and foster an ongoing dynamic of learning and improvement. As Maria Mentzer and Steven Spear highlight, this approach turns process pain points into opportunities for breakthrough solutions and continuous improvement. Innovation doesn’t fail due to lack of ideas; it fails when teams can’t work together to make them real.Start mapping innovation success with See to Solve Flow™ Key Takeaways Table of Contents What Is Collaborative Process Mapping? Collaborative process […] - [Dr. Steve Spear - a globally recognized thought leader and changemaker.](https://seetosolve.com/dr-steve-spear-a-globally-recognized-thought-leader-and-changemaker/): Steve Spear, co-author of Wiring the Winning Organization (winner of the Shingo Publication Award and 2025 Crosby Medal), reveals new theories of high-performance management in Creating High Velocity Organizations. To read the rest of the article go here. Resources: Order Steve’s book, The High-Velocity Edge here Order Steve’s book, Wiring the Winning Organization here Steven Spear DBA MS MSPrincipal, See to Solve LLCSenior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of ManagementSenior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare ImprovementAuthor, The High Velocity EdgeClick Here For Steve Spear’s LinkedIn - [The Secret to Outlier Success](https://seetosolve.com/the-secret-to-outlier-success/): A Founder’s Life Podcast Why do some founders thrive while others burn out? In this episode of A Founder’s Life, MIT’s Steve Spear reveals the hidden keys to outlier success — and how founders can stay curious, resilient, and fully human in the process. 💡 What you’ll learn in this conversation: • Why fast learning & problem-solving beats culture or tech• How to protect your initial spark of curiosity as a founder• Lessons from Toyota, MIT, and world-class organizations• The role of humility and nurturing leadership in long-term success• How to integrate business, health, and family without trade-offs ⏱️ Timestamps0:00 […] - [Wiring the Winning Organization](https://seetosolve.com/wiring-the-winning-organization-3/): Summary: Why do some organizations consistently outperform others—even when they have the same resources, technology, and constraints? In this fast-paced and engaging talk from Prodacity 2025, Steve Spear, Principal at HVE LLC and Founder of See to Solve, breaks down the principles of high-velocity learning, problem-solving leadership, and creating conditions where teams can thrive. From Toyota’s legendary production system to NASA, Alcoa, and U.S. Navy shipyards, Spear highlights why organizations that prioritize rapid problem identification and iterative learning win every time. If you’re serious about building a high-performing, innovative culture, this is a must-watch session. 🔹 Key Topics Covered: The […] - [Breaking the Pentagon’s Innovation and Acquisition Chains](https://seetosolve.com/breaking-the-pentagons-innovation-and-acquisition-chains/): COL Peter Newell (U.S. Army, ret.) is CEO of BMNT, an innovation consultancy and former director of the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force. Steven Spear is a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of Wiring the Winning Organization.  Mission-Focus Over Bureaucracy The U.S. Department of Defense faces a moment of reckoning. While adversaries like China and Russia race ahead with artificial intelligence, hypersonics, and autonomous systems, America’s military remains shackled by a bureaucracy designed to control costs, not to win wars. So, the defense enterprise lags behind faster, more adaptive adversaries in terms of delivering new, […] - [Steve Spear on Cultural Transformation](https://seetosolve.com/steve-spear-on-cultural-transformation/): In this episode, hosts Shayne Daughenbaugh, Andy Olrich, and guest Steve Spear discuss the evolution of industry, emphasizing the importance of cultural shifts driven by Lean thinking. They interview Steve Spears, a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan, who highlights the role of innovation in organizational transformation. Steve Spear is a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan, founder of the software firm See to Solve, and author of Wiring the Winning Organization (with Gene Kim) and The High-Velocity Edge. His work, featured in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and The New York Times, focuses on solving complex organizational challenges through […] - ["Mapped & Ready" Visualize it. Fix it. Win it.](https://seetosolve.com/mapped-ready-visualize-it-fix-it-win-it/): Join us for a power-packed hour with Steve Spear as we explore what it means to “Wire a Winning Organization.” This session draws on themes from his best-selling work and introduces practical methods to make organizational excellence scalable. Wiring the Winning Organization Featuring: Steve SpearHosted by: Mark Shead –https://events.agilelnl.com/event/874e9a10a1 🔗 Join Webex MeetingClick to Join Meeting number: 2861 084 5935 Access word: ggDnrMmj253 📹 Join by video system:Dial 28610845935@xeric.webex.comor 173.243.2.68 and enter the meeting number. 📞 Join by phone:+1-415-655-0001 US TollAccess code: 286 108 45935 You read Steve’s books, listened to his podcast…now what? We’ve helped hundreds of teams get started and scale up using our practical, immersive Model […] - [What it Takes to Win at New Product Development: A Conversation with Steve Spear](https://seetosolve.com/what-it-takes-to-win-at-new-product-development-a-conversation-with-steve-spear/): by Steven Spear and Lex Schroeder In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we speak with Steve Spear, a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, senior fellow at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, and associated faculty member at Adriane Labs of the Harvard School of Public Health. Spear is also author of The High-Velocity Edge and Wiring the Winning Organization and principal of SeeToSolve. The conversation explores: Stellar examples of product development innovation (and the learning cultures that made these achievements possible) What Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, DevOps, and more schools of systems thinking and management all have […] - [Download Excerpts from The High Velocity Edge](https://seetosolve.com/download-excerpts-from-the-high-velocity-edge/): Why is this book important? Why is Dr. Spear’s book so important? Because he is credited for being first to decode the Toyota Production System, as part of his doctoral thesis at the Harvard Business School.  He describes the causal mechanisms that explain how Toyota has achieved and sustained their amazing performance spanning decades, and then generalized these principles to explain how other high-performing (or high-velocity, as he calls them) organizations have replicated their results in different industries and in value streams outside of manufacturing. The organizations he has extensively researched include Aisin (which is in the Toyota supplier network), […] - [Download Excerpts from Wiring the Winning Organization](https://seetosolve.com/download-excerpts-from-wiring-the-winning-organization/): Decode the Wiring Secrets behind High-Performing Teams DevOps, Lean, and Agile got us part of the way. Now, Wiring the Winning Organization gets us over the finish line. Drawing on decades of meticulous research of high-performing organizations and cross-population surveys of tens of thousands of employees, award-winning authors Gene Kim and Dr. Steven J. Spear introduce a groundbreaking new theory of organizational management. Organizations win by using three mechanisms to slowify, simplify, and amplify, which systematically moves problem-solving from high-risk danger zones to low-risk winning zones. A 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist and Shortlisted for the 2024 Business Book […] - [Download Step-by-Step Guide to Wiring a Winning Organization from the Middle](https://seetosolve.com/download-step-by-step-guide-to-wiring-a-winning-organization-from-the-middle/): This paper presents a practical approach for middle managers to drive transformational change in their organizations by implementing high-velocity organizational learning capabilities. The author shares a five-step recipe based on personal experiences and the work of Gene Kim and Dr. Steven Spear. To download the complete guide, please fill out the following form. - [Steve Spear on Collaborative Problem-Solving at See to Solve LLC](https://seetosolve.com/steve-spear-on-collaborative-problem-solving-at-see-to-solve-llc-2/): Do you want to enhance your leadership skills? I shared my insights on the People Solve Problems podcast. Whether you’re leading a team or growing your career, there’s something in this episode for you. Steve Spear DBA MS MS is principal of SeeToSolve LLC, whose SaaS products support the tapping into of an enterprise’s distributed and collective intelligence, and he is author of Wiring the Winning Organization and The High Velocity Edge.   In this episode of the People Solve Problems Podcast, Steve Spear has a lively conversation with Jamie Flinchbaugh. Steve discusses his method for group problem-solving and stresses the need of a variety of […] - [Steven Spear - Teachers Make a Difference - Jack Irgang & Kent Bowen](https://seetosolve.com/steven-spear-teachers-make-a-difference-jack-irgang-kent-bowen/): The Brainwaves Video Anthology February 6, 2024 Steve Spear DBA MS MS is principal of SeeToSolve LLC, whose SaaS products support the tapping into of an enterprise’s distributed and collective intelligence, and he is author of The High Velocity Edge.   As a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Spear teaches in graduate and executive education programs and has advised several dozen graduate theses. He is also senior fellow at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and Associated Faculty at Adriane Labs of the Harvard School of Public Health.  His publications have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Annals of Internal Medicine, Academic Medicine, Health Services Research, the Journal of Nursing Administration, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and USA Today. Spear’s research has had […] - [Steven Spear - The High Velocity Edge: How to Beat the Competition](https://seetosolve.com/steven-spear-the-high-velocity-edge-how-to-beat-the-competition/): The Brainwaves Video Anthology February 6, 2024 Steve Spear DBA MS MS is principal of SeeToSolve LLC, whose SaaS products support the tapping into of an enterprise’s distributed and collective intelligence, and he is author of The High Velocity Edge.   As a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Spear teaches in graduate and executive education programs and has advised several dozen graduate theses. He is also senior fellow at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and Associated Faculty at Adriane Labs of the Harvard School of Public Health.  His publications have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Annals of Internal Medicine, Academic Medicine, Health Services Research, the Journal of Nursing Administration, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and USA Today. Spear’s research has had […] - [Wiring the Winning Organization](https://seetosolve.com/wiring-the-winning-organization/): The Brainwaves Video Anthology February 6, 2024 Steve Spear DBA MS MS is principal of SeeToSolve LLC, whose SaaS products support the tapping into of an enterprise’s distributed and collective intelligence, and he is author of The High Velocity Edge.   As a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Spear teaches in graduate and executive education programs and has advised several dozen graduate theses. He is also senior fellow at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and Associated Faculty at Adriane Labs of the Harvard School of Public Health.  His publications have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Annals of Internal Medicine, Academic Medicine, Health Services Research, the Journal of Nursing Administration, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and USA Today. Spear’s research has had […] - [A practical Step-by-Step Guide to Wiring a Winning Organization from the Middle](https://seetosolve.com/a-practical-step-by-step-guide-to-wiring-a-winning-organization-from-the-middle/): Maria Mentzer Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President Customer Development, See to Solve Happy to share IT Revolution included my article “A practical Step-by-Step Guide to Wiring a Winning Organization from the Middle” in their Enterprise Technology Leadership Journal. “This paper presents a practical approach for middle managers to drive transformational change in their organizations by implementing high-velocity organizational learning capabilities. The author shares a five-step recipe based on personal experiences and the work of Gene Kim and Dr. Steve Spear.” Direct link to my article “A practical Step-by-Step Guide to Wiring a Winning Organization from the Middle”. Download the Inaugural Volume of the Enterprise […] - [Gene Kim & Steven Spear : Untangling Organizational Design](https://seetosolve.com/gene-kim-steven-spear-untangling-organizational-design/): unSILOed Podcast with Greg LaBlanc | EP414 May 1, 2024 Could the secret to organizational success be as simple as going back to basics?  Gene Kim and Steven Spear’s new book, Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification presents practical, grounded research on organizational management and design. Gene is the chair of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit and Steven teaches at MIT Sloan. Episode Quotes: Three mechanisms of a successful organizational design 38:39 The reason why we had to create the word ‘slowification’ is that we have a lot of adages for slow down […] - [Wiring the Winning Organization: A Book Talk with MIT's Steven Spear](https://seetosolve.com/wiring-the-winning-organization-a-book-talk-with-mits-steven-spear/): Event by MIT Sloan Executive Education March 18, 2024 Success stems from leaders purposefully crafting management systems that leverage people’s ingenuity and integrating individual creativity into collaborative endeavors. This approach unleashes the potential of individuals within the organization, empowering them to consistently push the boundaries of performance. In Steve Spear’s new book (co-authored with ITRevolution’s DevOps guru Gene Kim), Wiring the Winning Organization, he provides leaders with strategies to transition from a precarious state to a successful one, resulting in improved agility, enhanced quality, accelerated time to market, increased resilience, heightened employee engagement, and greater profitability. These are grounded in solid theory and […] - [Chain of Learning Podcast with Katie Anderson and guests Gene Kim and Steven Spear on Wiring the Winning Organization](https://seetosolve.com/chain-of-learning-podcast-with-katie-anderson-and-guests-gene-kim-and-steven-spear-on-wiring-the-winning-organization/): January 10, 2024 Leadership Strategies for Effective Problem-Solving and Innovation Have you ever wondered why some organizations consistently outperform their competitors?  Why is it that despite operating in the same market space, using similar resources, and facing the same regulations, some companies achieve extraordinary success while others struggle to keep up? And how come some organizations are able to leverage the concepts, tools, and practices of lean, the Toyota Production System, DevOps, or Agile, to enable their success, whereas at other companies these management practices and methodologies just become the flavor of the month? Tune into the latest episode of […] - [Steve Spear on Collaborative Problem-Solving at See to Solve LLC](https://seetosolve.com/steve-spear-on-collaborative-problem-solving-at-see-to-solve-llc/): Dr. Steven J. Spear (DBA MS MS)Principal, HVE LLCSr. Lecturer, MIT Sloan SchoolSr. Fellow, Institute for Healthcare ImprovementCreator, See to Solve Gemba and Real Time Alert SystemsSSpear@MIT.edu www.SeeToSolve.com Steve@HVELLC.com In the latest episode of People Solve Problems, Jamie Flinchbaugh has an engaging discussion with Steve Spear, the Founder of See to Solve LLC and Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management. Steve, renowned for his expertise in operational excellence and leadership, delves into the intricacies of problem-solving and collaboration. The conversation focuses on Steve’s new book, co-authored with Gene Kim, titled Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness […] - [Gene Kim and Steve Spear, Discussing ‘Wiring the Winning Organization’ with Mark Graban on the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast](https://seetosolve.com/gene-kim-and-steve-spear-discussing-wiring-the-winning-organization-with-mark-graban-on-the-lean-blog-interviews-podcast/): Mark Graban’s guests for Episode #493 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Gene Kim and Steve Spear, co-authors of the new book Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification.  Joining the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast for the first time is Gene Kim, a Wall Street Journal bestselling author and researcher who has been studying high-performing technology organizations since 1999 – He was the founder and CTO of Tripwire for 13 years. He is the author of six books, The Unicorn Project (2019), and co-author of the Shingo Publication Award-winning Accelerate (2018), The DevOps Handbook (2016), and […] - [How I Wired the Winning Organization!](https://seetosolve.com/how-i-wired-the-winning-organization/): Maria Mentzer Vice President Customer Development, See to Solve With over 20-years-worth of experience of Wiring Winning Organizations, Maria takes us on a hunt for the recipe for Wiring your Own Winning Organization. Follow the link in the image below to immerse yourself in the unraveling of the mystery as Maria skillfully leads us along the path of building a High Velocity Company as outlined by Dr. Steve Spear in his work. She takes us on an exciting journey of discovering new tools and methods to help implement Lean Technology in a painless and seamless way in any Organization. And […] - [Wiring the Winning Organization with MIT’s Steven Spear](https://seetosolve.com/wiring-the-winning-organization-with-mits-steven-spear/): Join us for this complimentary, hour-long live conversation as we discover how to: • Create an organization where work is done by harnessing the best-known approaches available and signaling the need for new knowledge. • Solve problems as they arise and to develop new understanding that prevents the problems from recurring. Don’t miss your chance to learn impactful insights and engage with MIT Sloan Senior Lecturer Steven Spear. Learn more during the upcoming courses: Creating High Velocity Organizations (executive.mit.edu/hvo) Leading Organizations for High Velocity Performance (executive.mit.edu/hgo) And don’t forget to order Steve’s latest book, Wiring the Winning Organization.https://www.amazon.com/Wiring-Winning-Organization-Slowification-Simplification/dp/1950508420 Steven Spear DBA […] - [Unraveling the Secrets of Organizational Success: A Conversation with Steven J. Spear | Redefining Society with Marco Ciappelli](https://seetosolve.com/unraveling-the-secrets-of-organizational-success-a-conversation-with-steven-j-spear-redefining-society-with-marco-ciappelli/): Joining us is Steven J. Spear, an award-winning author, Senior Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School, and a pioneer in understanding the nuances of high-performing organizations. With an illustrious career, Spear brings to the table not only his expertise but also his latest book, “Wiring the Winning Organization”. About the Book: “Wiring the Winning Organization” offers a refreshing perspective on how organizations can transition from struggling entities to champions in their domain. Spear introduces us to three pivotal mechanisms: Slowification: Easing the problem-solving process. Simplification: Making problems more solvable. Amplification: Ensuring problems get solved. By embracing these mechanisms, organizations can create […] - [Podcast Episode: Wiring the Winning Organization with Dr. Steve Spear](https://seetosolve.com/podcast-episode-wiring-the-winning-organization-with-dr-steve-spear/): Connecting the Dots Podcast (November 2, 2023 36 min 15 sec) Dr. Steven J. Spear (DBA MS MS)Principal, HVE LLCSr. Lecturer, MIT Sloan SchoolSr. Fellow, Institute for Healthcare ImprovementCreator, See to Solve Gemba and Real Time Alert SystemsSSpear@MIT.edu www.SeeToSolve.com Steve@HVELLC.com Knowing how to get smarter about what you do and better at doing it, faster thanHow so? All organizations share a challenge. They’re trying to coordinate people—sometimes a few, sometimes many thousands—towards shared purpose, somewhere on the spectrum from upstream conceptualization and discovery, through development, design, and ultimately delivery. The problem is, particularly at the start of any undertaking, no […] - [Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis Adopts See to Solve Alert™ to Speed Problem Resolution](https://seetosolve.com/baptist-memorial-hospital-memphis-adopts-see-to-solvealert-to-speed-problem-resolution/): Easy problem reporting, experimentation mindset, and enthusiastic ‘Ambassadors’ build a foundation for cultural change “In healthcare today, it’s never been more important to see a problem and quickly get a resolution. In a big, complex hospital, there can be challenges to making things happen easily. See to Solve has given us the opportunity to change how people think about the problems they face. Seeing responses faster encourages people to use See to Solve more to take ownership of problems they see. Our pilot program – and I think this is the best part of the story – gave us the […] - [Solidigm Adapts Process Mapping to Remote Work with See to Solve Flow™ and Accelerates Improvement](https://seetosolve.com/solidigm-adapts-process-mapping-to-remote-work-with-see-to-solve-flow-and-accelerates-improvement/): Actionable, “Living” Maps Bring Faster Issue Resolution, Deeper Process Understanding and Accelerated Learning “These are not maps that you make once and then put them away. We collaborate and explore maps to get the big picture, then zoom in to understand details of hand-offs and troubleshoot issues. With See to Solve Flow, it’s much easier to get clarity on what’s happening and resolve break points. The whole point of the map is to visually drive continuous improvement and learning. With See to Solve Flow we improve faster.” — Maria Mentzer, Sr. Director, Supply Chain & Business Solutions, Solidigm To download […] - [Podcast Episode: Exploring COVID-19 and Just-in-Time Supply Chains, Chaos Engineering, and the Soviet Centrally Planned Economy with Dr. Steve Spear](https://seetosolve.com/podcast-episode-exploring-covid-19-and-just-in-time-supply-chains-chaos-engineering-and-the-soviet-centrally-planned-economy-with-dr-steve-spear/): The Idealcast with Gene Kim by IT Revolution (August 2021 2hr 1min) In this episode of The Idealcast, Gene Kim speaks with Dr. Steven Spear on his critiques of several articles from the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal, and their characterization of the impact of Just-in-Time (JIT) supply chains and the widespread shortages caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. While the unprecedented health crisis created a widespread shortage of almost everything—from toilet paper to semiconductor chips to raw materials vital for medical materials—with results that impacted everyday life on a global scale, Dr. Spear makes the claim that […] - [Podcast Episode: The Topography of Problems, and the Importance of Distributed Problem Solving with Dr. Steve Spear](https://seetosolve.com/podcast-episode-the-topography-of-problems-and-the-importance-of-distributed-problem-solving-with-dr-steve-spear/): The Idealcast with Gene Kim by IT Revolution (July 2020 1hr 4min) In this bonus follow-up interview, Gene Kim and Dr. Steve Spear dig into what makes for great leadership today, including the importance of distributed decision-making and problem-solving. They showcase the real advantages of allowing more decisions to be made by the people closest to the work, who are the most suited to solve them. Dr. Spear also shares his personal accounts of the honorable Paul O’Neill, the late CEO of Alcoa who built an incredible culture of safety and performance during his tenure. And Kim and Spear dive […] - [Podcast Episode: The Pursuit of Perfection: Dominant Architectures, Structure, and Dynamics: A Conversation with Dr. Steve Spear](https://seetosolve.com/podcast-episode-the-pursuit-of-perfection-dominant-architectures-structure-and-dynamics/): The Idealcast with Gene Kim by IT Revolution (July 2020 1hr 44min) On this episode of The Idealcast with Gene Kim, Dr. Steve Spear talks about the primary characteristics of dynamic learning organizations, through the lens of its structure and the resulting dynamics, and how it enables those organizations to win and dominate in the marketplace. From his 1999 Harvard Business Review article “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System” to his bestselling book The High-Velocity Edge to his monomaniacal advocate for the scientific method employed by everybody about everything all the time, Spear’s influence on the successful pursuit […] - [Podcast Episode: (Dispatch from the Scenius)Dr. Steve Spear's 2019 and 2020 DOES Talks on Rapid, Distributed, Dynamic Learning](https://seetosolve.com/podcast-episode-dispatch-from-the-sceniusdr-steve-spears-2019-and-2020-does-talks-on-rapid-distributed-dynamic-learning/): The Idealcast with Gene Kim by IT Revolution (July 2020 1hr 10min) In the latest Dispatch from the Scenius, Gene Kim brings you two of Dr. Steve Spear’s DevOps Enterprise Summit presentations in their entirety. In Spear’s 2019 presentation, “Discovering Your Way to Greatness: How Finding and Fixing Faults is the Path to Perfection,” he talks about the need and the value of finding faults in our thinking that result in faults in our doing.  Spear continues to explore this lesson in his 2020 presentation about the US Navy 100 years ago, when they were at a crucial inflection point […] - [Webinar: Fixing healthcare from the Inside](https://seetosolve.com/webinar-fixing-healthcare-from-the-inside/): Live event recorded July 22, 2021 How creating the right fast learning dynamics leads to better care, delivered to more people, at lower cost, with less overburden on staff. Fixing Healthcare from the Inside Of the various sectors that comprise our economy, healthcare is one that is among the most critical for people’s and society’s well being and also one that is a source of consistent frustration. There are issues of costs, access difficulty, quality and safety issues, and overburden and burnout as experienced by staff.  Hardly expected or desirable given the science and technology at the disposal of well […] - [Webinar: School District Reopening Lessons Learned](https://seetosolve.com/webinar-school-district-reopening-lessons-learned/): Live event recorded June 30, 2021 Across every sector, from healthcare to manufacturing to education, leaders who find ways to tap into the collective distributed intelligence of their people improve faster and achieve better outcomes. School District Reopening Lessons Learned Fall 2020 was a bifurcation in the experiences of American school children and their families. Some lucky ones returned for in person instruction after the sudden and mass shutdown of the previous Spring, having some form of normalcy despite the raging pandemic.  Many only got back to class late Spring 2021 or later, if at all, with educational, social, and […] - [Webinar: Mastering Jidoka & Andon in 2021](https://seetosolve.com/webinar-mastering-jidoka-andon-in-2021/): Live event recorded May 13, 2021 How seeing problems early and often is key to being right all the time. Masterclass with Dr. Steve Spear We’re often astounded at how outstanding some few organizations are.  They seem to be right in their designs, in their products, in their production and in their delivery with incredible consistency while the rest of us are too often “hit or miss.” How do they do it? Ironically, they’re wicked concerned with seeing where they’re wrong—early, often, everywhere.  This gives them opportunity to contain issues and correct for them, preventing both spread and recurrence.  So, […] - [Hospital System Dramatically Improves Sterile Processing Performance Helped by See to Solve Alert™](https://seetosolve.com/hospital-system-dramatically-improves-sterile-processing-performance-helped-by-see-to-solve-alert/): Fast Problem Reporting, Root Cause Analysis and Remediation Combine to Avert Risk, Stabilize SPD and Deliver Successful Continuous Improvement “See to Solve Alert gave us easy problem reporting and a simple but meaningful ‘big board’ view of what was happening in the Sterile Processing area. We could see at a glance where issues were happening. The power is in its simplicity. We all know how to take a picture, type a few words, send it, done.” — Senior Director, Center for Innovation and Transformational Change To download the full Case Study, please fill out the following form. Regional Healthcare and […] - [Steve at PlatformCON22](https://seetosolve.com/steve-at-platformcon/): Accelerating the Learning Curve to develop and deliver capability with urgency and speed Press play below to hear Steve’s talk on PlatformCON and discover what distinguishes the best from the rest. The gaps the best have over everyone else are enormous in terms of generating and delivering value. The root causes are the vast differences in how the integrative ‘social overlay’ is managed to enable or inhibit individual creativity from being expressed and integrated towards common purpose. Attendees will understand: How gigantic and pervasive the gaps are between the best and the rest. Distinguishing behaviours characteristic of the very best. […] - [How to Achieve Rapid Process Improvements in your Organisation](https://seetosolve.com/how-to-achieve-rapid-process-improvements-in-your-organisation/): Steve was honored to be a guest speaker recently on the Dublin Lean Network webinar series hosted by Steve Halpin. Chairman of the Dublin Lean Network, Steve Halpin welcomed Steven and started by saying he highly recommends Steven’s book “The High Velocity Edge” in terms of the practical application of Lean in the workplace.  He added that Steven’s approach to Lean is the difference between companies that play at this and companies that really take it seriously. Press play to view the webinar recording or read on for a short summary. Toyota Management System Steven began his presentation by saying […] - [Herding cats, cats in bags, and why two-pizza teams and APIs matter so much.](https://seetosolve.com/herding-cats-cats-in-bags-and-why-two-pizza-teams-and-apis-matter-so-much-2/): Credit to my colleagues B, B, P, and S for the insights below. Herding cats. A pointless task. You get ahold of one cat, and the other 19 run off in their own directions. Before you get any cat where you want it, you’ve got to be chasing the other cats that’re getting away. Even if you have ten or twenty friends helping, it’s just you and your doofus friends tripping over cats. It’s an impossible problem… …unless… …you put each cat in its own bag.  That’s the break through! Once each cat is in its own bag (yes yes yes well accoutremented […] - [GSK Uses See to Solve Alert to Fix Problems Faster in Multi-Disciplinary ‘Smart Labs’](https://seetosolve.com/gsk-adopts-see-to-solve-for-smart-labs/): Reduced Time Burden on Scientists, Fewer Distractions and Fewer Obstacles to Work Translate into Higher Productivity and Happier Staff “See to Solve helps us optimize the intent of an open, collaborative lab environment because it minimizes the downside. Before, problems arose in our ‘smart working’ spaces because nobody has their own equipment, nobody has their own desk, nobody has their own bench, and management and support services are all over the place. Reporting issues was burdensome to staff who didn’t  necessarily feel like they owned the reporting responsibility and didn’t always know who to call. See to Solve Alert gives […] - [Rules Tools and Applications](https://seetosolve.com/rules-tools-and-applications/): I was re reading “Learning War,” by Trent Hone, and page 30 and 31, it hit me, in the section about “engineering officers.” The pre condition (late 1800s early 1900s) was that there were line officers with everyone else (including engineering) in support. But with the shift from wood to steel and sails to steam, it was no longer possible to command without competent understanding of the technology being used to complete the mission. The technological was too integral to the tactical. Trent Hone quotes Teddy Roosevelt: “Every officer on a modern war vessel in reality has to be an engineer […] - [Why Welch's GM failed ... and lessons from Culp's efforts to right the ship.](https://seetosolve.com/why-welchs-gm-failed-and-lessons-from-culps-efforts-to-right-the-ship-2/): Two Wall Street Journal articles, “GE and the Belief in Management Magic,” by Jason Zweig, and “Larry Culp Rewired GE. Then He Unwound It,” by Thomas Gryta, Ted Mannand Cara Lombardoput, put in relief two alternative views of management—one that it is largely a transactional discipline, as practiced by Jack Welch and Jeffrey Immelt, and the other that it is a developmental discipline, requiring leaders to design and improve the systems through which individual efforts are integrated towards achieving common purpose. The example of this latter approach is GE’s current CEO Larry Culp, who previously succeeded brilliantly as of Danaher head. [PDFs of both are attached.] The defining […] - [Why Welch's GM Failed ... and lessons from Culp's efforts to right the ship.](https://seetosolve.com/why-welchs-gm-failed-and-lessons-from-culps-efforts-to-right-the-ship/): My note, last week, drew on two WSJ articles to contrast alternative views of management at GE (“transactional,” as practiced by Jack Welch and Jeffrey Immelt, the other, “developmental,” by current CEO and Danaher veteran Larry Culp). That note prompted some questions: 1. If Welch was “hailed as manager of the century” and Immelt was consistently praised, do we run the risk of heaping praise prematurely on Larry Culp, given the more recent indictments of Welch and Immelt? 2. What about GE’s famous commitment to quality through its heralded six-sigma programs? 3. What are the stress- and-strain limits of a management system […] - [Transforming Mental Healthcare by Applying Performance Improvement Methods](https://seetosolve.com/transforming-mental-healthcare-by-applying-performance-improvement-methods/): Sunil Khushalani MD and Antonio DePaolo PhD with forewords by Steven Sharfstein MD and Steve Spear DBA I’m delighted to share news that Transforming Mental Health Care by Sunil Khushalani and Antonio DePaolo has been published. It’s an important work about important work. I’m sharing, below, the foreword for which I had the honor and privilege to write. Some links are below that to other materials that might be of interest.—————————————————–We fear that those about whom we care will suffer from malady. We all hope that should they be in distress something will provide cure, at best, or comfort and […] - [Don't Think; Do: How the first step on the pathway to epiphany is admitting you just don't know](https://seetosolve.com/dont-think-do-how-the-first-step-on-the-pathway-to-epiphany-is-admitting-you-just-dont-know/): What’s the key to success in a start-up (or anything novel for that matter)?According to Steve Blank, who inspired and informed the Lean Startup deal, no matter your inspiration, aspiration, or enthusiasm, your first ideas are just best guesses. Build whatever elaborate plans around those best guesses you want, but until you start running tests early and often, getting feedback and iterating through improved understanding, then all your elaborate structure is on an unstable base. This theme of fast and frequent feedback, early, often about everything is hardly unique to lean startups. It’s the basis of agile development and core […] - [Remembering Normal Bodek and His Toyota Way Management Principle](https://seetosolve.com/1352-2/): Jeffrey Liker has published v.2 of The Toyota Way, a great book the first time and even better now. Worth returning to the content and the wisdom in it, at some other point. This note is just about the beauty of the title, based on reflections and reviews prompted by the passing of Normal Bodek, creator of Productivity Press, management theory prospector, and the reason many had early insight as to what leading Japanese companies were doing differently to achieve the outrageous combinations of quality, affordability, product variety and time to market that was so disruptive in the 80s. It was Norman who […] - [How to keep from going off track and out of whack: feedback - fast, frequent, and fine grained](https://seetosolve.com/how-to-keep-from-going-off-track-and-out-of-whack-feedback-fast-frequent-and-fine-grained/): Compressing Feedback Cycle Times to stay on Target and Maintain Internal Synchronization Summary: How do ensure that the organizations of which we are part succeed?  Fast, frequent, and often fine-grained feedback to keep our collective effort on track and to keep our individual efforts harmonized with each other.   Keeping in harmony Our enterprises are large, complex (e.g., many people with myriad specialties working with sophisticated technologies), and dynamic (the pieces constantly in motion relative to each other.  Internal feedback keeps the parts synchronized well in a harmonious whole.  Without it? Disarray.  Everyone seemingly goes off in their own direction, pursuing discordant goals, leaving delays, […] - [Succeeding in periods of abrupt change ...](https://seetosolve.com/succeeding-in-periods-of-abrupt-change/): In May 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s leadership may well have been imagining the celebrations and accolades to be showered on them in the coming weeks. They had (what they must have thought was) a fantastic plan of surprise attack at Midway Island, the coup de grâce follow up to the devastation of Pearl Harbor six months prior. But such was not to be the case. The early days of June ’42 proved devastating for the IJN, as they got out-matched and crippled by the United States Navy, even though the USN arrived at the battle with fewer ships and […] - [How do you get speed in technology intensive, engineering heavy situations?](https://seetosolve.com/1336-2/): Slow down (in development) to go fast (in deployment and production). Local experience gives example to this point and might provide insight to the many of use trying to develop and deliver value at speed. (Boston Globe article and white paper). The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”) is under fire. New subway cars, meant for the T’s Orange and Red lines are being delivered late and underperforming from Chinese state-sponsored vendor CRRC. Easy explanation: bureaucratic incompetence, perfidiousness by the foreign vendor, etc. More likely, both CRRC and MBTA had reason to get into operation as quickly as possible. Consequently, they […] - [Remembering Paul O'Neill](https://seetosolve.com/remembering-paul-oneill/): The Honorable Paul O’Neill, former CEO of Alcoa and 72 nd  Secretary of the Treasury passed away last weekend.  He’ll be eulogized fairly and enthusiastically for his stewardship of Alcoa, which enjoyed huge success during his tenure, and for his public outspokenness during and about the George W. Bush administration .   He’ll receive well-earned thanks for his civic leadership in Pittsburgh, both for its regional effort to markedly improve healthcare and also its ambitious waterfront redevelopment .  It is no exaggeration that Paul’s corporate, governmental and civic/volunteer work improved the lives (and saved the lives) of multitudes.  It’s a shame that COVID prohibitions […] - [Willingness to Seek Bad News: Key leadership skill for crisis management...](https://seetosolve.com/willingness-to-seek-bad-news-key-leadership-skill-for-crisis-management/): The suppression of bad news, when consequential, is easy to decry. Yet, doing so is more common than we care. Understanding its source and overcoming its occurrence is key to having enterprise dynamics supportive of agility, resilience, and reliability and ultimately great performance. (a version of this piece was posted at https://executive.mit.edu/blog/willingness-to-seek-bad-news-is-a-key-leadership-skill-for-crisis-management) The New York Times reports “ China Created a Fail-Safe System to Track Contagions. It Failed , March 29 2020.” After getting ambushed by the SARS contagion in 2002, China planned to never get pandemic bushwhacked again. The country built a reporting system to quickly and easily pull reports from […] - [Learning from the Wright Brothers: How fast and frequent experimentation led to first in flight](https://seetosolve.com/learning-from-the-wright-brothers-how-fast-and-frequent-experimentation-led-to-first-in-flight/): “ The best dividends on the labor invested have invariably come from seeking more knowledge rather than more power. ” – Orville and Wilber WrightQuoted in  The Wright Brothers , David McCullough, 2015. While celebrated for achieving the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air, person carrying aircraft in 1903, that wasn’t the sole or even the greatest source of the Wright brother’s renown.  After all, they didn’t receive press coverage until 1905, and that was from Amos Root, editor of  Gleanings in Bee Keeping .  It was in 1908 that they became celebrities, with Wilber setting world records for flight duration […] - [See to Solve Real Time Alert System: Portable Andon So You're Not Flying Blind](https://seetosolve.com/see-to-solve-real-time-alert-system-portable-andon-so-youre-not-flying-blind/): The See to Solve Real Time Alert System keeps senior leaders from being blindsided by unrelenting crises. And it helps keep those on the front line from being overwhelmed by relentless process breaks that aggravate and chew up time. How? Using fast and easy menu interfaces on mobile devices, associates can call out quickly and easily when something faults, so help arrives right away, before conditions snowball. Supporting services know when and where they’re needed, and leaders know real time what problems are persistent and how they’re being addressed, so they can adjust time, effort, and resources before everything goes […] - [Leaders: Myth and Reality by Gen Stanley McChrystal (retired), Jeff Eggers, and Jason Mangone. (review)](https://seetosolve.com/leaders-myth-and-reality-by-gen-stanley-mcchrystal-retired-jeff-eggers-and-jason-mangone-review/): You should read  Leaders: Myth and Reality   by  Gen Stanley McChrystal  (retired),  Jeff Eggers (both of The McChrystal Group ) , and Jason Mangone .  Here’s why. First is breadth and diversity of example.   Common to ‘hot’ topic books (innovation, entrepreneurship, and AI for instance), is “picking on the dependent variable,” using examples that were (1) successful in (2) undertakings with which author and reader identify.  About leadership, it’s not surprising that West Point has statues and course work related to victorious generals, and the Naval Academy celebrates graduates who held high command.  MBA curriculums are replete with ‘titans of industry.’  At MIT […] ## Pages - [Advisory](https://seetosolve.com/advisory/) - [Terms of Service](https://seetosolve.com/terms-of-service/): 1. Introduction Welcome to See to Solve LLC (“Company”). These Terms of Service (“Terms”, “Terms of Service”) govern your use and access to our websites located at https://seetosolve.com and any related sites operated by See to Solve LLC (“Services”). Our Privacy Policy governs your use of our Services and explains how we collect, safeguard and disclose information that results from your use of our websites. Please read it here https://seetosolve.com/privacy-policy/ . Your agreement with us includes these Terms and our Privacy Policy (“Agreements”). By using our Services, you are agreeing to be bound by these Agreements. These Agreements apply to all visitors, users […] - [Privacy Policy](https://seetosolve.com/privacy-policy/): Effective date: 01/11/2023 1. Introduction Welcome to SEE TO SOLVE LLC SEE TO SOLVE LLC (“us”, “we”, or “our”) operates https://seetosolve.com, and SEE TO SOLVE mobile application (hereinafter referred to as “Service”). Our Privacy Policy governs your visit to https://seetosolve.com and SEE TO SOLVE  mobile application, and explains how we collect, safeguard and disclose information that results from your use of our Service. We use your data to provide and improve Service. By using Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, the terms used in this Privacy Policy […] - [Alert Trial Sign Up](https://seetosolve.com/alert-trial/) - [Flow Trial Sign Up](https://seetosolve.com/flow-trial/) - [SEE TO SOLVE SOFTWARE SUPPORT POLICY 2.0](https://seetosolve.com/software-support-policy/): See to Solve LLC (“See to Solve”) shall provide to its customers (each a “Company”) Support for the Products and Documentation in accordance with this Software Support Policy (the “Policy”), provided that such Support is limited to those Products for which Company currently has an active subscription. DEFINITIONS Authorized Support Contact: means an individual designated by Company to be responsible for contacting See to Solve’s Support organization. Company may change its Authorized Support Contact(s) at any time upon ten (10) days written notice to See to Solve. Documentation: means the technical manuals that See to Solve delivers to Company along […] - [Service-Level Agreement](https://seetosolve.com/sla/): § 1 Preamble and Applicability Under the condition that the Customer has selected and is paying for the “99.95% Guaranteed Uptime (SLA)” Pro Feature for Customer’s See to Solve LLC Instance, this Service-Level Agreement (“SLA”) between See to Solve LLC and the Customer governs the use of the See to Solve LLC software application in said See to Solve LLC Instance. This SLA shall not apply if the Customer has not selected or is not paying for the aforementioned Pro Feature. The general See to Solve LLC Terms of Use remain in effect nonetheless. If the Customer has contracted or is […] - [END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT](https://seetosolve.com/eula/): READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY This End User License Agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into by Company and See to Solve, LLC (“See to Solve”) and governs Company’s use of and access to all Products for which Company has purchased a subscription as well as the provision of related Services. Capitalized terms used in this Agreement are not otherwise defined herein have the meaning set forth in the Ordering Document. DEFINITIONS”Affiliates” means any entity that is controlled by, under the control of, or under common control with Company where “control” means ownership of, or the right to control, greater than 50% of […] - [Frequently Asked Questions / Flow (FAQ)](https://seetosolve.com/flow-faq/): Q:            What browsers are good for See To Solve Flow™? A:             Google Chrome, Miscrosoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox Q:            How do I reset my password? A:             From the dropdown next to your profile name go to Edit My Profile; select password from the menu on the left, then enter your current password and your new password and select Update Password. Q:            How do I share my maps with others? A:             Add users to your organization and share your maps with them. - [Request A Demo](https://seetosolve.com/request-a-demo/) - [Resources, Articles & Updates](https://seetosolve.com/resources/) - [Flow](https://seetosolve.com/flow/) - [Alert](https://seetosolve.com/alert/) - [Homepage](https://seetosolve.com/): Success Stories - [Contact Us](https://seetosolve.com/contact-us/) - [About Us](https://seetosolve.com/about-us/) [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)