Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement

Standardized work is a baseline for improvement, "not a prison," says podcast cohost Dr. Mohamed Saleh in the latest episode of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement. 

Yellow belts. Green belts. Black belts. In this podcast episode, hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer continue their series exploring the difficult questions around lean, Six Sigma and continuous improvement, focusing their attention on the belt certification system and asking whether belts build expertise or simply create hierarchies. 

Podcast hosts Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer tackle a topic that drives a lot of passionate conversation. Is lean or Six Sigma the better improvement philosophy? One co-host argues it's a flawed debate while both weigh in on many organizations' woeful misunderstanding or misuse of lean and Six Sigma. 

Hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh discuss the responsibility for organizational problems, emphasizing that systems often drive behaviors and that leaders should focus on correcting structures rather than blaming individuals. They highlight structural components that include performance reviews, incentives, metrics, policies and decision-making processes.

Dive into the topic of suboptimization, which occurs when individual departments focus on their own metrics at the expense of the overall enterprise, and learn tactics to drive enterprise-wide performance. 

Delve into why organizational visions often fail and learn tactics to develop visions your workforce can embrace. 

While 'respect for people' is a tenet many organizations claim, podcast hosts Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer delve into the truth of that statement. Does your leadership always show 'respect for people' or does it erode when the pressure is on? Here are some telltale signs that leaders' are failing to show 'respect for people' and the potential negative consequences of their actions. 

Podcast hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer share their favorites of Dr. Deming's 14 points and reflect on the management guru's most controversial principle.