Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership

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 (11:39) How departments behave like people and why that changes everything (15:00) What it actually looks like to surface and resolve a context conflict between departments (19:21) Three lenses leaders can use to see what is really blocking performance (24:50) What Norman would tell his younger self about building a lasting career (28:19) Why developing organizational maturity matters as much as optimizing processes (30:33) “Change the paradigm and what was difficult and almost impossible in one becomes easy and simple in another.” – Norman Wolfe Keep Learning If the gap between your organization’s systems and its actual execution sounds familiar, the School of Leadership can help you build the skills to work on both the visible and invisible forces shaping your team’s behavior. Learn More About School of Leadership at gembaacademy.com/leadership Podcast Resources Norman on LinkedIn Norman’s Website Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Stay current on new courses, podcast episodes, and continuous improvement resources. Sign up for the Gemba Academy newsletter at gembaacademy.com/news What Do You Think? When you look at the persistent friction between departments in your organization, does it look more like a process problem or a context problem?

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 dinner became a 9-year research project on emotions (3:57) The three most common misunderstandings people have about emotions (11:40) Why doom scrolling is an emotionally driven navigation, not a bad habit (16:56) What ego actually is and why most high-performers misunderstand it (19:12) Why trauma persists until you find the words to describe it (22:00) How naming an emotion releases its grip on your behavior (26:11) What neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett says about emotional vocabulary (28:05) How an emotionary differs from an ordinary dictionary (31:13) Why making friends with your emotions makes life easier (32:13) Keep Learning If the idea that naming an emotion is the first step to solving a problem resonates with how you think about coaching and people development, the School of Leadership builds on exactly that kind of human-centered foundation. Podcast Resources “Choosing Emotions” Choosing Emotions Website Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Stay current on new courses, podcast episodes, and continuous improvement resources. Sign up for the Gemba Academy newsletter at gembaacademy.com/news What Do You Think? Where in your work do you see emotional vocabulary, or the lack of it, affecting how problems get solved?

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 thoughts on accounting (32:05) Separating the signal from the noise (36:09) Ben’s parting thoughts (37:24) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Ben on LinkedIn Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? Has your business ever suffered from profit leaks or profititis? How did you know?

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 Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Andy on LinkedIn The Lean Solutions Podcast Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? What was your lean “Aha” moment?

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 this Podcast as an MP3 Performance Unleashed Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? How do you practice self-discipline?

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 words of wisdom (27:52) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Michael’s Substack Michael on LinkedIn Ron’s LinkedIn Poll on AI GA 339 | Applying Lean and Six Sigma to Human Resources GA 423 | Lean and Human-Centered Design The Red Bead Experiment Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? What are your thoughts on Michael’s Tetris experiment?

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 expectations (31:06) Shahab’s final words of wisdom (42:46) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Shahab on LinkedIn Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? Why else does tone matter?