How a COO Eliminates Waste Without Losing the Human Touch

What happens when you take manufacturing efficiency principles and apply them to an industry built on human care? Most leaders would say it's impossible. Alen, COO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, proved them wrong. In this episode, Alen reveals how he's using Lean methodology to standardize processes across one of the nation's leading healthcare systems—without turning patients into numbers or doctors into robots. What You'll Learn: The Lean Healthcare Paradox How Cedars-Sinai Medical Network reduces waste and inefficiency while maintaining deeply personalized patient care. Alen breaks down the systems that allow standardization and customization to coexist. The Resistance Turnaround Alen shares a powerful story about implementing a change that employees initially hated. Instead of pushing harder, he did something counterintuitive—he listened. What happened next transformed not just the process, but the culture around change itself. The CEO Who Changed Everything Learn about the former CEO who mentored Alen and demonstrated that even in massive organizations, leaders can make genuine personal connections. This isn't soft skills fluff—it's a systematic approach to building trust at scale. Listening Rounds That Actually Work Alen reveals his system for staying connected with frontline employees across dozens of clinics. He doesn't just visit randomly—he tracks connections to ensure every employee feels seen. This simple metric has profound implications for engagement and retention. When Feedback Changes the Plan Most leaders say they're open to feedback, but few have systems to actually capture and act on it. Alen walks through a specific example where frontline staff feedback completely changed his implementation approach—and why that made the system stronger. Perfect For: Healthcare leaders struggling to balance efficiency with patient careCOOs and operations executives implementing change in large organizationsBusiness owners who want to bring Lean principles to service-based businessesLeaders who've faced employee resistance and need a better approachAnyone building systems in industries where "the human element" can't be sacrificed Key Quotes: "The frontline staff knew something we didn't. Our job wasn't to convince them we were right. Our job was to listen until we understood what they were seeing." "You can't mandate connection. But you can build systems that make it more likely to happen—and measure whether it's actually happening." Why This Episode Matters: If you've ever thought "systems and processes will make us too rigid" or "our industry is different—we can't standardize," this conversation will challenge everything you believe about the relationship between efficiency and humanity. Alen proves that the right systems don't constrain care—they create the space for it to flourish. Listen now to discover how one of America's leading medical networks eliminates waste, engages employees, and delivers world-class care—all at the same time. Episode Length: 45 minutes Guest: Alen Voskanian, COO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Network Host: Karl Staib, Systematic Leader Want to build systems that improve the customer experience without losing your company's soul? This is the episode you've been waiting for. Learn more about Alen Voskanian over at Reclaiming the Joy of Medicine. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn. You can check out his book (link to Amazon). You can get the Magnetic Systems Method (and other systems guides) to find issues before they become expensive problems As always, if you have any questions or want to submit an amazing guest for the podcast, just reach out to me on the Systematic Leader website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Systematic Leader podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!