Lean Six Sigma: Beyond the Belts

About this episode

Matt Sims and Stacey Franklin discuss the realities of Lean Six Sigma beyond certification and the importance of culture in continuous improvement.

In this episode, Matt is joined by Stacey Franklin, a widely recognised Lean thinking leader and one of Ireland’s most respected voices in continuous improvement. Stacey is the founder and CEO of Kanso, a consultancy inspired by the Japanese concept of simplicity, helping organisations cut through complexity and create clarity in how they work. With experience spanning telecommunications, healthcare, service industries, and higher education, Stacey brings a grounded, practical, and refreshingly honest perspective on what Lean really looks like in the real world. Together, Matt and Stacey explore the reality behind Lean belts, what they truly represent, and why the way we teach and learn continuous improvement needs to evolve. They unpack the gap between certification and capability, the pressure placed on CI professionals to justify their existence, and why behaviours and culture matter far more than rigid frameworks and toolkits. The conversation also dives into modern Lean, micro learning, accessibility, and how technology and AI should support learning rather than replace thinking. Stacey shares insight from her work designing accredited programmes and lecturing at Master…

People in this episode

Host: Matt Sims

Guest: Stacey Franklin

Topics covered

• Lean Six Sigma
• continuous improvement
• Lean thinking
• organizational clarity
• modern Lean
• micro learning
• technology in learning

Keywords

• Lean Six Sigma
• continuous improvement
• Lean thinking
• micro learning
• organizational clarity
• leadership
• decision making

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kanso

Places: Ireland