How to Drive Continuous Improvement With Innovation

The 6 most dangerous words in business (and how to overcome them): "That's how we've always done it." It's an attitude that's shockingly common, But that CAN be defeated. This mindset often comes from an innocent place: ↳Comfort - With how things are ↳Stability - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" ↳Pragmatism - Change takes substantial work ↳Fear - How will this impact me? ↳Efficiency - We've refined a ton to get here: don't muck it up But the reality is: ↳Customers and their preferences are always changing ↳Competitors are always changing ↳Macro forces are always changing So organizations need to always be changing - or they'll lose. The good news: even if your organization is stuck on "that's how we've always done it" - You can overcome it. Here's how: Seek Frontline Feedback ↳Offer multiple channels for employees to give ideas and feedback ↳Explicitly ask for them often - and thank people publicly when they contribute Empower New People ↳Remember that new employees have the freshest perspective and least inertia ↳Tell them this, while asking and empowering them to speak up with ideas or concerns Reward Successful Ideas ↳When someone gives an idea that's implemented, tangibly reward them (bonus, time off, etc.) ↳Celebrate them publicly so others are encouraged to do the same Make Change Cultural ↳Make continuous improvement and growth mindset part of your mission, and emphasize them frequently ↳Put adaptability and risk-taking on your performance evaluations Promote Learning ↳Give employees time to attend conferences, workshops, and trainings that will generate new ideas ↳Invite them to share key takeaways afterward Block Time To Brainstorm ↳Ensure leaders dedicate protected time to evaluate existing processes and plan improvements ↳If this can't happen day-to-day, block time for offsite retreats Highlight Change Successes ↳Tell stories of changes the organization (and other orgs) has gone through before ↳Ensure all employees see the line from changes made to improvements in their job Celebrate Risk Taking ↳Highlight big risks that paid off, emphasizing that the success wouldn't have otherwise happened ↳Ensure risks that fail are treated as learning opportunities, not punished Conduct After Action Reviews ↳After big projects, gather everyone involved for an after action review ↳Talk about what to improve upon - even when things went well Start With Small Wins ↳Seeing is believing, so start small with trials and pilots to get results ↳Let those who participated become your frontline advocates Listen ↳Ask questions to understand what's behind any resistance to change ↳Tailor change efforts and communication based on what you learn Ensure Changes Succeed ↳Resistance to change builds when changes fail, so work overtime to ensure they do not ↳Use strong change management practices: planning, creating buy-in, communicating, reviewing --- ♻ Repost to help your network overcome this mindset. And follow me George Stern for more.

Every CI leader needs a toolkit. But here's what I see happening in most organizations: Teams jump straight to advanced methodologies like Six Sigma Black Belt projects or complex lean transformations... and wonder why nothing sticks. The truth? You're skipping the fundamentals. Here are 10 proven tools that actually deliver results: 1/ 5 Whys Analysis - The simplest root cause tool that reveals systemic issues. I've seen teams solve recurring problems in 15 minutes with this. 2/ Pareto Chart - Shows you where to focus. 80% of your headaches come from 20% of your problems. Fix those first. 3/ Fishbone Diagram - Maps every possible cause. Perfect for team brainstorming sessions when you're stuck. 4/ Control Charts - Tells you if your process is stable or chaotic. Stop reacting to normal variation. 5/ Check Sheets - Standardizes data collection. If you can't measure it consistently, you can't improve it. 6/ Standard Work - Documents your current best method. This isn't about micromanaging - it's about creating a improvement baseline. 7/ PDCA Cycle - Plan-Do-Check-Act. The scientific method for continuous improvement. Small experiments, big results. 8/ Value Stream Mapping - Shows the entire process flow. You'll be shocked at how much waste becomes visible. 9/ Kaizen Events - Rapid improvement workshops. 3-5 days of focused problem-solving that delivers immediate results. 10/ Gemba Walks - Go where the work happens. The best insights come from the people doing the actual work. The secret most miss: Don't try to use all 10 at once. Pick 2-3 tools. Master them completely. Then expand. I've worked with teams who transformed their operations using just 5 Whys and Standard Work. Others got overwhelmed trying to implement everything and ended up with nothing. My recommendation? → Week 1: Start with 5 Whys for problem-solving → Week 3: Add Check Sheets for data collection → Week 6: Introduce Standard Work for consistency → Month 3: Layer in Pareto Charts for prioritization Build your CI muscle systematically. Which tool has made the biggest impact in your organization? And which one are you planning to implement next? Drop a comment - I'd love to hear your CI success stories.

How I Improve a Process as a Program Manager at Amazon Improving a process sounds simple. But here’s the hard part: → People are used to the old way → The data is incomplete → The risks feel bigger than the reward → And the real friction is buried in “this is how we’ve always done it” Here’s how I actually drive meaningful improvements without slowing everything down: 1/ I talk to the people closest to the process ↳ Not the VP. Not the dashboard. ↳ The person doing the work every day. ↳ They know where it breaks and what’s already been tried. 2/ I measure before I recommend anything ↳ I ask what the current state looks like. ↳ What’s the cost of the problem? ↳ If it’s not measurable, it’s just an opinion. 3/ I map the full process step by step ↳ I document every step, not just the broken parts. ↳ Most issues hide in the handoffs, not the headlines. 4/ I test a small version before making a big change ↳ One pilot. One clear metric. One short timeline. ↳ If it works, we scale it. If not, we adjust fast. 5/ I document and share what happened ↳ Even if it wasn’t perfect. ↳ Sharing wins trust and helps others replicate what worked. Fixing a process doesn’t require a full redesign. It requires curiosity, structure, and momentum. Start small. Make it better. Tell people about it. What’s one change you’ve made that had a big impact?

How Elon Musk Achieves Extreme Productivity: The “One Thing” Focusing Cycle Marc Andreessen recently explained Elon Musk’s highly focused approach to continuous and compounding improvement. From my own discussions with people that have worked directly with Elon, his intuitive approach aligns closely with a systematic approach I developed based on the principles of Theory of Constraints. I call it the “One-Thing Focusing Cycle.” Its aim is to systematically identify and focus everyone on the next ONE thing. Here’s how Elon applies it: 1. Relentless Focus on ONE Goal Elon visits each of his companies weekly—SpaceX, Tesla, X, and X AI—and identifies or confirms the ONE, most important goal. 2. Identify the ONE Constraint He challenges the team to pinpoint the ONE constraint limiting progress and find ways to better exploit (not waste), elevate or remove this constraint. 3. Find the ONE Problem Elon then challenges the team to identify the ONE core problem limiting the exploitation or elevation or removal of the constraint. PS: The fractal nature of 80/20 often reveals ONE problem responsible for the majority (51%) of the gap. (80/20 --> 64/4--> 51/1) 4. Verbalize the ONE Conflict Solving the core problem may be blocked by an unresolved conflict between two options, each with unique pros and cons. Clearly articulating this ONE unresolved conflict is key to finding a breakthrough. 5. Create the ONE Innovation Instead of compromising, Elon challenges his team to find the ONE innovation—using 1st principles—to resolve the conflict without trade-offs (achieve all the pros without any significant cons). 6. Define and Do the ONE Experiment He gets the team to design and do ONE experiment to test the innovation that next week before implementing and/or scaling it. The cycle restarts with identifying the next ONE problem or next constraint. Why It Works Unlike many CEOs bogged down by bureaucracy, Elon leads from the front with relentless focus, enabling teams to resolve up to 52 constraints annually. Andreessen says Elon is so good at it because of a unique blend of:         1.  Intellectual depth to understand all aspects of his businesses.         2.  Moral authority and leadership to inspire his teams.         3.  Urgency and action to prioritize problem-solving over delays. This method mirrors the extreme focusing approach of other industrialists like Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie. Lesson for Leaders Elon’s success offers a clear blueprint:         1.  What’s the ONE goal to achieve?         2.  What’s the ONE constraint to overcome?         3.  What’s the ONE problem to solve?         4.  What’s the ONE conflict to resolve?         5.  What’s the ONE innovation to create?         6.  What’s the ONE experiment to conduct? This cycle cuts through complexity and drives rapid and compounding progress. Simple but not easy… Looking forward to your questions/comments. #onething #theoryofconstraints #elonmusk #marcandreessen

Innovation goes against intuition. We emphasize high quality, high productivity, high performance. However, this culture puts the incentive and reward on doing it right the first time. We internalize this mindset around being “the best” and doing it right, but this isn’t how we innovate. We need to shift our mindset from doing it right the first time, to taking actions that will lead to learning. ❓ What assumptions can we test in our work?  ❓ What can we do quick and cheap to learn? ❓ How can we take a failure and turn it into a learning opportunity? Organizations with learning cultures foster a better chance for innovation to thrive. How do we cultivate a learning culture on our teams? 🤔 Adopt retrospectives -  Don’t assume retrospectives are happening - put some structure to them. Build into your organization’s process a continuous learning culture by committing to retrospectives and capturing the insights from your recent endeavours. Adopt a “what did we learn?” mindset and reflect regularly. 👏 Reward failure - If we want it to be OK to fail and learn from our mistakes, we need to make it safe to fail. Incentivize failures by celebrating them as learning opportunities, and congratulating team members for deciding to shut something down based on data. Don’t base high performance on how perfect the work is the first time, but on how much we learned, and grew the idea or program over time, pivoting based on insights. ✍ Capture insights - It’s one thing to do the retrospective, but how do we take our learnings and not lose them? Building institutional knowledge means going beyond the meeting and archiving the key learnings, code, templates, materials, and adopting a practice of continuous iteration to operations that factors in those learnings. You have to build cycles in to reflect, and make time to invest in composting the good stuff so it doesn't get lost and have to be reinvented down the line. #innovation #design #leadership #designthinking This is the first of a 3-part series of posts I'm doing this week on innovation. Connect with me for more!

How GCC Leaders Can Improve Work Execution to Drive Employee Experience, Productivity, and Quality Most GCCs focus on scaling operations and cost efficiencies, but the best leaders go beyond that. They rethink how work gets done—removing inefficiencies, empowering employees, and ensuring quality outcomes. Here’s what truly moves the needle: 1. Fix Process Inefficiencies and Automate the Obvious Too many GCCs still replicate HQ processes instead of optimizing for agility. Identify bottlenecks, eliminate redundant approvals, and automate manual tasks—especially in IT, HR, and finance. Workflow automation can cut task times in half. 2. Align Teams Across Time Zones with Outcome-Based Execution Global teams struggle with coordination, leading to handover gaps and rework. Instead of micromanaging, real-time dashboards, and clear outcome ownership. Focus on customer impacting outcomes not effort. 3. Empower Employees with the Right Tools and Autonomy A poor employee experience leads to low engagement and productivity loss. Give teams self-service analytics, knowledge bases, and low-code/no-code tools to solve problems independently. Cut meeting overload and encourage deep work time. 4. Prioritize Learning, Growth, and Cross-Functional Expertise GCCs shouldn’t just execute work—they should drive innovation. Invest in technical upskilling, global mobility programs, and leadership rotations to create a future-ready workforce. 5. Governance Without Bureaucracy Traditional governance models slow down execution. Instead of rigid top-down approvals, implement agile decision-making frameworks and RACI models that balance control with speed. GCC leaders must shift from process execution to work transformation—optimizing workflows, leveraging AI, and making employee experience a top priority. The results can be significant: • 15-30% productivity gains by automating and streamlining workflows. • 10-25% cost savings through elimination of reduntang processes, process efficiencies and automation. • 20-40% improvement in employee engagement by reducing friction in daily work. • 20-50% faster execution of key projects by reducing delays and dependencies. • 25-50% fewer errors through improved governance and automation.

Innovation isn't just about the magnitude of improvement—it's about the velocity of change. When organizations proudly announce a 40% improvement in operations, my first question is always: 'Over what timeframe?' A 40% improvement over five years might sound impressive, but what if your competitors are achieving 30% improvements every 18 months? Look at the evolution in healthcare: The leap from traditional MRIs to AI-enhanced diagnostics wasn't just about better accuracy—it was about how quickly hospitals implemented and refined these systems. In manufacturing, we're seeing the same pattern: It's not just about implementing robotic assembly lines, but how rapidly factories are iterating their automation solutions and digital twin technologies. Remote patient monitoring in healthcare isn't just about having more connected devices; it's about how rapidly providers are improving their telehealth platforms. Similarly, smart factories aren't just about sensors—it's about how quickly manufacturers are turning IoT data into actionable insights and continuous process improvements. The real competitive edge comes from establishing a consistent cadence of innovation. Think of it like compound interest for your operations. A company that improves its processes by 25% every year will dramatically outpace one that makes a single 50% leap and then stagnates. In a world where precision medicine and predictive maintenance, AI diagnostics and automated quality control are evolving at breakneck speed, the question shouldn't be 'How much have we improved?' but rather 'What's our rate of improvement?' The organizations that win aren't just measuring the distance traveled—they're measuring their velocity. What's your organization's innovation velocity? Are you measuring how quickly you're adopting and iterating on new technologies? The future belongs to those who can maintain the highest rate of meaningful innovation, not those who make occasional big leaps.

Your documented processes are hurting your business. Yes, you read that correctly. I started implementing process improvement in 2015. (Steal my method for turning standard work into breakthrough results) It's not just about documentation. It's about using the "Control-Then-Elevate" strategy to achieve continuous advancement. After analyzing hundreds of operational excellence initiatives, here's how successful organizations get remarkable results: - They establish clear standards first - They ensure consistent adherence - They systematically challenge and elevate those standards Simply put, standardization without elevation creates operational stagnation. My approach: - Document the current best process - Assign clear roles and responsibilities - Ensure consistent execution across teams - Analyze results and identify opportunities - Systematically raise standards to higher levels The real magic happens when you stop seeing standard work as an end goal, and instead treat it as your launching pad for excellence. True continuous improvement means never settling for today's standards. PS. What area of your business needs standardized work the most? 💚 follow me if you like for more such posts 🙂

Have you ever thought about how small adjustments could make your day-to-day life smoother? It’s funny how something as routine as the daily commute can become an experiment in improvement. Recently, I came across a method that sparked some ideas on how to refine even the simplest routines—Plan-Do-Check-Act, or PDCA. It’s a classic approach that’s helped teams in lean management for years, but when you start applying it to everyday life, it really clicks. Let’s take commuting as an example. Suppose you drive to work, and the trip takes you about an hour on average. It’s easy to stick with the same route and timing out of habit. But what if there’s a way to cut down that travel time? Here’s where PDCA comes in: -Plan: Map out possible routes, try leaving at different times, even consider alternative parking spots. -Do: Put these ideas to the test over a few days. -Check: Take note of the results. Did leaving earlier or taking a different route make a difference? -Act: Once you’ve found the best strategy, make it your new routine. Interestingly, applying PDCA isn’t just limited to commutes. In workplaces that use lean and Six Sigma methods, teams follow this cycle to tackle recurring issues and prevent them from cropping up again. It’s a simple feedback loop, yet studies show that a systematic approach like this can reduce waste by as much as 30% in process-driven environments, according to research from Lean Enterprise Institute. Incorporating PDCA as part of your routine can help make subtle but meaningful improvements. It doesn’t require any major investment—just a bit of trial and reflection. And if you’re in a team setting, it’s a great way to create a habit of continuous improvement that benefits everyone involved. Would you give it a try? A minor change today might lead to smoother days ahead.