Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership
by Ron Pereira: Lean Thinker & Co-Founder of Gemba Academy
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On the show
From 17 epsHosts
Recent guests
Recent episodes
GA 638 | Separating Risk from Being Reckless with George Barrios
Jun 25, 2026
Unknown duration
GA 637 | Developing Organizational Maturity with Norman Wolfe
Jun 18, 2026
Unknown duration
GA 636 | Taking Control of Your Life with Joel Steele
Jun 11, 2026
31m 37s
GA 635 | Emotions Are Not the Enemy with D. Earl Johnston
Jun 4, 2026
34m 07s
GA 634 | Doubling Profits in 90 Days with Ben Hansen
May 28, 2026
40m 41s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/25/26 | GA 638 | Separating Risk from Being Reckless with George Barrios |   Confidence and arrogance can look identical from the outside. George Barrios has spent a career in rooms where the difference mattered, from running a semiconductor division at 29 to co-leading a $20 billion merger between WWE and UFC. His book, Sometimes Wrong, But Never in Doubt, started as a phrase buried in a performance review and grew into a full operating philosophy about where real conviction comes from. The answer is less inspiring than most people want to hear, and more actionable than most people expect. In this episode you’ll learn: What “chip on shoulder equals chips in pocket” means to founders (2:29) How early circumstances shape a lifelong drive to prove something (3:38) How a career spanning Praxair, WWE, and global sports investment came together (5:45) Where the title “Sometimes Wrong, But Never in Doubt” actually came from (8:47) The difference between confidence earned through deep work and false bravado (13:18) What conviction looks like in practice when pressure hits (17:09) How to treat failure as a signal rather than a verdict (20:27) What separates smart risk from recklessness (24:24) Why doing work you are naturally good at changes everything (27:31) “To get through that, you need to do the work that drives the conviction to push through.” – George Barrios Keep Learning If George’s point about deep work as the foundation of leadership conviction resonated, the School of Leadership offers structured ways to build that same discipline in yourself and your team. Learn More About School of Leadership at https://www.gembaacademy.com/leadership Podcast Resources George’s Website Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Stay current on new courses, podcast episodes, and continuous improvement resources. Sign up for the Gemba Academy newsletter at gembaacademy.com/news What Do You Think? When you look at the leaders around you who project strong conviction, can you tell whether it comes from deep preparation or from something else entirely? | — | ||||||
| 6/18/26 | GA 637 | Developing Organizational Maturity with Norman Wolfe | Most organizations have the systems. They have the processes, the KPIs, the structured meetings, the strategic plans. And they are still stuck. Norman Wolfe has spent decades helping leadership teams understand why, and the answer keeps coming back to something the org chart cannot capture. The beliefs, priorities, and unspoken assumptions that shape how departments actually behave are running the show, often invisibly. In this episode you’ll learn: Why a quote about paradigms became the lens for Norman’s entire career (3:03) Why strong systems alone are not enough to fix execution problems (11:39) How departments behave like people and why that changes everything (15:00) What it actually looks like to surface and resolve a context conflict between departments (19:21) Three lenses leaders can use to see what is really blocking performance (24:50) What Norman would tell his younger self about building a lasting career (28:19) Why developing organizational maturity matters as much as optimizing processes (30:33) “Change the paradigm and what was difficult and almost impossible in one becomes easy and simple in another.” – Norman Wolfe Keep Learning If the gap between your organization’s systems and its actual execution sounds familiar, the School of Leadership can help you build the skills to work on both the visible and invisible forces shaping your team’s behavior. Learn More About School of Leadership at gembaacademy.com/leadership Podcast Resources Norman on LinkedIn Norman’s Website Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Stay current on new courses, podcast episodes, and continuous improvement resources. Sign up for the Gemba Academy newsletter at gembaacademy.com/news What Do You Think? When you look at the persistent friction between departments in your organization, does it look more like a process problem or a context problem? | — | ||||||
| 6/11/26 | GA 636 | Taking Control of Your Life with Joel Steele✨ | personal developmentgoal-setting+3 | Joel Steele | Life Switch | — | personal growthmotivation+3 | — | 31m 37s | |
| 6/4/26 | GA 635 | Emotions Are Not the Enemy with D. Earl Johnston✨ | emotionscontinuous improvement+4 | D. Earl Johnston | Choosing Emotions | — | emotional vocabularydoom scrolling+5 | — | 34m 07s | |
| 5/28/26 | GA 634 | Doubling Profits in 90 Days with Ben Hansen✨ | profit marginsprofitability+3 | Ben Hansen | Gemba Academy | — | doubling profitsprofititis+3 | — | 40m 41s | |
| 5/21/26 | GA 633 | Be Curious and Seek Knowledge with Andy Olrich✨ | continuous improvementlean culture+3 | Andy Olrich | — | — | leancontinuous improvement+3 | — | 42m 41s | |
| 5/14/26 | GA 632 | Performance Unleashed with Chris Libutti✨ | self-disciplinemilitary experience+3 | Chris Libutti | Performance Unleashed | — | self-disciplinemilitary+3 | — | 37m 25s | |
| 5/7/26 | GA 631 | What We Can Learn from Tetris with Michael Parent✨ | AIperformance+4 | Michael Parent | Gemba Academy | — | TetrisAI+4 | — | 30m 33s | |
| 4/30/26 | GA 630 | Why Tone Matters with Shahab Shah✨ | human empathytone+3 | Shahab Shah | Gemba Academy | — | tone mattershuman empathy+3 | — | 44m 05s | |
| 4/23/26 | GA 629 | Why Leadership Is Like Cooking with Pete Behrens✨ | leadershipcooking+3 | Pete Behrens | Into the FogGemba Academy | — | Into the Fogleadership is like cooking+3 | — | 35m 19s | |
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| 4/16/26 | GA 628 | A Factory on Fire: How Lean Saves Lives with Brian Meyers✨ | LeanManufacturing+3 | Brian Meyers | leanLinkedIn+2 | — | factory firelean saves lives+3 | — | 29m 48s | |
| 4/9/26 | GA 627 | Value Stream Mapping on University Campuses with Kristin Kielich✨ | Value Stream MappingContinuous Improvement+3 | Kristin Kielich | UCGemba Academy | — | continuous improvementresistance+3 | — | 32m 43s | |
| 4/2/26 | GA 626 | Learning to See Waste with Randall Dupre✨ | Lean PrinciplesLeadership+3 | Randall Dupre | Everyday LeanGemba Academy+1 | — | Everyday Leanleadership+4 | — | 27m 07s | |
| 3/26/26 | GA 625 | Dealing with Hidden Threats with Dean Svarc✨ | leadershipculture+3 | Dean Svarc | Trojan HorseGemba Academy+2 | — | Trojan Horseinspiration+3 | — | 22m 42s | |
| 3/19/26 | GA 624 | The Pause, Consider, Act Framework with Ashley Herd✨ | Pause Consider Act FrameworkCareer Development+3 | Ashley Herd | Gemba AcademyGreat Minds Overthink Alike” | — | Pause Consider Actcareer quilt+3 | — | 29m 12s | |
| 3/12/26 | GA 623 | The Power of Entropy with Adam Lawrence✨ | SustainabilityContinuous Improvement+3 | Adam Lawrence | Gemba Academythe Wheel of Sustainability+1 | — | Wheel of SustainabilitySustainability System assessment+3 | — | 23m 29s | |
| 3/5/26 | GA 622 | The State of AI with Steven Remsen✨ | AIorganizational change+3 | Steven Remsen | IntelLinkedIn+2 | — | Intelchange management+3 | — | 26m 41s | |
| 2/26/26 | GA 621 | The Five Habits of Hope with Dr. Julia Garcia✨ | hoperesilience+3 | Dr. Julia Garcia | Gemba AcademyThe Five Habits of Hope | — | The Five Habits of Hoperesilience+5 | — | 35m 59s | |
| 2/19/26 | GA 620 | Is Your Lean Operating System Talking or Singing? with Royden Johnson✨ | Lean Operating SystemContinuous Improvement+3 | Royden Johnson | Gemba Academy | — | lean operating systemtalking vs singing+4 | — | 38m 44s | |
| 2/12/26 | GA 619 | Don’t Walk By a Mess with Chad Bareither | This week’s guest is Chad Bareither. Ron and Chad discussed making culture changes in the workplace, powerful aspects of Japanese culture, the importance of cleaning up, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: The quote Chad likes (3:06) His background (4:29) Chad’s thoughts on culture change (6:37) An anecdote about Japan (10:08) A powerful anecdote about a manufacturing plant (16:29) Examples of companies that are doing things well (17:56) Chad’s final words of wisdom (27:59) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 GA 498 | The Power of Improving Less GA 556 | What a Successful Lean Transformation Looks Like Chad on LinkedIn Bareither Group 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? Have you ever tried to implement cultural changes at your organization? | — | ||||||
| 2/5/26 | GA 618 | MORE Is Better with Kathy Miller | This week’s guest is Kathy Miller. Ron and Kathy discussed manufacturing, Kathy’s new book “MORE Is Better,” optimism, psychological safety, and the art of making high-quality connections. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: Kathy’s favorite quote (2:41) Her background (3:01) What motivates Kathy to write books (5:14) What “more” refers to (6:57) The concept of optimism (10:33) What psychological safety (15:46) Advice for dealing with a difficult leader (21:55) High-quality connections and their impact on performance (28:08) Personality types and leadership (30:04) Using the MORE Mentor AI agent (33:49) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 GA 417 | Steel Toes and Stilettos with Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels MORE Is Better Kathy’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? How do you define psychological safety? | — | ||||||
| 1/29/26 | GA 617 | What Alignment Looks Like with Hanna Bauer | This week’s guest is Hanna Bauer. Ron and Hanna discussed the role of emotional intelligence in success, balancing empathy and accountability, navigating love languages, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: The quote Hanna likes (2:38) Her background (3:17) The impact of cultural factors (6:03) The role of emotional intelligence in success (11:23) Explaining emotional intelligence (15:58) What alignment looks like (18:16) Balancing empathy and accountability (22:34) Hanna’s thoughts on love languages (26:22) Taking small, bite-sized steps (30:29) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Heartnomics Hanna on LinkedIn Hanna on Facebook 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? What does alignment look like to you? | — | ||||||
| 1/22/26 | GA 616 | Teaching Lean with Noah Waech | This week’s guest is Noah Waech. Ron and Noah discussed Noah’s experiences teaching lean, what happens when things don’t go as planned, Value Stream Mapping, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: The quote Noah likes (3:14) His background (5:05) An anecdote from when Noah was asked to teach about lean (7:22) What Noah enjoys most about teaching others (10:44) A time when things didn’t go as planned (13:20) Noah’s passion for Value Stream Mapping (21:13) His final words of wisdom (24:23) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Noah on LinkedIn 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? Do you have any experience teaching lean? | — | ||||||
| 1/15/26 | GA 615 | Radical Product Thinking with Radhika Dutt | This week’s guest is Radhika Dutt. Ron and Radhika discussed OKRs, Toyota Kata, the target mentality, the OHLA puzzle framework, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: Radhika’s favorite quote (3:13) Her background (4:26) What OKR stands for (6:46) What happens when you set goals and targets (7:47) The Toyota Kata framework (10:20) About the target mentality (23:46) How goals make us feel (26:37) About the OHLA puzzle framework (33:56) Measuring people (38:53) Her final words of wisdom (43:35) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Radhika on LinkedIn Radhika’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? What are your thoughts on OKRs? | — | ||||||
| 1/8/26 | GA 614 | Getting Lean to Stick with Joel Hugghins | This week’s guest is Joel Hugghins. Ron and Joel discussed dealing with CAVE people, intellectual property, getting lean to stick, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: The proverb and quote Joel likes (3:11) His background (4:25) Impediments to getting lean to stick (6:34) Keeping things in balance (8:05) Why things are getting worse (11:28) Joel’s approach to CAVE people (21:23) The role of intellectual property (22:54) Examples of companies that are doing this well (26:22) What gives Joel hope (28:09) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Joel on LinkedIn Joel’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? What obstacles have you faced in terms of getting lean to stick? | — | ||||||
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