KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More

In this KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar, Mark Graban (author, speaker, consultant, and Senior Advisor at KaiNexus) is joined by Tracy O’Rourke (Lean consultant, coach, and co-author of The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit) for a powerful session on:“Leveraging Psychology for Effective Behavioral Change with Process Gemba Walks.”Get slides and moreGemba walks are a cornerstone of Lean and continuous improvement, but too often they fail to create real change. Why? Because simply walking the floor and asking questions isn’t enough. To truly shift behaviors and sustain improvements, leaders need to understand the psychology of how people think, feel, and respond in the workplace.In this webinar, you’ll learn how to:✅ Use psychology to make Gemba walks more effective and engaging✅ Identify behaviors that support or undermine a culture of improvement✅ Encourage employees to speak up without fear, building psychological safety✅ Avoid the pitfalls of Gemba walks that feel like “management by walking around”✅ Reinforce positive change through coaching and structured follow-up✅ Apply practical strategies for habit formation, motivation, and cultural alignmentTracy shares lessons from her work helping organizations implement Lean in healthcare, government, and private industry, while Mark offers insights from his books Lean Hospitals, Measures of Success, and The Mistakes That Make Us. Together, they highlight how blending Lean tools with behavioral science leads to stronger, more sustainable results.Who should watch:Leaders seeking to improve employee engagement and cultureLean practitioners and continuous improvement professionalsManagers frustrated by Gemba walks that don’t “stick”Anyone interested in connecting psychology, leadership, and operational excellenceResources & Links:Learn more about KaiNexus Continuous Improvement SoftwareExplore our full webinar libraryTracy O’Rourke’s resources

Registration linkTo be presented Sept 30 at 5 pm ET by Tracy O'Rourke.Do you have a painful process, but people don’t seem to want to embrace change to improve it? Does it seem that people are comfortable with the status quo? One of the most powerful Change Management tools you have is…Gemba Walks!  Tracy O’RourkeCo-Author "The Problem-Solver's Toolkit" Co-Founder of the Just-in-Time Café Co-Host of the Just-in-Time Café podcast Master Black Belt UC San Diego Instructor Parody Music Video CreatorA process improvement ZEALOT! we’ll explore the psychology behind Gemba Walks specificallyrelated to some of the concepts shared in “Switch” by Chip & Dan Heath andwhy Gemba Walks are a MUST when you need difficult change to be easier

In this episode, Mark Graban reads a recent KaiNexus blog post by Danielle Yoon: “What Makes Employees Actually Participate in Continuous Improvement Programs?”Here is the blog postEmployee participation is the heartbeat of any Lean or continuous improvement effort. Without it, even the best strategies stall. Drawing on research by Dr. Shweta Chopra and Jayaruwani Fernando—conducted inside a healthcare organization using the KaiNexus platform—this episode explores what really motivates people to engage with suggestion systems and improvement programs.You’ll learn why performance expectancy (believing the system helps me do my job better) and social influence (seeing peers and leaders participate) are far more powerful drivers of engagement than system usability or resources alone. The findings highlight the importance of feedback loops, visible success stories, and leadership behaviors that create a culture where employees feel heard and valued.Whether you’re leading a Lean transformation, managing a suggestion system, or simply striving to boost engagement in your organization, this research-backed discussion offers practical guidance on how to build momentum and make continuous improvement sustainable.

Read the blog postSummaryThe continuous improvement model is a systematic approach where organizations constantly implement small, incremental improvements to services, products, and processes. Built on seven core principles, this model enables businesses of any size to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and engage employees in meaningful change that directly supports strategic goals.

Read the blog postYou’ve identified inefficiencies. You have a clear roadmap. You know your improvement initiative can move the needle. What's next? You need executive buy-in.One of the most common challenges for CI and OpEx leaders is getting senior leadership to engage, support, and actively champion improvement work. It's not that leaders don't care about the performance of CI and OpEx initiatives, but because of a combination of perception gaps, systemic challenges, and competing priorities. The good news? With the right framing and structure, it's absolutely possible to turn passive approval into active sponsorship. Below, we break down how to earn executive buy-in that translates into cultural and operational impact.

The blog postManufacturers in the automotive sector face significant pressures today, from rising material costs and supply chain disruptions to the demand for faster production times and stricter regulatory requirements. Achieving continuous quality improvement (CQI) remains critical, as it not only enhances product consistency and drives compliance but also helps manufacturers stay competitive in a market that is constantly evolving.Fortunately, continuous improvement has a long history in automotive manufacturing. Many of the tools and techniques widely used by organizations worldwide were explicitly developed to ensure the quality and efficiency of automotive manufacturing. Toyota was a pioneer of many of the CQI approaches used today. Whether you are using language like CQI, TQM, Lean, TPS, or Lean Six Sigma, these approaches described below still apply.As you might imagine, the benefits of a successful continuous improvement program are significant, including...

Link to the blog postIf you’re a CI leader, you’ve likely experienced the paradox: you’re driving improvements across the organization, but your executive team still sees your program as “supporting work” and not strategic work.You may hear positive feedback, even encouragement. But behind closed doors, your program is being measured against a different standard.The good news? The C-suite isn’t intentionally withholding their expectations. They’re just operating with a set of priorities that live in another language. And until your improvement program speaks it, you’ll struggle to get traction, attention, or budget.Here’s what your C-suite actually wants from your improvement work, even if they haven’t explicitly said it, and how you can deliver on those expectations in a way that secures long-term executive support...

A webinar presented by Scott Gauvin, CEO of Macresco Consulting and the Co-founder of the Respect for People RoadmapVideo, slides, and moreLearning objectives:Identify the hidden barriers that prevent Lean from gaining traction—and discover practical strategies to overcome themLearn the nine behaviors leaders and employees can adopt to build a culture of continuous improvementGain strategic insights into driving cultural change across teams and entire organizationsScott Gauvin is the CEO of Macresco Consulting and the Co-founder of the Respect for People Roadmap. With 30 years of experience in operations, he has helped organizations around the world and across industries rethink the path to transformation—not just in process, but in mindset.A contributing author to Leading With Compassion: Cultivating Connection from the Inside Out, Scott believes real change happens when organizations bridge the gap between culture and strategy. Right now, he’s focused on helping organizations unlock performance by systematically cultivating the behaviors that make it possible.

Bill Canady, CEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products and author of The 80/20 CEO, shares decades of experience in driving profitable growth. He discusses how to implement the 80/20 principle as a business operating system and the pivotal role of strategic alignment in continuous improvement efforts. Bill emphasizes the importance of lean methodologies across all company operations, not just in manufacturing. He also delves into the balance between empathy and execution in leadership and how AI can transform healthcare, ultimately advocating for a culture of small, incremental improvements.

Watch the recordingPresented byLindsey Booty, RN, BS, CNOR, is the Supervisor of Performance ImprovementChristopher Thomas, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at LSUHSC and Chief Quality OfficerLeaAnn Teague, MBA, MT(ASCP), SBB, PMP, is Sr. Director of Performance Improvementfrom  Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical CenterIn many hospitals, the process of recording, prioritizing, and addressing safety concerns raised by employees during patient safety rounds is often manual, fragmented, and lacks standardization. To overcome these challenges, Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center implemented KaiNexus to streamline the documentation, tracking, and resolution of safety concerns raised during patient safety rounds, while ensuring that risks are prioritized and addressed in alignment with the SAFER Matrix.In this webinar, you'll learn how Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center leveraged KaiNexus to reinforce a culture where safety is everyone's responsibility. By providing a transparent and efficient system for raising and addressing concerns, team members are empowered to speak up, knowing their input will be heard and acted upon.