Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People

Where Leaders Go Wrong: Don Kieffer on Finding Better Ways to Work

16 snips
Oct 8, 2025
Don Kieffer, a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan and former Harley-Davidson executive, explores how returning to basic work principles can transform organizations. He discusses the pitfalls of management fads and introduces the five principles of Dynamic Work Design. Kieffer emphasizes the importance of small experiments over big plans, reveals the flaws of firefighting cultures, and highlights techniques to improve workflow. Through engaging anecdotes, he shows how focused changes can lead to substantial organizational improvements.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
ADVICE

Diagnose Before You Prescribe

  • Solve the right problem by investigating before prescribing solutions and quantify the gap to measure progress.
  • Use the scientific method: test hypotheses and ensure the fix reduces recurrence by a measurable amount.
ADVICE

Make Plans Experiments

  • Treat each step of your plan as an experiment that tests assumptions rather than a checklist to blindly follow.
  • Run small projects that build on discovery and iterate based on what you learn from each experiment.
INSIGHT

Work Is A Human Chain

  • View work as flow through a network of people, not departments or machines.
  • Fix broken connections in the human chain so work can flow freely and management can respond fast.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app