Advertise on podcast: Shingo Principles Podcast

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, improve collaboration, and strengthen organizational performance. He also introduces the “leader’s journey”—the idea that leaders must go see the work firsthand, understand the barriers people face, and create better conditions for success. Through practical examples, the conversation challenges leaders to rethink their role: not as the people who solve every problem, but as the people who create systems that help others see, understand, and solve problems effectively. Listen to discover how better organizational “wiring” can unlock learning, improve problem solving, and help your organization move closer to what is possible. To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org.

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, direct observation, and a focus on behaviors helped engage employees and build a culture capable of sustaining results. He also shares practical insights into developing systems, using KPIs and KBIs, and creating an environment where people feel empowered to improve every day. For more information, please visit https://shingo.org.

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 giving people ownership can strengthen trust, collaboration, and results. Through candid stories of successes and mistakes, he shows why respectful leadership requires humility, honest feedback, and a genuine commitment to understanding the experiences of others. To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org.

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 Model to strengthen culture and improve performance. Now, she's helping guide McGough on its formal Shingo Challenge journey. Discover how timeless principles can create lasting results—whether you're caring for patients, building hospital wings, or leading organizational transformation. To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org.

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—highlighting the connection between leadership behaviors, strategic alignment, and the cultural outcomes that follow. Whether you're a seasoned leader or developing your leadership journey, this conversation offers valuable takeaways you can apply today. 🎧 Listen now and elevate your leadership impact. To learn more about the Shingo Model, please visit https://shingo.org.

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 uncovering how fear of failure, misaligned leadership, and rigid processes often limit innovation, they reveal how the Shingo Model helps overcome these obstacles. In addition to highlighting practical strategies to foster psychological safety, empower employees at every level, and encourage experimentation through low-risk, high-impact approaches, the session showcases compelling examples, from employee-driven innovation systems to hands-on “moonshine labs,” that demonstrate how organizations can embed creativity into daily operations. With an emphasis on the importance of aligning innovation with strategy, this session outlines how to channel creative energy toward meaningful outcomes, ensuring that ideas deliver real value to both customers and the organization. Whether you’re leading a transformation or looking to ignite ideas, this session offers actionable insights to help you integrate innovation with operational excellence. Join us to learn how the Shingo Model can unlock the full creative potential of your people—and position your organization for sustained success. For more information, please visit https://shingo.org.

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 where continuous improvement thrives. Join us, and find out how to turn ideal behaviors into lasting organizational excellence.  To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org.

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, systems, and behaviors, creating cultural stability and sustainable results by leveraging the Shingo Guiding Principles.   But maturity is not the endpoint. As organizations grow in scale and complexity, excellence must continue to evolve. This session introduces five transformational principles that define mastery: contributing to society, embedding a philosophy, designing for experience, driving innovation, and learning continuously. Together, these principles expand excellence beyond optimization toward enduring impact.   Attendees will gain insights into how high-performing organizations move from maintaining standards to redefining them, ensuring excellence evolves across leaders, generations, and changing conditions. To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org.

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 listening with practices like A3 problem-solving and meaningful gemba engagement. The result? World-class engagement and quality, sustained 15% annual growth, and a culture where people know their contributions matter. For more information, please visit https://shingo.org.

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 more with fewer resources. This webinar explores why Lean thinking is no longer optional, but essential, in navigating today’s turbulence and building long-term resilience. Drawing on lessons from past disruptions and real-world examples from leading health systems, we will examine how principle-based Lean frameworks help organizations improve cost, quality, access, and patient experience—even under intense pressure. Participants will learn how forward-thinking health care leaders use Lean to strengthen culture and engagement, align strategy with daily operations, redesign care delivery to improve access, reduce administrative burden, and thoughtfully integrate technology and AI. The session emphasizes Lean not as a set of tools, but as a leadership mindset that enables clarity, adaptability, and sustained performance in uncertain times. To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org/articles.

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 does that mean for leaders and organizations? Tune in to uncover how making problems visible and focusing on behaviors—not just tools—can transform your organization and empower your team to take meaningful action. 🎧 Listen now and take your Lean journey back to basics! To learn more, please visit shingo.org.

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 systems that work with the brain rather than against it. Rolando explains how stress, uncertainty, and overload limit performance, while clarity, trust, autonomy, and meaningful feedback accelerate learning and execution. Participants will explore practical concepts such as SCARF-based communication, motivation hygiene, cognitive load protection, and coaching cadences that reinforce ideal behaviors. Grounded in real-world examples from terminal operations and healthcare, this webinar demonstrates how small adjustments to daily management, reporting, and leader–team interactions can significantly improve psychological safety, decision-making, and consistency. This session offers a clear, actionable lens on organizational excellence that is rooted in biology and driven by principles. Leaders will walk away with practical tools and a deeper understanding of how to shape systems that unlock human capability, strengthen culture, and sustain high performance. To learn more about the Shingo Model, please visit https://shingo.org.

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, humility, and respect can make huddles engaging, productive, and connected. By contrasting previously experienced ineffective huddles with a more inclusive and purposeful approach, he demonstrates how clear intent and ownership can energize a team’s daily rhythm. The discussion emphasizes that huddles are most powerful when they are designed to not only manage work but to develop people. Core lessons include defining the purpose and experience of the huddle, encouraging participation, following standard processes, and fostering continuous improvement. Ultimately, the session highlights how giving ownership to team members builds both capability and culture, turning a simple system into a shared experience that strengthens alignment, engagement, and growth. To learn more, please visit: https://shingo.org.

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 path few have walked before. Shaun and Mike highlight how the Shingo Model offers a timeless foundation for this journey, providing principles that guide growth without locking organizations into rigid behaviors. They encourage listeners to evolve, innovate, and embrace the discomfort that comes with genuine improvement. Ultimately, the pursuit of mastery isn’t a destination—it’s a mindset, a discipline, and a commitment to always reach for a higher level of excellence. To learn more, 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.