GE was in bad enough shape in 2018 that investor Nelson Peltz says he was sure the company would end up in Chapter 11. Inside GE, meanwhile, business reviews were full of good news. Both things were true at the…
TL;DR: In a 1993 speech, Toyota leader Fujio Cho said organizations can create their own Lean systems, but success depends on three principles: leaders going to the gemba, asking “why” to learn from problems, and respecting and motivating people —…
TL;DR: Larry Culp’s GE Aerospace CEO letter is a rare example of Lean leadership in practice, showing how safety, Respect for People, and small frontline improvements–not slogans or dashboards–create measurable operational and financial results. Most annual reports and shareholder letters…
Ray Zinn argues that effective leadership isn’t about failing fast, but about learning from mistakes by acknowledging them quickly, fixing them early, and not repeating what already doesn’t work. I recently had the pleasure of hosting Ray Zinn on the…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape focuses on what real, sustainable improvement actually requires: leadership commitment, respect for people, and disciplined learning over time. From reframing “continuous improvement” as everyday improvement, to lessons from Larry Culp’s lived Lean…
TL;DR Larry Culp, CEO of GE Aerospace, shows that Lean leadership isn’t about tools or slogans–it’s about daily behaviors. By grounding Lean in safety, respect for people, and continuous improvement, Culp practices kaizen at every level, including his own role…
Lessons from my book The Mistakes That Make Us, plus conversations with Phillip Cantrell and Damon Lembi One of the central themes in my book, The Mistakes That Make Us, is the shift leaders must make from needing to be right to being willing…
tl;dr: A healthcare CEO explains how Process Behavior Charts replaced reactive metric debates with clarity, trust, and focused improvement by separating signal from noise. “Every month, we’re buried in data–and yet somehow, we’re still arguing over whether there’s actually a…
What happens when a CEO treats Lean as a growth system instead of a cost-cutting program? In this episode, Bill Canady shares how he combines Lean, daily management, and the 80/20 principle to drive profitable growth, cultural alignment, and sustained…
tl;dr: Blame-based leadership creates fear, silences learning, and erodes trust. Great leaders replace blame with shared accountability, psychological safety, and system-focused improvement. I recently witnessed a leadership moment that stopped me in my tracks. A CEO, standing on a stage…
A sad but true leadership tale: “Unlike most CEOs who rely on their executive team to keep them informed, [redacted] relies on his team to keep him feeling good about himself. And so whenever somebody would tell him something that…
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