Flow Engineering in Action: Insights from Authors Steve Pereira and Andrew Davis #podcast

My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Steve Pereira and Andrew Davis, authors of the new book Flow Engineering: From Value Stream Mapping to Effective Action.

Steve Pereira has spent over two decades improving workflow across various organizations. His experience spans tech support, IT management, platform and infrastructure engineering, product management, and serving as a founding CTO for an enterprise SaaS company. Currently, he is the CEO of Visible Consulting, COO of the Value Stream Management Consortium, and co-founder of the Flow Collective.

Andrew Davis is the Chief Product Officer at AutoRABIT and the author of “Mastering Salesforce DevOps.” With a background as a Salesforce architect, developer, and product leader, Andrew focuses on the human side of software development. He spent 15 years as a Buddhist monk, teaching meditation and personal transformation, and now studies the intersection of business, technology, and psychology through systems thinking.

In this episode, we discuss the principles of flow engineering, the importance of psychological safety in process improvement, and their experiences in writing the book. We also dive into their personal journeys, inspirations from industry giants like Deming and Goldratt, and the challenges and lessons learned in collaborative work. Stay tuned for a deep, insightful conversation on enhancing workflows and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Questions, Notes, and Highlights:

Can you discuss the relationship between making mistakes and learning from a Buddhist perspective, Andrew?

Why do you resonate with figures like Deming, Goldratt, and Ackoff in your improvement work, Steve?

How did you two end up collaborating on the book?

Did you apply flow engineering concepts to the development and writing of the book together?

How did the process of writing the book evolve over time?

What lessons did you learn about collaboration and flow from writing this book?

How does psychological safety impact value stream mapping and flow engineering?

How do you involve workers in process design to avoid negative perceptions of imposed processes?

What challenges did you face in maintaining a regular cadence of work while writing the book?

00:00:08: Introduction to the book "Flow Engineering from Value Stream Mapping to effective action"
00:03:06: Philosophical insights on mistakes and physics
00:07:22: Leadership, systemic problems, and unrealistic goals
00:24:08: Importance of psychological safety
00:38:09: Understanding the flow of work through psychological safety
00:45:27: Applying flow engineering concepts in writing the book

[gospelofchange]

22:00 I heard Charlie Fisher talk about the spread between the plan/process and reality of execution as a form of computational bureaucracy. The energy cost from updating any change of state in documentation. There's a necessity for process mindfulness or literacy AND its easy to note. There will still be some effort. There's an opportunity for reflective journaling in this slot. Spending more energy, rather than less, can build the slack in the system that complex contexts require.