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Many of our Executive Education students find themselves in point of their careers where they may be making a transition, whether it's a transition of roles or a transition of industry. Anna Morris, associate director for executive education degree programs, sat down with three staff members from The James Comprehensive Cancer Center to discuss how they transitioned from using their operational excellence skills within industry to healthcare. Listen to hear how they have been able to not only successfully translate those skills, but also have a great impact on patient care.

Episode 47: Transitioning from Industry to Healthcare

In this episode, Professor Jurriaan de Jong moderates a discussion with Professors Keely Croxton and John Gray, around managing supply chains post-pandemic, and how we can best prepare for future interruptions. This podcast was recorded during a live event, and questions are presented throughout the conversation from audience members.

Episode 48: Managing Supply Chains after the Pandemic

In this episode, Aravind sits down with Scott Howell who recently stepped down as Chief Strategy Officer, US Pharmaceuticals at Novartis.  Scott reflects on his time in industry, and the many lessons he learned about leadership and good decision making.

Episode 50: Leadership Lessons in Healthcare

In this episode, Aravind sits down with Jennifer Dauer, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. During the conversation Jennifer shares about her career path, from spending 26 years of her career in consumer goods with Procter and Gamble, to then shifting her transformational leadership efforts to healthcare, with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and now at Ohio State.

Episode 53: Transformational Leadership

How does a government shutdown affect the operations at the John Glenn International airport? What about an approaching snow storm? This episode, we'll sit down with Charles Goodwin, director of airport operations at Columbus Regional Airport Authority and MBOE class of 2012, who will discuss how lean thinking and standard work allow for smooth operations even during a time of uncertainty.

Episode 1: Lean Thinking at the Columbus Regional Airport Authority

Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Steffanie Wilk, will join us this week to talk about diversity and inclusion in organizations, and how the lack of diversity may affect your operations.

This story covers activity that took place before June 27, 2025, when Ohio Senate Bill 1 took effect. Fisher College of Business has discontinued diversity, equity and inclusion activities in compliance with the law.

Episode 3: Diversity and Inclusion

To celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, Aravind sat down with Dr. Susan Moffatt-Bruce, executive director of University Hospital and professor of surgery. Dr. Moffatt-Bruce shares her journey from clinician to senior-level administrator, and her advice to others who are looking to grow as an individual and as a leader.

This story covers activity that took place before June 27, 2025, when Ohio Senate Bill 1 took effect. Fisher College of Business has discontinued diversity, equity and inclusion activities in compliance with the law.

Episode 4: Women in Leadership

This week, Thomas Goldsby, professor of logistics at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, sits down with Aravind to discuss the retail revolution and how retailers aren't able to survive if they're not willing to adapt to new consumer demands.

Episode 5: Retail Revolution

Dr. David Rushlow, chief medical officer at Mayo Health Systems Southwest Wisconsin region and MBOE alumnus, speaks with Aravind about how adding 5-10 minute daily care team huddles has proven to be incredibly effective in improving performance in patient safety, quality and satisfaction.

Episode 7: Daily Huddles at Mayo Clinic

The Center for Operational Excellence at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business works alongside their members to foster a problem-solving culture that’s grounded in tried-and-true operational excellence tools, and that’s constant and far-reaching. This week Aravind sits down with Kelly Reo, executive director, and Matt Burns, associate director of marketing, to learn more about the mission of COE and how they're helping companies in and outside Central Ohio.

Episode 6: Center for Operational Excellence

Why do we struggle with learning and how can we improve? Dr. Bradley Staats, professor of operations at University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, sat down with Aravind to discuss learnings from his book, Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive.

Episode 8: Never Stop Learning

Ellis Jones, senior director of global environment, health, safety and sustainability for Goodyear, and MBOE alumnus, sat down with Aravind to discuss strategy deployment and how he's used principles of Operational Excellence within his role.

Episode 9: Strategy Deployment: Structure, Environment, Capability

What's the best way to build and manage a team? Dr. Tanya Menon, associate professor at Fisher, sits down with Aravind to discuss team building, micro- vs. macro-managing, office space layouts, brainstorming and more. Dr. Menon conducts research on decision making, influence, culture, teals and networks, and she's been cited in various media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Episode 10: Managing Effective Teams

Foodbank operations go beyond providing meals to those in need. Matt Habash, president and CEO of Mid-Ohio Foodbank, sits down with Aravind to discuss how foodbanks are transforming, and how providing regular access to fresh food is positively affecting healthcare costs and outcomes. Mid-Ohio Foodbank is changing the way customers talk and think about their services, so more people will access the help they provide. The Mid-Ohio Foodbank has been around over 40 years with a mission to end hunger one nourishing meal at a time.

Episode 11: The Changing Operations at Mid-Ohio Foodbank

Dr. James Hill, associate professor of management sciences at Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, sat down with Aravind to discuss the challenges faced by minority owned business leaders and how Ohio State is trying to bridge the gap through executive education. The new Minority Business Enterprise Middle Market Executive Education  provides training and development highlighting aspects of operational excellence and leadership behaviors, which are essential for successfully executing change and furthering innovation into the future.

Episode 13: Preparing Minority Business Leaders for Tomorrow's Challenges

Bethany Melitz grew up with lean and now serves as the Director of Lean (Continuous Improvement) for the City of Detroit. She sat down with Aravind to share the various initiatives happening in Detroit and how they are getting the community involved with the city's comeback. Bethany and her "lean team" are making a big impact from everything to road conditions to job placement.

Episode 15: Lean Transformation in Detroit

Spine problems are a costly issue world-wide due to the lack of understanding of the definitive cause of pain for each patient. Bill Marras, executive director and scientific director of the Spine Research Institute sat down with Aravind to discuss how they are using an operational excellence approach to solve this problem. The Spine Research Institute is using objective engineering techniques to nail down specific problems causing back pain in order to create individualized and direct treatment plans, resulting in less time and money used to provide the patient with relief.

Episode 16: The Spine Institute

At first glance, structured approaches seem incompatible with creative problem-solving approaches. This week, Dr. Elliot Bendoly, distinguished professor of management sciences, sits down to harmonize these two tools and give managers a framework for high-performance problem solving.

Episode 23: Structure within Creativity

There's a Better Way is a podcast series focused on exploring how business principles can provide solutions in your personal and professional life. Each episode, Dr. Aravind Chandrasekaran, professor and associate dean, will sit down with a prominent expert or faculty leader to discuss problems we all face in our world today. This program is brought to you by The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business.