Shingo Principles Podcast

What if lean isn’t something an organization implements, but something it continually learns to evolve? Join Andrea Furlan and Daryl Powell as they explore why sustainable improvement goes beyond tools and practices. Drawing on evolutionary economics, TPS, and the Shingo Model, they’ll discuss how experimentation, problem-solving, and learning help organizations build lasting capabilities. Discove...

Join us for an engaging conversation exploring the enduring ideas of Shigeo Shingo and the new book Shingo on Shingo . Authors Ken Snyder and Drew Dillon take a fresh look at Shingo’s teachings, challenging common assumptions about operational excellence and examining what leaders can still learn from his work today. The discussion will go beyond familiar tools such as SMED, pokayoke, and just-in-...

What helps some organizations consistently outperform others? In this episode of the Shingo Principles Podcast, Steve Spear, author of Wiring the Winning Organization , explores how leaders can build organizations that solve problems faster, learn continuously, and better use the intelligence of their people. Spear explains how shifting problem solving closer to the point of work can reduce delays...

What does it really mean to respect every individual—and how can leaders turn that principle into everyday practice? In this episode, Josh McEwan, manufacturing research and development director at O.C. Tanner, shares lessons from the organization’s transformation and his own leadership journey. Josh explains how listening to employees, removing obstacles, welcoming diverse perspectives, and givin...

What does it take to create lasting improvement—not just better numbers? In this episode, Danilo Rodriguez Santos, maintenance leader at Vale, shares how the company’s railway maintenance operation in São Luís, Brazil, used the Shingo Model to connect systems, leadership, and people on its journey to receiving Shingo Silver in 2025.   Danilo explores how active listening, leadership humility, dire...

In this Back to Basics episode, Shaun Barker welcomes Virginia Cosgriff, Operational Excellence Director at McGough, for a conversation about transformation, leadership, and continuous improvement across industries. Virginia began her career in healthcare before bringing her industrial engineering expertise to construction. Along the way, she's been "sneakily" applying the Shingo Mo...

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...