What if you could walk into your executive leader's office and say: "I've identified a hidden cost equal to thirty-four percent of all our labor input, and I have ideas about how to address it before year end"? That's the premise of this conversation between two leaders with over thirty years of experience each—one from defense contracting, one from asphalt paving—who've discovered the same missing element in lean and continuous improvement: mindset.
David White's company spent thirty-seven years focused on production, tons, and results before asking themselves one question: do we really know our cost? The lean journey that followed revealed something unexpected—the biggest barrier wasn't processes or systems but resistance to change from tenured employees who believed everything was going great. Jennifer Pushner, a Six Sigma Black Belt at Raytheon, expands the aperture further: lean isn't just for manufacturing. It's about the most efficient and effective ways to understand what another person or organization needs.
Both leaders converge on the same insight: effective communication isn't just more communication—it's meaningful conversation that requires self-awareness, understanding others' objectives, and the humility to recognize you're not the smartest person in the room. David's company discovered that when they invited employees beyond the executive team into strategic planning, they unlocked a brand new revenue stream no one had considered. Jennifer learned that in rooms full of brilliant engineers, the magic happens when you stop worrying about sounding intelligent and start actually listening.
The conversation explores how COVID forced organizations to trust and empower people in ways they never had—and how that mindset can now accelerate lean implementation. The panel addresses accountability not as something leaders impose but as something people choose when given clarity, purpose, and connection to the bigger picture. As both leaders note: no one wants to suck at their job. The question is whether we create environments where accountability is the choice people want to make.
Learning Objectives
- Recognize mindset as the foundational element beneath behavior that determines whether lean initiatives succeed or stall, understanding that while results are driven by behavior, focusing solely on behavior limits results
- Shift from holding people accountable to developing accountable people by providing clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations while connecting individual contributions to organizational mission and outcomes
- Create environments for effective communication that move beyond information exchange to meaningful conversation—listening for others' perspectives, understanding their objectives, and removing obstacles to collaboration
