Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership

Dean Svarc, entrepreneur and turnaround specialist who owns multiple manufacturing firms and wrote Trojan Horse. He discusses hidden threats like culture and structure. He outlines his six-step BASICS framework. He shares when to push change and when to walk away, plus a union turnaround and how leaders can empower teams.

Ashley Herd, management consultant and author of The Manager Method, shares practical people-leadership tools in concise form. She explains the Pause, Consider, Act framework and why pausing is hardest. They explore the career quilt idea and give advice for young professionals. Conversation also covers micromanagement, structured autonomy, and her playful “Great Minds Overthink Alike” sign.

Adam Lawrence, managing partner and Kaizen practitioner who created the Wheel of Sustainability, explains why improvements backslide and how to hold gains. He describes his nine-element Wheel, contrasts it with Toyota’s culture, and outlines a web-based Sustainability System assessment that gives practical next steps. Conversations include entropy, leadership commitment, and a lasting 5S case study.

Steven Remsen, a PhD materials scientist who led Intel’s enterprise Lean Six Sigma and internal consulting efforts, shares his experience scaling continuous improvement. He discusses shifting from certification factories to value-focused capability platforms. He explores blending analytics, Gen AI, mentorship, and operating rhythms to make change stick across large organizations.

This week’s guest is Dr. Julia Garcia. Ron and Julia discussed Julia’s book, “The Five Habits of Hope,” the power of resilience, the role hope plays in problem-solving, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn:  The quote Julia likes (3:59) Why she wrote her book (6:21) The power of resilience (7:40) Whether hope is a choice or a habit (9:10) Why it’s a good alternative to grit and struggle (10:51) Julia’s words of encouragement (15:01) The five habits of hope (17:30) How hope plays a role in problem-solving (31:34) Julia’s final words of wisdom (34:52) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 The Five Habits of Hope Julia’s Website Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? Which habit of hope stands out to you?

Royden Johnson, a South African Lean and operational excellence practitioner who rose from shop-floor operator to Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, explains the metaphor of a talking versus singing lean operating system. He walks through three phases: Stabilize, Standardization, and Continuous Improvement. Short, practical guidance on making your operating system rhythmic, measurable, and culture-driven.

Chad Bareither, a continuous improvement consultant and founder of Bareither Group, shares stories from manufacturing and Japan. He discusses changing culture by solving real problems, why leaders must model cleaning and follow-up, the limits of tool-first rollouts, and how small visible wins build lasting habits.

Kathy Miller, experienced manufacturing leader and author of MORE Is Better, explains how purpose, optimism, and psychological safety change workplace performance. She discusses making high-quality connections, handling toxic leaders, modeling change, personality differences in leadership, and a MORE Mentor AI tool. Short, practical conversations about helping people and organizations thrive.

Hanna Bauer, an improvement practitioner and Six Sigma Black Belt with a psychology background, blends culture, emotional intelligence, and systems thinking through her Heartnomics work. She talks about how culture shapes change. She explains emotional intelligence as reading the room and self-regulation. She describes alignment as harmony between mission, values, and daily work. She discusses balancing empathy and accountability.

Noah Waech, a continuous improvement practitioner with a rich background in manufacturing and education, shares his insights on teaching Lean and Six Sigma. His passion for Value Stream Mapping shines as he describes hands-on experiments that engage and transform learners. Noah recounts his rewarding experiences in teaching and mentoring, and tackles strategies for engaging skeptics in the workplace. He emphasizes the importance of setting high expectations to inspire growth and improvement among teams.