Past Events
From one-day seminars and breakfast networking events to our virtual webinar series, COE maintains a busy slate of opportunities for members to hear from key business leaders on the latest in lean, supply chain management, women in leadership, OpEx in technology, and more. Our recent events have included:
In-Person Event: DHL Multi-Use eCommerce Facility Tour
2/19/25: On this tour, participants experienced a 650,000-square-foot DHL Supply Chain facility that supports three customers under one roof—Rodan + Fields, Lululemon, and Peter Millar. Tour participants had the opportunity to walk through the facility and learn about the unique complexities of each customer, including outbound operations, returns processing, embroidery technology, boxing and kit making automation, and more.
Virtual Event: Reversing the Mental Health Crisis in the Workplace
2/5/25: In this webinar, clinical psychologist Dr. Andrea Mata explored the youth mental health crisis, its impact on the workforce, and what workplaces can do to take action and make a difference. Attendees learned how to create environments with high expectations and high support to set employees up for success.
In-Person Event: The Culture Playbook Workshop
1/22/25: The Culture Playbook Workshop empowered leaders to tackle culture challenges head-on. Participants identified their organization’s culture profile, mapped out cultural strengths and gaps, and explored targeted strategies to better align culture with strategic objectives. Through hands-on exercises, leaders developed practical, actionable plans to foster adaptability, enhance employee engagement, and build a customer-focused, results-driven culture.
Hybrid Event: Building Your Brand with Intention
1/8/25: At this event, esteemed nonprofit leader Nichole Dunn challenged attendees to assess the ways our personal brand shapes relationships, to strengthen our influence, and to align with our core values. When we approach our personal brand in this way, we’re empowered to lead lives filled with purpose and clarity.
Hybrid Event: Human-Centered AI
12/6/24: This two-part event will featured updated research with a new focus on AI and its impacts on culture, people, and the future of the work. In the morning session, Prof. Nate Craig delivered research insights on deploying artificial intelligence. In the afternoon session, Shannon Skaggs, Quantum Health’s President and head of its innovation team, addressed the process the company has undergone as it’s begun to deploy GenAI, the learnings, and the unique opportunities as the company continues to evolve this transition of its technology platform.
In-Person Event: Brick by Brick
11/18/24: Brick by Brick: Building OpEx Connections was a collaboration hosted by the Center for Operational Excellence and Fisher’s Office of Career Management. This dynamic gathering offered a unique opportunity to engage in a hands-on mini workshop with facilitated networking and Lego building activities to ignite creativity and foster friendly competition.
Virtual Event: Unlocking Your Brain's Hidden Superpowers
11/6/24: In this session, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Gaines spoke on problem solving during novel situations in volatile and uncertain environments. He shared groundbreaking neuroscience research and collected wisdom from U.S. Army Special Operations to help leaders understand how to use research-based techniques in their own organizations to compete and win no matter what life throws their way.
In-Person Event: Fundamentals of Lean Workshop
10/8/24: This interactive workshop leveraged a case study and simulation to highlight foundational principles, practices, tools, and techniques of lean that work in any industry. The simulation focused on how to create flow in any process through manageable change cycles. Participants emerged better equipped to apply and teach the basics of lean, including creating value, eliminating waste, workplace organization, redesigning processes for flow, and visual management.
Virtual Event: Crafting a Successful Onboarding Experience
10/2/24: In this webinar, HR leaders at Cardinal Health provided an overview of the organization’s approach to orientation and onboarding for various populations. Adam Zaller, VP, HR Services and Learning, and Jonathan Adams, Manager, HR Business Partner, shared about Cardinal Health’s “Orientation 2.0,” what’s changed since the pandemic, and where they’re heading next.
Virtual Event: Leveraging Your Middle Management
9/11/24: In this webinar, Al Deutschendorf discussed the factors that put pressure on middle management and explored the compounding effect that can come from implementing operational excellence. He shared learnings from his 25 years of CI experience to encourage attendees to develop greater awareness and think differently. Finally, Al described how his current organization, Safelite, is leveraging learnings from experienced improvement professionals and modifying their approach for long-term success.
In-Person Event: Grange Insurance Headquarters Tour
8/20/24: On this tour, participants learned about the Grange Insurance leadership’s hybrid office vision, the timing of the transition back to the office, and how the space was reconfigured to support a hybrid office model. This tour featured leaders from across the organization to tell the story of how their teams adopted a continuous improvement approach in facilities, talent, training, and technology to enhance the associate experience.
Virtual Event: How to Implement Change That Sustains
8/7/24: In this webinar, Dr. Lynn Kelley described her proven Change Questions approach. The Change Questions approach is customizable for every change and every organization and has delivered measurable results of 90% sustainment rate over hundreds of change initiatives. Lynn explored real-world examples and lessons learned from her experience leading organizational change at two Fortune 150 companies.
In-Person Event: The Lean Office Workshop
7/24/24: InBox® Lean office simulation is a participant-driven simulation that teaches how to apply Lean concepts to transactional processes. With InBox, associates of all levels can practice the tools of Lean and Six Sigma in a risk-free setting. This kind of practice builds individual capability and, ultimately, organizational capability.
Partnered Event: Future of People at Work Symposium
7/18/24: COE joined six other leading lean-focused organizations and friends across the lean community for a groundbreaking two days focused on the critical topics of workplace evolution, technology integration, and production transformation.
Virtual Event: Fostering Lean Leadership
7/10/24: Tom Paider, VP of Technology Infrastructure and Computing at Nationwide, unveiled the essential components of a purpose-built management system. Participants discovered how this system facilitates and sustains the gains of a lean transformation, ensuring that lean remains more than just a fleeting buzzword within our organizations.
Virtual Event: JPMorgan Chase's Change Management Journey
6/18/24: In this session, Jacquie Feimster and James Ray explored Chase’s 10-year journey learning how to better manage change. They offered insights into the steps and critical components needed to improve change competency and maturity within organizations, including establishing a strong foundation, aligning strategic partnerships, and demonstrating value.
In-Person Event: Nationwide Children's Hospital Operations Tour
6/12/24: On this tour, visitors were introduced to two vital departments at Nationwide Children's Hospital: The Simulation Center and Pharmacy. The Simulation Center showcases cutting-edge technology and expert training, ensuring healthcare professionals are prepared for any scenario. Meanwhile, the Pharmacy Department provides tailored medications for young patients, employing the latest advancements for optimal outcomes. Together, these departments exemplify the hospital's commitment to providing exceptional care and support to children and families, fostering hope and healing.
Virtual Event: DEI Fireside Chat
5/29/24: This session featured a dynamic dialogue between Dr. Cynthia Turner, Assistant Dean and Chief Diversity Officer at the Fisher College of Business, and Donnell White, Senior Vice President and Chief DEI Officer at Huntington. Industry and academia converged for a compelling conversation on the critical topics of diversity, inclusion, and allyship.
Virtual Event: Leadership vs. Management
5/16/24: Sam McPherson, leadership and lean management system expert, shared his insights on what it takes to lead and develop a leadership pipeline capable of Leading Excellence in organizations during this webinar. Sam drew extensively from his expert knowledge of the Toyota Production System.
Virtual Event: The Electric Vehicle Revolution
5/1/24: The leading car manufacturing firms have all essentially pledged to transition from traditional carbon dioxide-emitting vehicles to battery-powered electric vehicles. In this session, Professor Ken Boyer examined the promise, perils, and personalities of the world’s automobile makers as they re-engineer a post-carbon present and future. Attendees gained a greater understanding of how the Gears of Change are influencing Tesla, Honda, and beyond.
Virtual Event: The Integral Leadership Model
3/20/24: In this webinar, David Veech organized a set of key leader behaviors into an Integral Leadership Model and offered strategies and tools to help leaders become the leaders we need them to be. This session wove together elements of servant leadership, level-5 leadership, short-interval leadership, and charismatic leadership and discuss a 6-step approach to help us craft more effective leader development programs.
Virtual Event: Knowing Where Your Dollars Really Go - Activity-Based Costing
3/13/24: Grange Insurance's Kevin Yania and Anna Sturgeon drew from their experience with Activity-Based Costing to describe what a tool traditionally used in the manufacturing industry can offer in an office setting. They walked through a call center use case for Activity-Based Costing and shared how to apply these learnings to your organizational design with a Lean Six Sigma mindset.
Virtual Event: Streamlining Success with Lean Product & Process Development
2/21/24: Lean product and process development (LPPD) is a management philosophy and set of principles that emphasize creating value for the customer while minimizing waste in the product development process. In this webinar, Frank Paluch and Lara Harrington explored how LPPD provides an essential framework for achieving OpEx, driving innovation, and fostering seamless collaboration across the product development lifecycle.