Lean Focus Podcast
The Lean Focus Podcast brings you inspiring stories of Lean transformation, hosted by Damon Baker, CEO of Lean Focus and renowned "Lean Catalyst." In each episode, Damon sits down with one of the world’s top business leaders to recount the true story behind an extraordinary business transformation. Based on an entertaining, storytelling approach, this podcast empowers business leaders at every level to embark on their own Hero’s Journey on a path that will lead to legendary impact on their organizations.
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Building the System Before the Crisis — How Jason Few Is Reinventing The Way FuelCell Energy Works
03/03/2026
Building the System Before the Crisis — How Jason Few Is Reinventing The Way FuelCell Energy Works
FuelCell Energy has been a pioneer in clean energy for more than 50 years. But legacy, mission, and breakthrough technology alone don’t ensure longevity. In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, @Damon Baker sits down with @Jason Few, President & CEO of FuelCell Energy, to tell the story of a transformation driven not by crisis—but by clarity. Jason reflects on a hard truth he recognized early in his tenure: the company had an enormous mission and opportunity, but no shared way of working to match the scale of what needed to be accomplished. Teams were overloaded, priorities competed, and previous attempts at change delivered surface-level improvements without altering the core operating system. Rather than waiting for a burning platform, Jason made a deliberate decision to change how work gets done—to slow down, ask better questions, and build a real business system grounded in visibility, problem solving, and shared language. In this conversation, we explore: Why maintaining the status quo was the biggest risk facing a 50+ year-old innovator, What led FuelCell Energy to move beyond OKRs toward a true Lean business system, Why committing to transformation before consensus is often required of CEOs, How daily management, A3 problem solving, and making work visible began changing behavior, What it means to build a system designed to support the next 50 years—not just the next quarter. One year into the journey, Jason shares what’s already changing—and what still lies ahead. From earlier, more honest conversations about problems to stronger cross-functional collaboration, this episode offers a grounded, realistic view of transformation as a continuous learning process—not a finish line. This is essential listening for CEOs and senior leaders leading legacy organizations who know change is required—and want to build a system that endures. 📩 Subscribe to the Lean Focus Podcast 🔗 Follow Lean Focus: 📌 Follow Lean Focus on LinkedIn for more CEO-level transformation insights:
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Kind Enough to Care, Curious Enough to Change: Accelerating a Winning Company w/ John Adams of Magnum Manufacturing
02/03/2026
Kind Enough to Care, Curious Enough to Change: Accelerating a Winning Company w/ John Adams of Magnum Manufacturing
How do you transform a company that isn’t broken? In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, host Damon Baker sits down with John Adams, CEO of Magnum Manufacturing, to explore the most overlooked leadership challenge in business today: evolving a company that’s already winning. When John stepped into the role, Magnum was strong, profitable, and respected — but the momentum was fading. The company wasn’t in decline…it just wasn’t accelerating. John shares how he recognized the quiet danger of confidence drifting toward complacency — and why the next chapter required a new operating mindset built on two deceptively simple beliefs: 👉 Be Kind. Be Curious. In this candid and practical conversation, you’ll hear how he: Elevated the organization from consistency to clarity and ambition, Built urgency without drama or fear, Unified strategy and operations into a single growth system, Embedded facts over assumptions in decision-making, Strengthened capability and confidence by pairing data with humility, Redefined leadership expectations around emotional intelligence and curiosity, Maintains focus and momentum even when results are strong. This is not a turnaround story. It’s a turn-it-up story. John proves that kindness isn’t weakness — it’s what earns trust. Curiosity isn’t chaos — it’s what unlocks growth. If you’re a CEO or transformation leader in a business that’s “doing fine,” this episode will challenge you to raise your sights — and give you a blueprint for mobilizing a high-performing team toward what's next. 📩 Subscribe to the Lean Focus Podcast 🔗 Follow Lean Focus: 📌 Follow Lean Focus on LinkedIn for more CEO-level transformation insights:
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When HR Leads the Lean Transformation: How Rich Trojan Reinvented Holland’s Culture and Cadence
01/06/2026
When HR Leads the Lean Transformation: How Rich Trojan Reinvented Holland’s Culture and Cadence
What happens when Human Resources — not Operations — leads the Lean transformation? In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, host Damon Baker sits down with Rich Trojan, Chief Human Resources Officer at Holland LP, to explore how a people-first function became the driving force behind one of the most successful lean turnarounds in recent years. When Rich joined Holland, the company wasn’t broken — it was busy. Hundreds of competing priorities, strong personalities, and no common operating rhythm. HR wasn’t supposed to fix that. But Rich saw something others missed: without alignment, accountability, and a unifying system, even great people can’t deliver great results. What followed was a total cultural shift by the entire Leadership Team: Implementing Policy Deployment and the Holland Business System across 800+ employees, Rebuilding trust between leadership and frontline teams through hands-on learning Creating a cadence of accountability that drove 25% sales growth and 60% profit improvement in two years, Transforming HR into a strategic partner that drives clarity, focus, and measurable business results, Building a self-sustaining lean culture — one that thrives even after leadership changes. Rich’s story proves that Lean isn’t just about processes and plants — it’s about people, discipline, and belief. And sometimes, the most transformative change starts in the least expected place. If you’re an HR leader, CEO, or anyone trying to align culture with execution, this episode will change how you see your role. 🎧 Listen now to hear how Rich Trojan turned HR into the engine of transformation at Holland LP — and how you can do the same in your organization. 🔗 Subscribe to the Lean Focus Podcast 📩 Learn more at: 📌 Follow on LinkedIn: See the full transcript here:
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Lean in Marketing: Martyn Etherington on Transforming a Service Bureau into a Growth Engine
12/01/2025
Lean in Marketing: Martyn Etherington on Transforming a Service Bureau into a Growth Engine
When most people hear “Lean,” they think factories, assembly lines, and manufacturing systems. But in this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, host Damon Baker sits down with Martyn Etherington, Chief Marketing Officer of BMC Software, to explore how Lean principles can transform one of the least expected functions in business: marketing. Martyn is a transformation-driven Chief Marketing Officer who architects high-performance, data-driven growth systems for global enterprise software companies. He led Danaher Strategic Development and Deployment for Tektronix across four strategic cycles and implemented Lean operating models at Mitel and Teradata. When Martyn joined BMC, marketing was seen as a service bureau — an “all-you-can-eat buffet” with vanity metrics, poor accountability, and no direct tie to growth. Within months, he made bold moves that most CMOs would never attempt: halting all advertising, canceling 200 events, and betting his tenure on bringing Lean rigor into marketing. The result? Millions in waste eliminated, marketing ROI multiplied from 1:1 to 5:1, and BMC’s strongest year in four decades. In this candid conversation, Martyn shares how he: Went from Lean detractor to one of its strongest advocates, Broke cultural inertia by finding “positive deviants” and building around them, Gained credibility by relying on data, facts, and independent validation — not marketing spin, Balanced his leadership style (“50% Hugh Grant, 50% Gordon Ramsey”) to fit the culture, Proved that Lean isn’t just for operations — it’s for every part of the business that wants to grow. This is a playbook for CMOs, CEOs, and transformation leaders who want to drive accountability and results in functions that have historically been shielded from operational discipline. Listen now to hear how Martyn Etherington redefined the role of marketing at BMC — and why Lean might just be the secret weapon for growth in every corner of your business. 🔗 Subscribe to the Lean Focus Podcast 📩 Follow Lean Focus: 📌 LinkedIn:
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Hyper Scaling Under Pressure: Building Spark into a Market Challenger
11/03/2025
Hyper Scaling Under Pressure: Building Spark into a Market Challenger
What happens when you’re asked to build a challenger brand inside a Fortune 500 company — and the stakes couldn’t be higher? In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with Eric Conley, CEO of Chase Corporation, to unpack one of the most extraordinary growth stories in medtech: the launch and scale of Spark, Envista’s answer to Align Technology’s Invisalign. Eric didn’t inherit a burning platform. He inherited something harder: a business with huge potential, enormous demand, and a delivery system already buckling under the weight. Lead times were two months in a market that expected two weeks. Customers were lining up faster than the company could deliver. It was “do or die” from day one. Eric shares how he: Scaled Spark from 200 trial accounts to over 5,000 orthodontists in four years, Launched seven manufacturing lines and hired 500+ people in California in just seven months — during a global pandemic, Expanded globally into Europe, Asia, Mexico, and China while building a 2,000-person team, Made the critical strategic bet to focus on orthodontists instead of chasing general dentists or direct-to-consumer models, Drove Mexicali’s turnover from 50% down to 10%, proving culture change at scale, Leveraged automation, AI-driven treatment planning, and customer engagement to achieve both speed and quality This isn’t steady-state leadership. It’s leadership in the crucible — scaling at hyper speed, balancing legacy profit engines with future growth bets, and making bold decisions when failure wasn’t an option. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to lead under extreme pressure, this episode is a masterclass in speed, focus, and people-first leadership. Listen now and hear how Eric Conley turned Spark from a risky bet into Envista’s growth story — and how that experience shapes his leadership today as CEO of Chase Corporation. 🔗 Subscribe to the Lean Focus Podcast 📩 Follow Lean Focus: 📌 LinkedIn: See the full transcript here:
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Leading Change Without a Burning Platform: How Bret Snyder is Reigniting Growth at W. L. Gore & Associates
10/06/2025
Leading Change Without a Burning Platform: How Bret Snyder is Reigniting Growth at W. L. Gore & Associates
How do you create a sense of urgency when there’s no crisis? In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with Bret Snyder, CEO of W. L. Gore & Associates, to explore what it takes to lead transformation inside one of the world’s most admired companies — when everything looks fine from the outside. For decades, Gore thrived on its legendary innovations like GORE-TEX® Fabric and built a culture admired around the world — nimble, accountable, and deeply customer-focused. But by 2020, growth was slowing, decision-making had become cumbersome, and Gore was over-reliant on one materials set while lagging behind U.S. GDP growth. There wasn’t a consistent downward trend — just a slow drift and a growing concern from leadership about future relevance. Bret shares how he stepped into his first CEO role, embraced humility, and led Gore’s transformation by: Recognizing the dangers of success when it breeds complacency, Reconnecting the organization to its roots of innovation, agility, and customer obsession, Addressing over-dependence on a single material science capability and unlocking new growth engines, Introducing the Gore Business System — lean principles tailored to Gore’s unique culture, Building alignment without tearing down the company’s proud legacy This is a story of stewardship, courage, and leadership at the highest level — driving change, restoring focus, and painting a bold picture of the future when there’s no obvious burning platform. If you’re a CEO, senior leader, or business strategist, this episode is a must-listen. Listen now and learn how Bret Snyder is redefining what transformation looks like when “good” just isn’t good enough. Full Transcript:
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Bringing ModusLink Back From the Brink w/ CEO Fawaz Khalil
08/28/2025
Bringing ModusLink Back From the Brink w/ CEO Fawaz Khalil
In this premiere episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, host Damon Baker sits down with Fawaz Khalil, CEO of ModusLink, a Steel Partners company, to explore one of the most compelling turnaround stories in recent years. When Fawaz took the helm, ModusLink was on life support—revenues were half of what they once were, the company hadn’t turned a profit in over a decade, and customer confidence was shattered. The team had seen “transformation” efforts come and go—with little to show for it. Fawaz changed that. In this conversation, Fawaz shares exactly how he: Stopped the bleeding and rebuilt customer trust, Used strategy deployment and lean principles to drive cultural change, Shifted a skeptical, fatigued organization toward ownership and accountability, Navigated the challenges of executing a global transformation during a pandemic, Delivered consistent profitability and shareholder dividends after years of losses. This is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to rescue a business from the brink—and the leadership it demands. If you’re a CEO, executive, or business leader serious about real transformation—not just buzzwords—this is an episode you don’t want to miss. See the full transcript here:
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