Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: August 7, 2026
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News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace better.
This edition covers AI and improvement work: rethinking fishbone diagrams and SPC, five reasons organizations aren't ready for agentic AI, and a former lululemon CIO on the messy reality of adoption. The culture section features your piece on why “keep the line running” persists in American auto plants, plus Saleh and Dyer on the gap between executive sponsorship and real commitment, and coaching items on Margie Hagene and influencing without authority.
Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation
Your fishbone won't cut it in the AI-world
Hear me out, analog improvement purists: it may finally be time to retire your fishbone diagrams and SPC, or at least rethink the context in which they are still effective. These tools were conceived in an era that didn't contemplate big data, modern networks, and machine learning. AI has created new possibilities for root cause analysis, including advances in complex interpretability and explainability. Here's how to approach root cause analysis in the age of AI.
5 reasons your organization isn't ready for agentic AI
Agentic AI is at the top of the hype heap in 2026. Don't get me wrong, it seems like it has real promise in many applications. But as experienced operational excellence leaders know, it's useful to step back and assess your readiness before investing heavily. Here are five reasons your organization may not be ready to hand over decision-making to AI agents.
AI is still about people and process…for now at least
Most organizations feel like they're behind on AI. Boards and shareholders continue to pressure firms to accelerate the adoption of AI, not only expecting to gain the promised returns but also from fear of falling behind their competitors. So what's going on inside organizations? The former CIO of lululemon shares her experience of a steady stream of pilots while exposing “the slow, expensive work of cleaning up the messy data, complex human decisions, and tangled systems.” AI is a game-changer–but it's not magic.
Creating a Culture of Improvement
“Keep the line running” is hard to quit
Some basic assumptions about production are hard to quit. Quantity over quality. Keep everyone at max capacity. Make the numbers. Over the last several decades, many automotive manufacturers have “fallen in and out of love with quality” many times over. Mark Graban shares what has and hasn't changed about the culture on the shop floors of automakers in America.
Lean Myth: If leadership “sponsors” transformation, they are committed
It's a common trope that you need “C-suite” sponsorship for any organizational transformation. But checking that box is often merely theatre. Many leaders start off with high levels of enthusiasm, but that often wanes as difficult decisions are required or they face profound levels of personal introspection. Real commitment is rare. Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer share an all-too-common four-phase model of executive sponsorship of transformation.
Coaching – Developing Self & Others
Ask a better question
There are a few moments in your career that deliver an “a-ha” that alters your basic assumptions. It happened to me once at a coaching seminar over 15 years ago when I had the “mirror” held up to me about my coaching skills. The person holding this metaphorical mirror was Margie Hagene–an early childhood educator and corporate coach. There's always a better question. If you're looking to truly improve your skills at developing others, listen to Margie Hagene's reflections from a lifetime of coaching on Connecting the Dots.
5 ways to wield influence when you don't have authority
With the pace of change and complexity seemingly increasing in organizations, getting things done with others is no longer optional. But most organizational cultures cling to hierarchical authority models and “chains of command.” So how do you actually get others to move in the same direction when you have no jurisdiction? Here are five ways to wield influence when you lack authority.
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