Operational Excellence Mixtape: AI, Leadership, and Improvement

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News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace better.

This week's Operational Excellence Mixtape connects stories from EY, Williams Racing, hospitals, and aviation around a common problem: organizations often know less than their people do. The issue is whether leaders redesign the work, surface what employees know, and create the conditions for that knowledge to turn into improvement.

Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation

AI transformation requires redesigning work – not cutting roles

When it comes to AI, stop leading with headcount reductions. Many organizations jumped the gun in 2026 under the guise of AI-related productivity gains. Only 8.4% of 600 HR leaders recently surveyed said that restructuring had delivered on expectations. The cause? Most are starting from a basic goal of reducing headcount rather than improving the work. If you really want to improve, start with the process.

A lot of the most important data isn't written down. Here's what to do about it

LLMs can only learn from the data provided to them. But if most of the important job information is tacit or verbal, then our models may be missing out on the most important data to learn from. Organizations that close this gap will create an intelligence advantage based on what their workers know – rather than what is written.

The “dark cockpit” and what aviation can teach lean leaders

Aviation is often ahead of other industries when it comes to safety and human factors design. Captain Alexandre Gandini shares how the evolution of controls, automation, standardization, and accountability in aviation has improved resilience.

4 proven tactics for improving quality in healthcare

Hospitals are teeming with great ideas and talented professionals. The real challenge for leaders is figuring out how to harness the collective innovative spirit and put it towards improving patient outcomes. From 3-D printing to cross-functional safety initiatives, here are 4 hospitals driving improvement and innovation in healthcare.

Creating a Culture of Improvement

The formula for transformation? Brutal honesty

“Take risks and I'll be by your side when you do it. Fail and I'll be by your side when you do it.” This is what James Vowles, team principal of Atlassian Williams Racing Team said about building the right culture to turn around a struggling team. Learn more about Vowles' approach to brutal honesty and continuous improvement in this article, or listen to this episode of the WSJ Leadership Institute Presents: James Vowles on Rebuilding Williams Racing and the Formula for Transformation.

EY giving $100 million in bonuses for “human skills”

Organizations that create lasting cultures of operational excellence know that cultivating problem solving, curiosity, critical thinking, and collaboration far outweighs output and tools. With AI driving the cost of average quality output and tools to near zero, Ernst & Young is addressing the risk of losing critical thinking capabilities by providing bonuses for employees who put their critical thinking to good use.

24 processes that leaders have simplified

Traditionally, lean thinking has focused on waste in work systems. But there's never been any shortage of waste in management systems, and AI continues to expose it. Even I have written on the topic many times over the years. AI is making it easier for administrative professionals and leaders to simplify their work. Here are two dozen processes that members of the Fast Company Executive Board have improved.

Coaching – Developing Self & Others

The one trait successful people have in common

Angela Duckworth, best-selling author of a 2016 favourite, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, shares what she says is the one trait that all successful people have in common (and it's not grit).

Coaching questions that work

Sometimes we just need the right question to snap out of a cycle of frustration and judgment. Self-proclaimed leadership freak Dan Rockwell shares some coaching questions that help people see themselves more clearly.

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