The 5S Archives | Gemba Academy

GA 626 | Learning to See Waste with Randall Dupre

By Jessica Bush - April 2nd, 2026

This week’s guest is Randall Dupre. Ron and Randall discussed Randall’s book, “Everyday Lean,” the kinds of mistakes Randall sees people making, what good leadership looks like, his favorite lean principles, and

GA 621 | The Five Habits of Hope with Dr. Julia Garcia

By Jessica Bush - February 26th, 2026

This week’s guest is Dr. Julia Garcia. Ron and Julia discussed Julia’s book, “The Five Habits of Hope,” the power of resilience, the role hope plays in problem-solving, and more. An MP3 audio version of this epi

GA 619 | Don’t Walk By a Mess with Chad Bareither

By Jessica Bush - February 12th, 2026

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

GA 609 | Leveraging Overall Equipment Effectiveness with Caleb Wilczynski

By Jessica Bush - December 4th, 2025

This week’s guest is Caleb Wilczynski. Ron and Caleb discussed Caleb’s experience getting his Master Black Belt with Gemba Academy, the challenges his organization has faced, design engineering, leveraging OEE, and more. An

GA 586 | Being Kaizen Ninjas with Kirsten Gallagher and Adam Lawrence

By Jessica Bush - June 26th, 2025

This week’s guests are Kirsten Gallagher and Adam Lawrence. Ron, Kirsten, and Adam discussed Kirsten and Adam’s individual backgrounds, what it means to be a “kaizen ninja,” how to handle reluctant participants,

GA 565 | Continuous Improvement in Higher Education with Dr. Brad Miller

By Jessica Bush - January 30th, 2025

This week’s guest is Dr. Brad Miller. Ron and Dr. Miller discussed what it’s like to teach Lean and Six Sigma at a university, the business lessons that can be learned from academia, his grocery store simulation, and more.

A Company’s Continuous Improvement Journey

By John Knotts - July 19th, 2024

Embarking on your company’s continuous improvement journey can often be frustrating. This leads to the disheartening realization that your efforts seem ineffective. In the pursuit of excellence, many companies embark on a journey

GA 537 | Standing Up a Lean and Six Sigma Program with Gary Cihak

By Jessica Bush - July 18th, 2024

This week’s guest is Gary Cihak. Ron and Gary discussed what it takes to build a Lean and Six Sigma program, the Job Instruction component of TWI, why 5S isn’t just a series of chores, and more. An MP3 audio version of this

GA 533 | Mastering Your Life with Malti Bhojwani

By Jessica Bush - June 20th, 2024

This week’s guest is Malti Bhojwani. Ron and Malti discussed personal and professional transformations, different types of motivation, the importance of having a good work/life balance, and more. An MP3 audio version of this epis

GA 529 | Living Out Your Beliefs with Kurt Sears

By Jessica Bush - May 23rd, 2024

This week’s guest is Kurt Sears. Ron and Kurt discussed continuous improvement at Dollar Shave Club, happiness versus joy, the power of living out your beliefs, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for down

GA 524 | Connection Before Correction with Royden Johnson

By Jessica Bush - April 18th, 2024

This week’s guest is Royden Johnson. Ron and Royden discussed lean in South Africa, connection before correction, 5S, authority, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you&#

GA 522 | Continuous Improvement at Jack Henry with April Bell

By Jessica Bush - April 4th, 2024

This week’s guest is April Bell. Ron and April discussed how Jack Henry uses continuous improvement, specifically Toyota Kata. They also explored quantifying waste in an office setting, and the intersection of tools and scientifi

GA 501 | Reducing Chaos with Brandon Brown

By Jessica Bush - November 9th, 2023

This week’s guest is Brandon Brown. Ron and Brandon discussed TWI, and why reducing both personal and professional chaos is so important. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you

GA 474 | Integrating Coaching and Lean with Sarah Tilkens

By Jessica Bush - May 4th, 2023

This week’s guest is Sarah Tilkens. Ron and Sarah discussed her career at GE, the impact coaching has had on her, and how she integrates coaching and lean. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download her

5S and Spring Cleaning

By John Knotts - April 21st, 2023

What better time than now to talk to you about spring cleaning and 5S? Now, you may be wondering what exactly 5S is, and how it relates to spring cleaning. Well, let me explain. 5S is a methodology used in manufacturing and other indus

GA 469 | Improving Lives with Lean with Steve Bell

By Jessica Bush - March 30th, 2023

This week’s guest is Steve Bell. Ron and Steve discussed Steve’s work applying lean to NGOs, how he approaches Change Management, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episod

GA 438 | The Importance of Understanding People with Brent Weichers

By Jessica Bush - August 25th, 2022

This week’s guest is Brent Weichers. Brent explained how his organization has made real changes to improve the lives of the employees. He also shared what he’ll be presenting at this year’s AME conference. An MP3 audi

GA 408 | Lean and Life Coaches with Sarah Tilkens

By Jessica Bush - January 27th, 2022

This week’s guest is Sarah Tilkens. Sarah talked about her journey as a leader at GE and how she has embraced her true self in the process. Sarah also explained her interest in becoming a life coach. An MP3 audio version of thi

GA 393 | Lean Storytelling with Adam Lawrence

By Jessica Bush - October 14th, 2021

This week’s guest is Adam Lawrence. We’ve had Adam on the show a few times before and have come to love his engaging and thought-provoking stories. This week Adam shared several different ones, each with a different message

GA 372 | Lean and Mental Health with Jessica House

By Jessica Bush - May 20th, 2021

This week’s guest is Jessica House. Jessica’s background is in both continuous improvement and mental health, and she explained to Ron how the two worlds intersect. This episode is another great example of the universal app

GA 371 | Adopting a Learning-Based Approach to Lean with Scott Keenan

By Jessica Bush - May 13th, 2021

This week’s guest is Scott Keenan. Scott described his continuous improvement journey, and the work he’s been doing with Alan Wire. Ron and Scott also discussed our Toyota Kata course, and Alan Wire’s experience with

GA 365 | Adopting a Growth Mindset with Nik Kottha

By Jessica Bush - April 1st, 2021

This week’s guest is Nik Kottha. Ron and Nik covered several important topics, including what Nik has learned from yoga, what excellence means to him, and where his passion comes from. Nik also stressed the importance of coaching

GA 362 | Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Continuous Improvement with David Larsen

By Jessica Bush - March 11th, 2021

This week’s guest is David Larsen. Ron and David had a great discussion about continuous improvement in both manufacturing and in healthcare. David also shared an interesting case study he worked on to improve employee safety. A

GA 361 | The Role of Entropy in Lean with Luciana Toda

By Jessica Bush - March 4th, 2021

This week’s guest is Luciana Toda. Ron and Luciana discussed the concept of entropy and its role in a culture of continuous improvement. They also explored how sustainability factors in as far as creating real, lasting change. A

GA 357 | Revisiting The Toyota Way with Jeff Liker

By Jessica Bush - February 4th, 2021

This week’s guest is Dr. Jeffrey Liker. Jeff explained why he released a second edition of his bestselling book, The Toyota Way. Jeff and Ron also discussed scientific thinking and its relationship to other lean tools like 5S, Ho

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