Blog

Revisiting an Interview of Paul O'Neill, Sr. From 2011

Written by Mark Graban | June 29, 2021

Listen:



Scroll down for a transcript, how to subscribe, and more

Notes:

Welcome to Episode #45 of Habitual Excellence, presented by Value Capture.

Today’s episode is a bit different than our usual interviews and conversations. Today, we are republishing an interview that Mark Graban did in 2011 with the late Paul O’Neill Sr., the former non-executive chair for our firm. he was, of course, so much more than that, (CEO of Alcoa, United States Treasury Secretary, and more), as you’ll hear in this interview that originally appeared as Episode 124 of his Lean Blog Interviews podcast.

In summary, Mr. O'Neill talked about:

  • Leadership mindsets required for dramatic workplace safety and patient safety improvement, including a near 100% reduction in hospital-acquired infections at Pittsburgh's Allegheny General Hospital
  • Why the United States has accomplished “practically nothing” nationally since the famed 1999 Institute of Medicine report “To Err Is Human”
  • Why society's most lacking skill is “leadership”
  • Alternative ways of compensating patients who are harmed by the healthcare system while ensuring real improvements are made by learning from each problem
  • Why leaders in Washington D.C., at the time, should have shifted from “financial engineering” to visiting ThedaCare to learn about “the real way” we should improve health care.

You can also find a full transcript below on this page.

Please check out our free eBooks about the work and wisdom of Mr. O'Neill.

Quotes:

Podcast Main Page:

Click to visit the main Habitual Excellence podcast page.

Subscribe:

To make sure you don't miss an episode, be sure to subscribe today! Please rate and review the podcast.

Transcript