Episodes
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Most organizations measure productivity, absenteeism, and safety incidents without ever asking what all three have in common. Tim Thomas, a former Australian Special Forces soldier turned sleep specialist, argues the answer is sitting in plain sight at the bottom of every performance pyramid. The conversation moves from combat deployments in Afghanistan to corporate boardrooms, and the through line is the same: fatigue is an enemy that most leaders never name. In this episode you’ll learn: How the opposite of fear works and what that means for taking action (3:22) What Special Forces, veteran
Culture shapes how people receive change, and nowhere is that clearer than on a shop floor where history, language, and moral authority all sit alongside the 5S board. Royden Johnson and Luc van Merrienboer bring two distinct lenses to that tension: Royden from years of leading continuous improvement in South Africa, and Luc from rolling out digital transformation across Asia and now the African continent. Their conversation with Ron covers resistance, influence, and what it actually takes to bring people along rather than drag them forward. In this episode you’ll learn: The cultural context o
Trust in leadership has been declining for decades, and Keith Wyche has the research to prove it. A 40-year veteran of AT&T, IBM, and Walmart, Keith opened up to us about a few mistakes he’s made in his career. The real conversation here is what changed him, and what he thinks it will take to reverse the broader collapse. In this episode you’ll learn: How a career spanning AT&T, IBM, and Walmart shapes a leadership philosophy (2:26) Why a 15-year-old’s question became the catalyst for serious research (4:05) How the thirst for power quietly replaced the calling to serve (6:08) What happens whe
Most leaders assume that the right argument, delivered clearly, will change minds. Owen Fitzpatrick has spent 30 years studying why that assumption is wrong. A psychologist who has worked inside some of the world’s most extreme propaganda environments, from North Korea to Rwanda to his own teenage years, Owen brings a framework to this conversation that reframes how belief actually changes. The implications for anyone trying to lead a continuous improvement effort are hard to ignore. In this episode you’ll learn: What the purpose of life being “defeated by greater things” reveals about continu
Most organizations say they want high performers, yet quietly punish them for being too valuable to lose. Kabrina Ashley, a coach and behavioral science practitioner based in Nashville, makes the case that the real barriers to change, growth, and improvement are not strategic, they’re neurological. The conversation covers why good intentions still produce bad outcomes, and what leaders can do differently once they understand what is actually happening inside their employees’ heads. In this episode you’ll learn: How inertia shapes the way people respond to change (8:57) What the high performers
Something fundamental has shifted in how people relate to work, and most leaders are still operating from a story that the workforce has already left behind. Jonathan David Lewis, president of brand strategy firm McKee Wallwork and author of The Rebuilders, makes the case that the old shared narrative of careers, retirement, and institutional trust has fractured. What comes next depends entirely on whether leaders choose to rebuild it. In this episode you’ll learn: What forgetting obvious things costs a leader over time (2:34) Why Jonathan wrote a daily reader instead of a conventional leaders
Most organizations spend enormous energy developing leaders and almost none developing teammates. Stanford Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach Eric Reveno has spent 30 years watching what actually determines whether a team wins or collapses, and his answer is not the coach. The conversation moves from college basketball to NIL compensation to Michael Jordan to what you should do first when you walk into a struggling team. The thread running through all of it is the same uncomfortable idea: the people in the room are more responsible for the culture than anyone standing at the front of it. In
Most leaders think their biggest risk is making the wrong call. Cornelia Choe argues the real danger comes earlier, when a leader stops questioning the mental map they’re using to make calls in the first place. In her book The Panoramic Leader, co-authored with Marshall Goldsmith, Cornelia builds a case that continuous change has made the old leadership playbook obsolete. The world stopped being a predictable highway, and too many leaders are still staring at the rearview mirror. In this episode you’ll learn: What the quote “Achievement is all about me, but leadership is all about them” really
A suppressor manufacturer in Utah started its lean transformation about a year ago. Twelve months later, inventory turns had doubled, changeover time dropped from 3.5 hours to 9 minutes, and a rollout planned for a year got compressed to three months. Slaytor Baldwin, Director of Operations at SilencerCo, joined Ron Pereira to walk through exactly how that happened, including the five years of failed starts that preceded it and what finally changed. In this episode you’ll learn: How a single cell pilot compressed a year-long rollout into three months (0:00) What starting a career inside a lean
Confidence and arrogance can look identical from the outside. George Barrios has spent a career in rooms where the difference mattered, from running a semiconductor division at 29 to co-leading a $20 billion merger between WWE and UFC. His book, Sometimes Wrong, But Never in Doubt, started as a phrase buried in a performance review and grew into a full operating philosophy about where real conviction comes from. The answer is less inspiring than most people want to hear, and more actionable than most people expect. In this episode you’ll learn: What “chip on shoulder equals chips in pocket” me
Most organizations have the systems. They have the processes, the KPIs, the structured meetings, the strategic plans. And they are still stuck. Norman Wolfe has spent decades helping leadership teams understand why, and the answer keeps coming back to something the org chart cannot capture. The beliefs, priorities, and unspoken assumptions that shape how departments actually behave are running the show, often invisibly. In this episode you'll learn: Why a quote about paradigms became the lens for Norman's entire career (3:03) Why strong systems alone are not enough to fix execution problems (1
Most people trying to improve their lives are doing it without a clear picture of what they are building toward. For Joel Steele, a near-miss with prison forced him to start making different choices. His book "Life Switch" grows out of that turning point, and the framework he describes maps surprisingly well onto the tools that continuous improvement professionals use every day. In this episode you'll learn: Why progress builds momentum faster than motivation alone (0:02) The quote Joel likes (3:19) How focus shapes the direction of everything you do (4:09) What a near-death experience reveals
Most continuous improvement practitioners are trained to prize logic and treat emotion as noise in the system. D. Earl Johnston spent nine years and thousands of research hours across twelve disciplines discovering that framing is backward. His book, "Choosing Emotions," grew out of a father-daughter moment involving depression, post-it notes, and a single powerful text message. What came out of that work challenges something most leaders have never stopped to question. In this episode you'll learn: What Winston Churchill's 8 words reveal about how emotions work (3:14) How a father-daughter di
This week's guest is Ben Hansen. Ron and Ben discussed how Ben helps companies improve their profit margins, dealing with "profititis," shifting your focus from revenue to profitability, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: Ben's quote (2:23) His background (3:59) How Ben helps companies double their profits (6:57) The most common "profit leaks" (9:28) An example using a manufacturing facility (20:17) About "profititis" (23:29) How you address it (26:05) Shifting the focus from revenue to profitability (27:38) Ben's though
This week's guest is Andy Olrich. Ron and Andy discussed the roles of people and tools in continuous improvement, what NOT to do when building a lean culture, teaching younger generations, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: The quote Andy likes (3:40) His background (4:25) Andy's "Aha" moment when it comes to lean (13:33) How his perspective has changed (16:58) What not to do when building a culture of lean (22:47) Andy's work with younger generations (29:28) His advice for those just getting started (39:08) Podcast Reso
This week's guest is Chris Libutti. Ron and Chris discussed Chris and his wife Yamila's book, "Performance Unleashed," his time in the military, the importance of self-discipline, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: The quote Chris likes (2:29) His background (4:08) About his time in the military (8:46) What Chris is most proud of (12:42) His transition to college (14:01) About Chris's book (18:42) The importance of self-discipline (26:39) Chris's final words of wisdom (32:43) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download thi
This week's guest is Michael Parent. Ron and Michael discussed an interesting AI conundrum, the impact that systems and design have on performance, Michael's Tetris experiment, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: Michael's quote (3:03) Ron's LinkedIn poll on AI (4:32) About Michael's background (8:11) His thoughts on system and design (10:58) What's happening with high performers (14:09) How Michael uses Tetris (17:40) What the lessons learned were/are (22:18) How often Michael sees these design problems (24:52) His final
This week's guest is Shahab Shah. Ron and Shahab discussed the importance of balancing human empathy with the demands of reality, why tone matters, first steps for making improvements, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: Shahab's favorite quote (2:25) His background (4:17) What was the most influential (6:23) What Shahab is looking for when first entering a manufacturing plant (8:26) His first steps for making improvements (13:50) Balancing human empathy with reality (16:01) Why tone matters (25:08) How Shahab handles exp
This week's guest is Pete Behrens. Ron and Pete discussed Pete's book, "Into the Fog," what it means for leaders to face uncertainty, why leadership is like cooking, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: Pete's quote (2:10) His background (3:15) Why people are the biggest source of variability (6:57) What Pete means by "into the fog" (9:50) Pete's approach (14:14) What's better than sitting still (17:59) Why leadership is like cooking (22:07) The constraints Pete is seeing (28:41) Pete's final words of wisdom (32:32) Podcas
This week's guest is Brian Meyers. Ron and Brian discussed the heart-stopping story of how Brian's facility caught fire, the profound difference lean made in saving it, what "unwavering commitment" means, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: The quote Brian likes (4:16) His background (5:35) The fire at Brian's factory (8:40) How lean saved the day (15:14) How they moved forward (17:04) The emotions Brian felt that day (18:48) Unwavering commitment (22:57) His final words of wisdom (26:55) Podcast Resources Right Click to
This week's guest is Kristin Kielich. Ron and Kristin discussed Kristin's experiences with continuous improvement in education, dealing with resistance, measuring success, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: The quote Kristin likes (2:51) Her background (4:03) About Kristin's personal lean journey (11:48) Dealing with resistance (14:13) How the UC system uses Value Stream Mapping (19:01) How their team is structured (21:23) Measuring success (27:39) Her final words of wisdom (31:03) Podcast Resources Right Click to Downlo
This week's guest is Randall Dupre. Ron and Randall discussed Randall's book, "Everyday Lean," the kinds of mistakes Randall sees people making, what good leadership looks like, his favorite lean principles, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: Randall's quote (2:46) His background (3:12) Why he left the corporate world (6:22) Why he wrote his book (8:38) The mistakes people are making (9:39) An example of good leadership (12:33) His favorite lean principles (14:55) A hard lesson he had to learn (20:06) Randall's final wor
This week's guest is Dean Svarc. Ron and Dean discussed Dean's book, "Trojan Horse," navigating hidden threats, why culture matters, the mistakes leaders make, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: The quote that inspires Dean (2:33) His background (3:05) Why he wrote his book (4:08) What it's about (5:18) What the "hidden threats" are (6:25) Why culture matters (7:33) Some examples (8:37) A success story (10:51) Some of the mistakes Dean sees leaders make (13:28) What he's trying to instill in leaders (14:54) The mindset s
This week's guest is Ashley Herd. Ron and Ashley discussed Ashley's Pause, Consider, Act Framework, the concept of a career quilt, micromanagement, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: Ashley's background (3:36) Her favorite quote (5:08) About the Pause Consider Act framework (9:53) Why "Pause" is the most difficult (13:04) The PDCA framework (15:04) What a "career quilt" is (15:42) Her advice for young professionals (18:15) Ashley's thoughts on micromanagement (20:49) About her "Great Minds Overthink Alike" sign (25:19) A
This week's guest is Adam Lawrence. Ron and Adam discussed Adam's Wheel of Sustainability, the importance of continuously improving, what his Sustainability System assessment is trying to solve, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn: The quote Adam likes (2:41) His background (3:32) The Wheel of Sustainability (4:22) Why he created the system (6:48) A case study of how Adam has seen it work (7:33) The importance of continuously improving (9:20) What Adam's assessment is trying to solve (12:16) The feedback he's gotten (17:29
