KPI Fireside: A Continuous Improvement Podcast

KPI Fireside: A Continuous Improvement Podcast

by KPI Fire
ManagementCareers
Season 1
Matt Yearsley on Why Bad Systems Beat Good Employees
Most leaders blame the person. The real problem is almost always the system. In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Matt Yearsley, founder of Operational Excellence Advisors and a manufacturing and operations leader with more than 25 years of experience. Matt helps growing companies move beyond firefighting by building the systems, standards, and people development practices that let good employees actually succeed. 🔻 Why "hold them accountable" is meaningless without a documented standard to point to 🔻 How to know in three questions whether a failure belongs to the employee or to you as a leader 🔻 How to use a one-on-one to keep standards alive instead of letting them collect dust on a shelf 🔻 How to turn a chronic complainer or a troublemaker into your best problem solver 🔻 Why busy is not the same as productive, and how to tell the difference 🔻 How to define what winning looks like for jobs where success is hard to measure 🔗 Connect with Matt Yearsley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-yearsley-0317b0/ 🔗 Learn more about Operational Excellence Advisors: https://www.opex-advisors.com/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E70
Jul 20, 2026
59:35
Darril Wilburn on Courage, Humility, and Kaizen
What does it actually look like inside Toyota, and why do so many companies get lean so wrong when they try to follow it? In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Darril Wilburn, senior partner at Honsha and a respected teacher, coach, and thought leader in lean leadership and the Toyota Way. He is co-author of the upcoming book Courage, Humility, Kaizen: The Leadership DNA of The Toyota Way. 🔻 Why 5S without connecting it to the work almost always fades within a year 🔻 What Western leaders get wrong when they try to adopt the Toyota Way 🔻 How Nemawashi is about preparing the soil, not just getting buy-in 🔻 How to tell the story of your CI function 🔻 Why great organizations put work to people instead of people to work 🔗 Connect with Darril Wilburn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrilwilburn/ 🔗 Learn more at Darril's website: https://www.darrilwilburn.com/ 🔗 Learn more about Honcha: https://honsha.org/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E69
Jul 13, 2026
57:30
Lee Campe on Continuous Improvement and The Art Of Storytelling
What if the biggest obstacle to fixing your business isn't the problem itself, but the way you're talking about it? In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Lee Campe, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, consultant, educator, and U.S. Army Ranger School graduate. With over 10,000 people trained across industries, Lee makes the case that Lean Six Sigma is not a quality program or a variation reduction tool. It is structured problem solving, and everyone from machine operators to senior executives can use it. 🔻 Why Lean Six Sigma is problem solving first and process improvement second 🔻 Why executives jump to solutions and root causes before they even define the problem 🔻 The difference between hard and soft savings and why it matters for project credibility 🔻 How to tell if your X's actually predict your Y's before spending millions on the wrong fix 🔻 Why the art of storytelling is the most underrated skill in continuous improvement 🔻 How to use the define, measure, analyze, improve, and control phases to build a narrative that moves leadership to act 🔗 Connect with Lee Campe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecampe/ 📘 Buy Lee's Book: 'Lean Six Sigma: Defined correctly': https://a.co/d/0fuTv7cB 🔗 Visit Lee's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@leecampe1407 🔗 Visit Lee's Website: www.leecampe.com 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E68
Jul 6, 2026
53:54
Tom Foster on How Accountability Starts With Structure
What if most of your communication breakdowns and personality conflicts aren't people problems at all? In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Tom Foster, author, speaker, and longtime business coach to CEOs and senior leaders. Drawing on more than two decades of work with executive peer groups and 800+ deliveries of his organizational structure workshop, Tom makes the case that accountability starts with structure. 🔻 Why communication breakdowns and personality conflicts are almost always structural problems in disguise 🔻 The five organizational life cycle stages and the strategic focus that belongs to each one 🔻 Why delegation is not a time management tool but your most powerful mechanism for growing an organization 🔻 How levels of work and time span help you match the right people to the right decisions 🔻 Why breaking down silos is the wrong goal and what to do instead 🔻 Why hierarchy exists not for reporting but to bring value to problem solving and decision making 📘 Order Tom's Book, "Premeditated Culture": https://a.co/d/01ioDINF 🔗 Connect with Tom Foster: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fosterlearning/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E67
Jun 29, 2026
52:51
Tina Agustiady and Jennifer Ralston on What Happens When AI Meets Continuous Improvement
Lean has always been about working smarter. AI might be its most powerful tool yet. In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Jennifer Ralston and Tina Agustiady for a practical conversation on where AI and continuous improvement intersect. Jennifer is the CEO and Founder of HKPO and the HKPO Veterans Academy. Tina is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, author, educator, and respected continuous improvement leader. Together, they make the case that structured problem-solving skills are more relevant than ever in an AI-driven world. 🔻 Why AI makes belt programs more powerful, not less relevant 🔻 How AI helps practitioners break through analysis paralysis in DMAIC projects 🔻 Real-world AI use cases across healthcare, finance, and manufacturing 🔻 Why you need domain expertise to prompt AI effectively 🔻 How to build AI adoption into organizational strategy and policy 🔻 What Dr. Deming's "knowledge of knowledge" tells us about AI transparency 🔻 How Lean Six Sigma certifications are impacting hiring and career advancement 🔗 Connect with Tina Agustiady on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-agustiady/ 🔗 Connect with Jennifer Ralston on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeralston/ 📘 Sign up for free Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training for Veterans: https://gohkpo.com/training/ 🎟️ Register now for the online Webinar "AI & Lean" on August 19th, 2026: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-lean-tickets-1990425638666 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E66
Jun 22, 2026
55:43
John Garrett on Building a Culture People Stay For
What if your company expected every single employee to submit improvement ideas within their first six months on the job? In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with John Garrett, who has spent the last 20 years as a Product Owner and Client Success Executive at 3M Health Information Systems, where he specializes in helping healthcare organizations and their customers get more value. 🔻 How 3M made CI part of every employee's job from day one 🔻 Why owning your forecast matters more than hitting it 🔻 How to build trust and drive change without direct authority 🔻 Why going on site beats every survey you'll ever send 🔻 The art of asking questions that get honest answers 🔗 Connect with John Garrett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-garrett-b8767047/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/ 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.
S1 · E65
Jun 15, 2026
45:51
Darren Dolcemascolo on Turning Improvement Into Sustained Execution
What separates organizations where continuous improvement fades after a leadership change from those where it becomes part of the company's DNA? In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris welcomes back Darren Dolcemascolo, founder of EMS Consulting Group, for his second appearance on the show (first heard in Episode 31). With more than two decades of experience helping organizations improve operational performance through Lean Six Sigma, leadership development, and execution-focused consulting, Darren shares what it really takes to move beyond tools and improvement activity to build the operating discipline needed for measurable, sustainable results. 🔻 Why the terminology debate in Lean Six Sigma misses the point—and what actually matters 🔻 How leadership engagement (not lip service) determines whether improvement programs succeed or quietly die 🔻 Why CI teams are set up to fail when they own improvement instead of leadership owning it 🔻 How to structure a Green Belt program so it drives real ROI, not just completed coursework 🔻 What leader standard work is, why leaders should develop it themselves, and how to make it stick 🔻 Why Gemba walks matter—and what happens when leaders actually show up to where the work gets done 🔗 Connect with Darren Dolcemascolo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrendolcemascolo/ 🔗 Visit EMS Consulting Group: https://www.emsstrategies.com/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/ 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.
S1 · E64
Jun 8, 2026
49:49
Karen Martin on Clarity First: Flow, Metrics, and Leading Improvement
What does it take to design an organization where work actually flows and improvement never stops? In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Karen Martin, president of TKMG and internationally recognized thought leader in operational excellence, Lean management, and business performance. Karen shares how organizations can achieve clarity, eliminate the obstacles that slow work down, and build the conditions where every leader takes ownership of improvement. 🔻 How to know the difference between a value stream and a process and why it matters 🔻 How to choose the relevant few metrics instead of drowning in data you never act on 🔻 Why the Belt program created a dangerous gap between improvement specialists and the leaders who should own it 🔻 How to build an improvement culture when your organization was never designed that way 🔻 Why continuous improvement belongs to leadership, not a dedicated team 🔗 Learn more about Karen Martin and TKMG: https://www.tkmg.com 🔗 Connect with Karen Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenmartinopex/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E63
Jun 1, 2026
58:00
Danny Toney on Data Driven Leadership
Most leadership teams are flying blind. They have plenty of data but no clarity on what actually matters, who owns it, or what to do when things go off track. In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Danny Toney, Certified EOS Implementer and business improvement consultant, who helps leadership teams cut through the noise and drive measurable traction. 🔻 Why your weekly meetings feel like a four out of ten and how to fix that 🔻 How to spot a problem three months before a customer calls to complain 🔻 Why treating symptoms keeps the same issues coming back every single quarter 🔻 How 90 day priorities keep your whole leadership team pulling in the same direction 🔻 Why the most successful leaders have more clarity than everyone else and how to get it 🔻 How to use EOS as a tool that makes every person's work life better, not just the bottom line 🔗 Connect with Danny Toney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannytoney/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E62
May 25, 2026
51:26
Katie Anderson on Building Teams That Think, Learn, and Improve
What separates organizations that improve occasionally from those that build improvement into their DNA? In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Katie Anderson, internationally recognized leadership consultant, speaker, and author of the Shingo Award-winning book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. Katie shares how leaders can create learning-driven cultures, develop people through problem solving, and avoid the trap of becoming the hero with all the answers. 🔻 Why great leaders “own the thinking process, not the thinking” 🔻 The difference between solving problems and developing problem solvers 🔻 The danger of focusing on templates instead of thinking frameworks 🔻 Why caring about people doesn’t mean carrying all the responsibility 🔻 How AI can accelerate learning without replacing human thinking 🔗 Connect with Katie Anderson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbjanderson/ 🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/ 🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/
S1 · E61
May 18, 2026
47:38
1 of 7