Shingo Principles Podcast

Join us for an engaging conversation exploring the enduring ideas of Shigeo Shingo and the new book Shingo on Shingo. Authors Ken Snyder and Drew Dillon take a fresh look at Shingo’s teachings, challenging common assumptions about operational excellence and examining what leaders can still learn from his work today.

The discussion will go beyond familiar tools such as SMED, pokayoke, and just-in-time to explore the principles and thinking behind them. Why do improvement efforts sometimes fall short even when organizations have adopted the right tools? What happens when we focus on how without understanding why? And in a world increasingly focused on AI and the “next big thing,” are Shingo’s decades-old lessons still relevant?

Drawing from Shingo’s writings, personal experiences, and stories from those who knew and learned from him, Ken and Drew will explore common myths, the Shingo Guiding Principles, and what it truly means to “think like Shingo.” Whether you are new to Shingo or a longtime practitioner, this conversation will challenge you to rethink how improvement happens—and how it can be sustained.

To learn more, please visit shingo.org. 

What helps some organizations consistently outperform others?

In this episode of the Shingo Principles Podcast, Steve Spear, author of Wiring the Winning Organization, explores how leaders can build organizations that solve problems faster, learn continuously, and better use the intelligence of their people.

Spear explains how shifting problem solving closer to the point of work can reduce delays, improve collaboration, and strengthen organizational performance. He also introduces the “leader’s journey”—the idea that leaders must go see the work firsthand, understand the barriers people face, and create better conditions for success.

Through practical examples, the conversation challenges leaders to rethink their role: not as the people who solve every problem, but as the people who create systems that help others see, understand, and solve problems effectively.

Listen to discover how better organizational “wiring” can unlock learning, improve problem solving, and help your organization move closer to what is possible.

To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org. 

What does it take to create lasting improvement—not just better numbers? In this episode, Danilo Rodriguez Santos, maintenance leader at Vale, shares how the company’s railway maintenance operation in São Luís, Brazil, used the Shingo Model to connect systems, leadership, and people on its journey to receiving Shingo Silver in 2025.
 
Danilo explores how active listening, leadership humility, direct observation, and a focus on behaviors helped engage employees and build a culture capable of sustaining results. He also shares practical insights into developing systems, using KPIs and KBIs, and creating an environment where people feel empowered to improve every day.

For more information, please visit https://shingo.org. 

What does it really mean to respect every individual—and how can leaders turn that principle into everyday practice? In this episode, Josh McEwan, manufacturing research and development director at O.C. Tanner, shares lessons from the organization’s transformation and his own leadership journey.

Josh explains how listening to employees, removing obstacles, welcoming diverse perspectives, and giving people ownership can strengthen trust, collaboration, and results. Through candid stories of successes and mistakes, he shows why respectful leadership requires humility, honest feedback, and a genuine commitment to understanding the experiences of others.

To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org.

In this Back to Basics episode, Shaun Barker welcomes Virginia Cosgriff, Operational Excellence Director at McGough, for a conversation about transformation, leadership, and continuous improvement across industries.

Virginia began her career in healthcare before bringing her industrial engineering expertise to construction. Along the way, she's been "sneakily" applying the Shingo Model to strengthen culture and improve performance. Now, she's helping guide McGough on its formal Shingo Challenge journey.

Discover how timeless principles can create lasting results—whether you're caring for patients, building hospital wings, or leading organizational transformation.

To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org. 

Unlock the power of leadership style in shaping the culture and performance of your organization. In this episode, we sit down with Alisha Garrett, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer at Utah Transit Authority, to explore how a leader’s approach influences their teams, their systems, and the overall organizational environment.

Alisha shares practical insights from her executive experience—highlighting the connection between leadership behaviors, strategic alignment, and the cultural outcomes that follow. Whether you're a seasoned leader or developing your leadership journey, this conversation offers valuable takeaways you can apply today.

🎧 Listen now and elevate your leadership impact.

To learn more about the Shingo Model, please visit https://shingo.org. 

In this session, innovation excellence experts Norbert Majerus and Brian Abraham explore how the Shingo Model extends beyond Lean, serving as a powerful framework for building cultures where creativity and innovation thrive. Challenging the common belief that Lean stifles innovation, the presenters share insights and experiences that reveal the true barrier: organizational culture. After uncovering how fear of failure, misaligned leadership, and rigid processes often limit innovation, they reveal how the Shingo Model helps overcome these obstacles.

In addition to highlighting practical strategies to foster psychological safety, empower employees at every level, and encourage experimentation through low-risk, high-impact approaches, the session showcases compelling examples, from employee-driven innovation systems to hands-on “moonshine labs,” that demonstrate how organizations can embed creativity into daily operations. With an emphasis on the importance of aligning innovation with strategy, this session outlines how to channel creative energy toward meaningful outcomes, ensuring that ideas deliver real value to both customers and the organization.

Whether you’re leading a transformation or looking to ignite ideas, this session offers actionable insights to help you integrate innovation with operational excellence.

Join us to learn how the Shingo Model can unlock the full creative potential of your people—and position your organization for sustained success.

For more information, please visit https://shingo.org.

Discover why culture change often fails—and what it takes to make it stick. Based on the book Leading Enterprise Excellence, this episode uncovers how aligning purpose, engaging people, and executing the right systems can drive sustainable results. You'll explore some of the Shingo Model’s powerful insights into how systems shape behavior and learn practical strategies for building a culture where continuous improvement thrives. Join us, and find out how to turn ideal behaviors into lasting organizational excellence.

 To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org. 

This session explores one organization's evolution from industry excellence to Shingo maturity—and ultimately organizational mastery. Participants will examine distinct phases of excellence: industry excellence establishes credibility through measurable performance—quality, delivery, cost, and customer satisfaction—while Shingo excellence deepens that foundation by aligning principles, systems, and behaviors, creating cultural stability and sustainable results by leveraging the Shingo Guiding Principles.
 
But maturity is not the endpoint. As organizations grow in scale and complexity, excellence must continue to evolve. This session introduces five transformational principles that define mastery: contributing to society, embedding a philosophy, designing for experience, driving innovation, and learning continuously. Together, these principles expand excellence beyond optimization toward enduring impact.
 
Attendees will gain insights into how high-performing organizations move from maintaining standards to redefining them, ensuring excellence evolves across leaders, generations, and changing conditions.

To learn more, please visit https://shingo.org.

In this episode, we explore why sustainable continuous improvement depends less on tools and more on people. Using The Gund Company as a case study, we trace its two-decade journey from Lean tool adoption to a deeply embedded, people-centered system grounded in the Shingo Model.

You’ll hear how leaders shifted from driving compliance to developing people—integrating respect, humility, and listening with practices like A3 problem-solving and meaningful gemba engagement. The result? World-class engagement and quality, sustained 15% annual growth, and a culture where people know their contributions matter.

For more information, please visit https://shingo.org.