In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Bryan Schmidt, a CPA, author, and finance transformation leader who spent more than two decades turning manual, paper-heavy finance processes into streamlined, automated systems.

🔻 Why ERP systems are the foundation of any successful finance transformation

🔻 The simple ROI math executives expect and how to frame improvement ideas for approval

🔻 Why quick wins matter more than big projects early on

🔻 How automation can improve morale, not just efficiency

🔻 Why honesty and trust are essential when leading change

🔻 Practical advice for CI leaders on prioritization, governance, and learning from every project

🔗 Connect with Bryan Schmidt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-schmidt99/

🔗 Learn more about Bryan's book: https://www.financeautomationblueprint.com/my-book

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.

How do you make innovation and transformation actually stick instead of stalling out in planning decks and dashboards? In this episode, Keith Norris talks with Claire Quigley, founder of Tech Team Whisperer. With more than 20 years of experience spanning strategy, innovation, digital transformation, and people leadership across startups and global organizations, Claire explains why most transformations fail and what leaders must do to become truly transformation-ready.

🔻 Why transformation success rates have barely changed in the last decade and what leaders overlook.

🔻 What it really means to be “transformation ready” before launching major initiatives.

🔻 Why purpose, not technology, is the anchor for successful innovation and change.

🔻 How leadership assumptions quietly derail improvement efforts.

🔻 The difference between tracking green dashboards and recognizing real progress on the floor.

🔻 Why adoption and utilization matter more than rolling out new digital tools.

🔻 How AI anxiety and “AI shame” show up inside organizations and what leaders can do about it.

🔻 Why visual thinking, value stream mapping, and simple CI tools still matter in digital teams.

🔻 How storytelling and better questions help leaders drive alignment and engagement.

🔗 Connect with Claire Quigley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-quigley-innovation-change-strategy-culture-consultant/

🔗 Learn more about Tech Team Whisperer: https://www.techteamwhisperer.com/

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.

How do you build a continuous improvement system that works across industries, scales with growth, and actually changes how people think and act? In this episode, Keith Norris talks with Keshawn Cupid, CEO of Modern Kaizen. Drawing on his journey from the U.S. Navy to consulting across manufacturing, healthcare, food service, government contracting, and more, Keshawn shares why mindset comes before tools and how organizations can move from good intentions to real, repeatable results.

🔻 How mindset shifts unlock better problem solving, ownership, and engagement.

🔻 Why standard work is essential for consistency, learning, and sustainable improvement.

🔻 The difference between solving the current state and solving the gap.

🔻 Why over-motivated employees can unintentionally create risk without clear structure.

🔻 How CI managers act as translators between leadership goals and frontline execution.

🔻 Real-world examples of how chasing the wrong metric drives the wrong behavior.

🔻 Why Lean works in any industry where work is repeatable, from manufacturing to hospitals to food service.

🔻 How AI can turn complexity into clarity when paired with sound improvement thinking.

🔗 Connect with Keshawn Cupid on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keshawn-cupid-2ba86855/

🔗 Learn more about Modern Kaizen: https://modernkaizen.com/

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.

How often do organizations say they are “doing Lean” while quietly undermining it through everyday leadership behaviors?

In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Bob Emiliani, a respected author, researcher, and longtime critic of superficial Lean implementations. Bob shares candid insights on why most Lean transformations fail, the difference between tools and true Lean thinking, and how leadership behavior either enables or destroys continuous improvement.

🔻 Why most Lean transformations fail even when the right tools are in place.

🔻 How leadership behavior shapes culture more than any CI methodology.

🔻 Why “respect for people” is often misunderstood or ignored in practice.

🔻 The hidden ways classical management destroys improvement.

🔻 How organizations unintentionally create resistance to change.

🔻 What leaders must unlearn before Lean can truly take hold.

🔻 Why real improvement requires changing management thinking, not just processes.

🔗 Connect with Bob Emiliani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-emiliani-660a72170/

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.

How do you build a continuous improvement culture that actually sticks, especially across large, complex organizations? In this episode, Keith Norris talks with Dan Barata, Corporate Director of Continuous Improvement at East Penn Manufacturing. With decades of experience across manufacturing, healthcare, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, Dan shares why CI must start with people, not tools, and how leaders can create the space, safety, and opportunity for real improvement to happen.

🔻 How Dan’s early path in industrial engineering shaped his people-first approach to continuous improvement.

🔻 Why training alone does not equal empowerment and what leaders must do next.

🔻 The importance of building human connection before introducing process improvement.

🔻 How failing forward is different from simply failing and why not all failures are created equal.

🔻 Why standard work is the foundation for improvement and not the enemy of creativity.

🔻 How leaders can create psychological safety so people feel comfortable trying new ideas.

🔻 Why engagement and alignment matter as much as cost savings when measuring CI impact.

🔻 Dan’s guidance on utilization, capacity, and creating time for both improvement and people development.

🔻 Why coaching and mentoring matter more than running a few isolated improvement projects.

🔗 Connect with Dan Barata on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-j-barata-pe-mba/

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.

How do you build resilience and continuous improvement into your life and work, no matter the challenge? In this episode, Keith Norris talks with Janine LeaBarrett, a governance and engineering leader whose career spans mining, construction, local government, and five seasons in Antarctica. From surviving a life-changing accident to leading teams in some of the harshest conditions on earth, Janine shares practical lessons on clarity, safety, and why continuous improvement matters everywhere.

🔻 How Janine became an electrician in a male-dominated field and developed a mindset for continuous improvement.

🔻 What five seasons in Antarctica taught her about teamwork, safety, and engineering in extreme conditions.

🔻 How surviving a major accident shaped her resilience and philosophy of “get on with it.”

🔻 Why she believes continuous improvement is essential in every industry.

🔻 Her leadership advice for new supervisors: seek input from everyone and ensure clarity.

🔻 Why the Five Whys remains her go-to problem-solving tool.

🔻 Why resilience matters: “If you can’t bounce back, you can’t get stronger.”

🔗 Connect with Janine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janineleabarrett0427244234/

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

📘 Buy the book Impact: https://thatimpactbook.com/

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.

What if the key to sustaining improvement has less to do with tools and more to do with the brain itself? In this episode, Keith Norris sits down with Chris Hayes, CEO of Impact Performance Solutions, Shingo Licensed Affiliate, ASQ Fellow, and author of Wired for Excellence: Harnessing Brain Science for Organizational Success.

🔻 Why improvement wins fade and how the Shingo Model strengthens sustainment

🔻 The brain science of change and how the amygdala triggers threat responses

🔻 Why logic alone never drives change and why people need safety and clarity

🔻 The five domains of the B.R.A.I.N. Model and how they shape culture

🔻 How leaders can reduce threat, spark reward responses, and boost engagement

🔻 How clarity, communication rhythms, and small wins support sustainment

🔗 Connect with Chris Hayes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiannahayes/

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

🔗 Visit Impact Performance Solutions: https://impactperformancesolutions.com/

📘 Buy "Wired For Excellence: Harnessing Brain Science For Organizational Success" on Amazon: https://a.co/d/e4mslDn

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.

What actually makes projects succeed — and why do so many fail before they even begin?

In this episode, Keith sits down with Adriana Girdler, President & Chief Efficiency Officer at CornerStone Dynamics, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, PMP, productivity expert, and one of the top project management voices in North America. With over 260K YouTube subscribers and 20+ years leading organizational transformation, Adriana breaks down what organizations get wrong about project work and why clarity, alignment, and methodology matter more than any tool.

🔻 Adriana’s unexpected start in productivity and PM (thanks, Franklin Planner)

🔻 Why “accidental project managers” are everywhere — and why they struggle

🔻 The real definition of a project: start date, end date, deliverable

🔻 Why technology is just a tool — not the solution to productivity

🔻 What every charter must include (and why it’s your navigation system)

🔻 The three levels of project roles: sponsors, steering committees & SMEs

🔻 How project managers must shift into strategic leadership roles

🔻 The danger of siloed work and why PMs must be the connective tissue

🔻 Why organizations unintentionally set teams up for failure

🔻 Project management in the age of AI — what changes, what doesn’t

🔗 Connect with Adriana Girdler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianagirdler/

🔗 Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

🔗 Visit CornerStone Dynamics:https://www.cornerstonedynamics.com/

🔗 Explore the SLAY Project Management Course:https://adrianagirdler.thinkific.com/pages/slaypm

🔗 Learn about the SLAY Corporate Program:https://www.cornerstonedynamics.com/project-management-corporate-program/

🔗 Watch Adriana’s YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@AdrianaGirdler

🔗 Follow CornerStone Dynamics on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/cornerstone-dynamics-inc/

🎙 Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.