Lean Focus Podcast

Envista didn't start from scratch. The company was born out of Danaher. The tools were there. The playbook was there. The talent was there. And that's what makes this story so fascinating.   In Episode 11 of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with Brian Huh, Vice President of the Envista Business System Office, to explore what happens when a company that deeply understands Lean slowly d...

Fluke didn't have a performance problem. It had a future problem.   In Episode 10 of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with Wes Pringle, CEO of Evident Scientific, to unpack how one of the most respected industrial brands in the world made a high-stakes decision: reinvent the business while it was still winning.   At the time, Fluke was the clear leader in handheld industrial test tool...

GE Aerospace is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft.  At any given time, there are approximately one million* people flying on GE Aerospace-powered aircraft.   In Episode 9 of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with  Phil Wickler, Chief Transformation Officer at GE Aerospace...

Most companies think Finance reports performance. The best companies know Finance should drive it. In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with  Mark Dyas, CFO of Lighteum Medical , to discuss what happens when a Lean-thinking CFO stops acting like a scorekeeper and starts operating as the connective tissue of the business. Mark has led transformation across public compani...

FuelCell Energy has been a pioneer in clean energy for more than 50 years. But legacy, mission, and breakthrough technology alone don't ensure longevity. In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with Jason Few, President & CEO of FuelCell Energy, to tell the story of a transformation driven not by crisis—but by clarity. Jason reflects on a hard truth he recognized early in...

How do you transform a company that isn't broken? In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, host Damon Baker sits down with John Adams, CEO of Magnum Manufacturing, to explore the most overlooked leadership challenge in business today: evolving a company that's already winning. When John stepped into the role, Magnum was strong, profitable, and respected — but the momentum was fading. The company...

What happens when Human Resources — not Operations — leads the Lean transformation?   In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast , host  Damon Baker  sits down with  Rich Trojan , Chief Human Resources Officer at  Holland LP , to explore how a people-first function became the driving force behind one of the most successful lean turnarounds in recent years.   When Rich joined Holland, the company wa...

When most people hear "Lean," they think factories, assembly lines, and manufacturing systems. But in this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, host Damon Baker sits down with Martyn Etherington, Chief Marketing Officer of BMC Software, to explore how Lean principles can transform one of the least expected functions in business: marketing. Martyn is a transformation-driven Chief Marketing Officer wh...

What happens when you're asked to build a challenger brand inside a Fortune 500 company — and the stakes couldn't be higher? In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with Eric Conley, CEO of Chase Corporation, to unpack one of the most extraordinary growth stories in medtech: the launch and scale of Spark, Envista's answer to Align Technology's Invisalign. Eric didn't inher...

How do you create a sense of urgency when there's no crisis?   In this episode of the  Lean Focus Podcast , Damon Baker sits down with  Bret Snyder , CEO of  W. L. Gore & Associates , to explore what it takes to lead transformation inside one of the world's most admired companies — when everything  looks fine from the outside. For decades, Gore thrived on its legendary innovations like GORE-TEX® F...

In this premiere episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, host Damon Baker sits down with Fawaz Khalil, CEO of ModusLink, a Steel Partners company, to explore one of the most compelling turnaround stories in recent years. When Fawaz took the helm, ModusLink was on life support—revenues were half of what they once were, the company hadn't turned a profit in over a decade, and customer confidence was shat...