Why They Fail ... and the Simple Key to Success!

Bad cultures with bad leaders do not fix themselves. They buy their way out. A new warehouse management system. A bigger facility. An expensive digital platform. The same chaos, now running on software that costs a fortune. In this episode of the Why They Fail Podcast, Kevin Clay sits down with Ben Harmsen. Ben is a military veteran with twelve years at Chrysler during the historic Daimler-Benz me...

Over 90% of corporate deployments fail within eighteen months. One of the most common reasons is the creation of continuous improvement silos. When process improvement is locked inside a single department or treated as a leadership checklist, cultural transformation becomes impossible. In this episode of the Why They Fail Podcast, Kevin Clay sits down with Emilio Natalio, a retired military aviato...

Gen Z Grit: How Cheer Stunts Breed Future CEOs   Welcome to another episode of Why They Fail. In this episode, we tackle an exciting angle on organizational health:  gen z leadership development . Many corporate leaders wonder how the next generation will handle complex business dynamics. However, looking at the discipline required in competitive youth environments reveals a clear trend. This epis...

Inside Amazon: Why Process Engineers Are Guides, Not Sages Most companies build their continuous improvement programs the wrong way. They train a single green belt or black belt and expect that one person to fix everything. However, studying Six Sigma principles in Amazon's operations reveals a completely different model. At Amazon, process engineers do not own the solutions. Instead, they build t...

Beyond the Shiny Kanban: Driving a Real EBITDA Explosion Most business leaders believe they are running a lean operation. However, if your Kanban cards are still moving to the beat of unstable MRP lead times, you are not pulling. You are running a heavily masked push system. Implementing true pull system vs push operations is what separates an 11% EBITDA crawl from a 30% to 200% financial explosio...

Why Continuous Improvement Leaders Pick Crap Projects Most continuous improvement programs fail within 18 months. The reason is almost always the same: leadership started by avoiding bad Six Sigma projects the wrong way. Instead of using data, they used gut feeling. In this episode of the Why They Fail Podcast, host Kevin Clay sits down with 40-year CI veteran Wade Harper. Together, they expose th...

Fear and Loathing: The Danger of Numerical Goals In this episode of the Why They Fail Podcast , we take on one of the biggest traps in modern management: the obsession with numerical goals. Dr. W. Edwards Deming warned against this decades ago in his famous Point 11, which calls for the elimination of management by objectives. Today, those warnings still apply. Our guest is John Dyer , bestselling...

How Lean Six Sigma Transformed a City Govt.  Can Lean Six Sigma principles truly revolutionize municipal operations? This episode delves into the remarkable success story of Fort Wayne, Indiana , exploring how  continuous improvement in city government  led to over $30 million in savings and drastically improved public services. Join host Kevin Clay as he interviews Graham Richard , the former may...

Continuous Improvement at Danone: The Shotgun Approach  Welcome to our latest episode! We dive into Continuous Improvement at Danone, a global leader that embeds operational excellence into its culture. In this episode, I talk with Cici Haines, Danone’s Continuous Improvement Manager, who shares insights from her 20-year journey. We explore their “shotgun approach.” Hundreds of employees tackle bo...

Shainin and Six Sigma: It All Comes Down to Leadership Welcome to another episode of Why They Fail . In this episode, we explore the heart of every successful continuous improvement effort: leadership. Many companies invest in Lean Six Sigma or the Shainin Red X method, yet most fail to sustain progress. The reason is rarely the tools. It is almost always the leadership behind them. We sit down wi...

Cracking the Code of a Continuous Improvement Culture  Building a lasting continuous improvement culture is one of the biggest challenges for any company. Studies show that more than 90% of these efforts fail or fade within 18 months. This happens not because of the tools but because teams misunderstand what it really takes to build a culture that lasts. Many companies chase quick fixes or depend...

Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare: Lessons from Eddie Conklin Welcome to the latest episode of Why They Fail podcast. In this episode, host Kevin Clay speaks with Eddie Conklin , a veteran of continuous improvement with over 40 years of experience in both manufacturing and healthcare . Eddie shares how early lessons from factory floors shaped the way he now transforms operating rooms, sterile cores, an...

Shainin: The Problem-Solving Method You Haven't Heard Of Welcome to the show notes for the "Why They Fail" podcast. In this episode, host Kevin Clay introduces a powerful and lesser-known precursor to Six Sigma. He sits down with Brian St. Pierre, an expert in Shainin Red X Problem Solving, to explore this unique methodology. You’ll learn how this approach has been a game-changer in various indust...

"Lip Service" Leadership in Six Sigma: Why CI Efforts Fail  Have you ever been part of a promising continuous improvement initiative that just... fizzled out? The energy was high, the goals were set, but somewhere along the way, it lost steam and failed to deliver results. The problem often isn't the methodology or the team; it's a destructive pattern known as  "lip service" leadership in Six Sigm...

Army Six Sigma Black Belt Project Eliminates Waste In this episode of Why They Fail, host Kevin Clay speaks with U.S. Army Officer Edriece Patterson about his Army Six Sigma Black Belt project. The discussion highlights how Lean Six Sigma methodologies solve complex non-manufacturing challenges inside a military environment. Edriece, a West Point graduate, recognized a chance to address the Army’s...

Stop 'Doing' Six Sigma (and Start Actually Fixing Things!) Tired of watching continuous improvement efforts fall flat? In this powerful episode of "Why They Fail," host Kevin Clay sits down with the legendary six sigma pioneer Mike Carnell , who was there for its genesis at Motorola. If you feel like your company is just going through the motions of Lean Six Sigma without seeing real results, this...

Why They Fail!, Episode #6 - LEAN "Snake Oil", the LEAN Only Approach Welcome back to "Why They Fail," the podcast that dissects the real reasons continuous improvement initiatives don't last. In this episode, host Kevin Clay tackles a pervasive and damaging trend he calls LEAN Snake Oil . Have you been told that LEAN is the one and only answer to your business problems? Have consultants promised...

Why They Fail!, Episode #5 - The "One-Hit Wonders" Have you ever watched your company invest heavily in training Lean Six Sigma Green Belts, only to see their impact vanish after one project? In this episode, host Kevin Clay examines this costly “one-hit wonder” syndrome. He explains why organizations train these champions then accidentally sideline them, derailing continuous improvement from the...

Why They Fail!, Episode #4 - "Why Capability?..." Welcome to "Why They Fail," the podcast that dissects the downfall of continuous improvement initiatives. Your host, Kevin Clay, a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with over 25 years of experience and a mentor at Six Sigma Development Solutions, is here to deliver an unfiltered look at why so many continuous improvement efforts falter. We're not su...

  Why They Fail!, Episode #3 – Beware of the Paper Belt! Welcome to “Why They Fail,” the podcast that dissects why continuous improvement efforts often derail. Your host, Kevin Clay, a seasoned Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, is here to expose the truth behind leadership agendas and short-sighted decisions that cripple CI projects. In this unfiltered episode, we tackle a critical and infuriating...

Why They Fail!, Episode #2 – Is Your CI Just a “Fad Diet”? Welcome to “Why They Fail,” the podcast that meticulously examines the reasons behind continuous improvement failures and offers a blueprint for lasting success! In this episode, titled “ Is Your Continuous Improvement Program Just a “Fad Diet” for Your Business? “your host, Kevin Clay, a seasoned Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, delves i...

Why They Fail! Podcast, Episode #1 - Why CI Efforts Fail. Welcome to the very first episode of "WTF!" - Why They Fail! Join host Kevin Clay, a seasoned Master Black Belt and President of Six Sigma Development Solutions, Inc., as he pulls back the curtain on the frustrating reality: over 90% of Continuous Improvement (CI) efforts ultimately fail. Forget motivational fluff. This podcast dives headfi...