The 10-Minute Improvement

From The Lean Solutions Podcast by Patrick Adams

April 14, 2026 · 30 min · Season 5 · Episode 14

About this episode

Catherine McDonald and Shayne Daughenbaugh discuss the impact of small, everyday improvements in organizations.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Catherine McDonald and Shayne Daughenbaugh explore the power of small, everyday improvements. What they call the “10-minute improvement.” Instead of focusing only on large-scale Lean projects, they break down how organizations can unlock hidden opportunities by addressing small frustrations, workarounds, and communication gaps that often go unnoticed. You’ll learn how to identify these opportunities, uncover root causes, and create a culture where employees feel empowered to take action. The conversation also highlights the critical role of leadership in fostering psychological safety and encouraging reflection, communication, and continuous improvement at every level. If your organization struggles to move beyond big initiatives or overlooks the small issues that slow teams down, this episode offers a simple, practical framework to start making meaningful progress today. Key Takeaways: Small improvements often create the biggest impact over time Workarounds hide problems—don’t ignore them, fix them What you tolerate becomes your process standard Communication and psychological safety are essential for continuous improvement…

People in this episode

Host: Patrick Adams

Guests: Catherine McDonald, Shayne Daughenbaugh

Topics covered

small improvements
continuous improvement
leadership
psychological safety
organizational culture

Keywords

10-minute improvement
lean projects
communication gaps
root causes
employee empowerment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lean Solutions, Lean Solutions Website