It's true that great work speaks for itself - but that's not the whole truth, especially for Continuous Improvement professionals.

You also need to advocate for yourself. The people around you probably don't know how to advocate for you. They won't be able to properly articulate the value that you bring to the organization.

We like to think that doing great projects and delivering savings and other impacts are enough. However, when peopl ask you "what do you do here?" and it takes you 5 minutes to answer, you've already lost them. And if you can't answer this question for yourself, how can others answer it for you when you're not in the room.

This is just one of several great topics covered in this episode about how you, as a Continuous Improvement leader, can amplify your impact in your organization.

Leaders develop people, who improve processes, that serve the customer.

When leaders think it's their role to be the hero and fix processes themselves, skipping past the entire infrastructure of people that are there to maintain business operations, then there's a problem.

The sellers market within the labor force that leaders have enjoyed for the last century or so have led to an environment where frontline workers are treated as a disposable resource.

This is no longer the reality. This podcast episode addresses some of these leadership assumptions and provides some ideas on how to better manage a company's most valuable asset - their own people.

How do you take what you've learned at a Lean Conference and use it to address the challenges that you face at work right now?

Lean conferences are one of the most exhilarating experiences to accelerate a person's journey into Continuous Improvement.

In just a few day's, you can develop a thorough understanding of what operational excellence looks like and come out with a really good idea for how you can transform your company's way of working.

I caught up with one of the pioneers in this space, Jared Thatcher, organizer and host of The Global Lean Summit to discuss how Lean conferences are shaping the future of Continuous Improvement.

Lean and Continuous Improvement professionals have a certain career fluidity that allows them to shift from internal employee to external consultant with relative ease.

Making this move for the first time can be daunting. Marketing yourself as an employee is very different from marketing yourself as a consultant.

Betsy Jordyn specializes in this kind of thing. She joined us to share some tricks of the trade that can make the transition easier for you.

Enjoy the show!

Is it time for Continuous Improvement pros to embrace technology?

While we are seeing some CI pros open up to the idea that technologies such as AI, cloud-based platforms, and process automation tools can make an impact, there is still a fair amount of aversion to adoption.

In this episode, I had the privilege of catching up with the amazing Lauren Hisey, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and technology expert to discuss this topic and much more.

How can Artificial Intelligence be used to improve the way we develop, deploy, and execute company strategy?

Strategy execution, in particular, is always important for business leaders but never urgent. Too often we see leaders develop an annual plan, throw it aside, and get right back to business as usual. The plan isn't even thought of again until the following year when it's time to create a new one.

Can AI help us break out of this unproductive cycle?

I caught up with Continuous Improvement and Strategy expert, Crystal Y. Davis, to understand how she's helping leaders to better apply AI to make more intelligent decisions and better achieve company goals.

For many, the word Discipline creates a visceral reaction. It's usually tied to some punitive action. However, Beau has a different take on the word discipline, especially as it pertains to creating a kaizen culture.

In this episode, Beau and I discuss the reality that Operational Discipline is foundational to creating a kaizen culture and how the lack thereof leads to fear and toxic workplace environments.

Check it out, share the episode, and leave us a comment.

In this episode, I sit down for a conversation with Rob Cushard, CEO of NTH Simple Solutions and Former Accenture Leader on the topic of How Tech is Improving the Way We Improve.

We have the privilege (and terror) of living through a tech revolution. It's important that we develop a productive relationship with tech given this new power that AI and other advanced tools give us.

What about the Continuous Improvement professional though? Where do we play in the future? Does tech serve as an enabler or replacement?

Check out the episode and leave us a comment. We'd love to hear what you think.