Shingo Principles Podcast

Unlock the power of leadership style in shaping the culture and performance of your organization. In this episode, we sit down with Alisha Garrett, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer at Utah Transit Authority, to explore how a leader’s approach influences their teams, their systems, and the overall organizational environment. Alisha shares practical insights from her executive experience—highlighti...

In this session, innovation excellence experts Norbert Majerus and Brian Abraham explore how the Shingo Model extends beyond Lean, serving as a powerful framework for building cultures where creativity and innovation thrive. Challenging the common belief that Lean stifles innovation, the presenters share insights and experiences that reveal the true barrier: organizational culture. After uncoverin...

Discover why culture change often fails—and what it takes to make it stick. Based on the book Leading Enterprise Excellence, this episode uncovers how aligning purpose, engaging people, and executing the right systems can drive sustainable results. You'll explore some of the Shingo Model’s powerful insights into how systems shape behavior and learn practical strategies for building a culture...

This session explores one organization's evolution from industry excellence to Shingo maturity—and ultimately organizational mastery. Participants will examine distinct phases of excellence: industry excellence establishes credibility through measurable performance—quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction—while Shingo excellence deepens that foundation by aligning principles, system...

In this episode, we explore why sustainable continuous improvement depends less on tools and more on people. Using The Gund Company as a case study, we trace its two-decade journey from Lean tool adoption to a deeply embedded, people-centered system grounded in the Shingo Model. You’ll hear how leaders shifted from driving compliance to developing people—integrating respect, humility, and listenin...

Health care organizations are entering a period of significant disruption following the passage of H.R. 1, with deep Medicaid cuts, tighter eligibility requirements, and growing administrative complexity reshaping the care landscape—especially for safety-net providers. This moment raises a critical leadership challenge: how to continue delivering high-quality, safe, and accessible care while doing...

In this episode of the Shingo Back to Basics podcast, Peter Barnett and Nigel Thurlow dive deep into the intersection of technology, Lean practices, and the Shingo Model—and how these elements drive sustainable excellence. Nigel shares two powerful insights: “If you can’t see it, you can’t fix it.” Why is visibility the foundation for solving problems? “Lean has no tools, only behaviors.” What doe...

In this engaging session, Rolando Vargas, Global Director of Organizational Excellence and researcher of NeuroExcellence, reveals how modern management systems can be strengthened by applying insights from neuroscience, neuroeducation, and the Shingo Model. His central message is clear: organizations perform at the speed of human cognition, and leaders can dramatically improve results by designing...

Based on the article “From Observing to Owning: A New Generation’s Perspective on Leading Huddles” by Mark McKenzie and Andrew Martyn, this podcast explores how empowering a Gen Z team member to lead daily huddles transformed them from routine check-ins into meaningful developmental experiences. Andrew shares his journey from passive observation to active leadership and reflects on how trust, humi...

In this episode, Shaun Barker and Mike Martyn explore what it truly means for organizations to redefine excellence. They emphasize that mastery requires a continuous willingness to challenge the status quo—breaking what exists, rebuilding it better, and constantly reimagining the future while honoring the past. As companies push beyond traditional benchmarks, they may find themselves charting a pa...

We kick things off with a fundamental question: If Lean thinking works so well, why aren’t more organizations doing it—and how does the Shingo Model fit into the picture? Our guest, Ravi Uppal, Sr. Manager at Apple Inc., shares his perspective in this quick conversation you won’t want to miss. To learn more about the Shingo Model, please visit https://shingo.org.

Peter Barnett and Lacey Garner, Circana, dive into the uncomfortable but essential topic of failure—what it teaches us, how it shapes us, and why it’s a necessary part of growth. Whether you're leading a team, improving a process, or navigating personal challenges, failure is often the first step toward excellence. To learn more please visit https://shingo.org.

Join members of the Future of People at Work community for a dynamic panel discussion exploring how diverse improvement philosophies can come together to create stronger, more resilient organizations. Drawing on insights from thought leaders such as Shigeo Shingo, Eli Goldratt, and Ryuji Fukuda, the panel will discuss how integrating methods like design for manufacture, total productive maintenanc...

Lean organizations often struggle with declining performance and engagement over time. Solving this requires more than a reductionist approach—it calls for a holistic view of how systems interact and shape new behaviors. In this episode, Ana will share insights from 15 years of Shingo Prize recipient analysis, highlighting the top 10 systems organizations are prioritizing to achieve not only enter...

In this episode, we explore why organizational transformation so often falls short — and how the Shingo Model® provides a roadmap for lasting, principle-driven change. We break down how leaders connect strategy, systems, and culture by creating urgency, translating intent into daily behaviors, measuring success differently, and embedding alignment into everyday work. Whether you’re a senior leader...

In this engaging podcast, Dr. Peter Hines explores how digitization and the Shingo approach can work together to drive meaningful transformation—a topic gaining momentum in both industry and academia. Based on global research supported by the Shingo Institute®, Dr. Hines shares insights from over 1,000 industry responses across 66 countries. The findings reveal a lack of consistent understanding a...

In today’s session Brittany Ogden and Shaun Barker, who oversee the Shingo assessment process will talk about the Shingo Challenge—what it is, who’s eligible, and how to prepare. The Shingo Prize is a prestigious recognition of organizational excellence, grounded in cultural transformation and principle-based behavior. Unlike traditional assessments, Shingo examiners evaluate how deeply the Shingo...

Today’s podcast explores how leaders can thrive in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment by embracing adaptive, principle-based leadership rooted in the Shingo Model ™. Drawing on insights from the book Leading Excellence , the episode introduces the concept of the “5 Hats of the Adaptive Leader”—Inspire, Coach, Teach, Support, and Direct—as practical tools to guide lead...

In today’s episode, we’re exploring a foundational yet often overlooked element of continuous improvement: psychological safety. It's the belief that team members can speak up—about mistakes, concerns, and ideas—without fear of punishment. And it’s not just a “nice-to-have”—it’s a must-have for any organization striving to learn and grow. Drawing insights from The Mistakes That Make Us and th...

Achieving the Shingo Prize or reaching the highest levels of the Shingo Behavioral Scale is a remarkable accomplishment—but it’s not the final destination. The real question is: what comes next? In this episode, we explore the shift from maturity to mastery in organizational excellence. Maturity brings stability and best practices, but mastery breaks boundaries, redefines industries, and sets new...

In this podcast, Robert Martichenko, Shingo Publication recipient and chair of TrailPath Workplace Solutions and founder of LeanCor Supply Chain Group will discuss how we need to truly believe that respect and improvement in our work can be guiding principles for organizational decisions, leadership behaviors, and team member participation. Listeners will learn how an employment environment is ele...

In this podcast, Peter Barnett, Director of Executive Education at the Shingo Institute will cover how coaching can transform your organization’s culture and drive lasting change. In the fast-paced world of continuous improvement, simply teaching problem-solving skills isn’t enough. Coaching is the key to empowering employees, fostering accountability, and unlocking their full potential. We’ll exp...

In this podcast Cheryl Jekiel, a Shingo Faculty Fellow, redefines sustainable learning by addressing why traditional training often fails. With more than 25 years of experience, she highlights key challenges like vague goals and misaligned leadership. Cheryl introduces a practical tool that clarifies expectations, breaks skills into steps, and aligns them with organizational systems. She emphasize...

In this podcast we will be learning from Jay Timms, a seasoned organizational psychologist on "Unleashing Employee Potential: The Key to Organizational Success." In this session, Jay will explore the critical disconnect between how leaders perceive their company culture and how employees actually experience it, shedding light on the significant impact this gap has on productivity and tal...

In this podcast we explore the core idea that behavior change, not belief change, drives Lean transformation. Arnoud Herremans and Norbert Majerus explain how altering the environment to support new behaviors fosters Lean thinking. Using examples from Goodyear's Innovation Centers, the session demonstrates how coaching leaders and creating collaborative systems led to significant improvements...