Efficiency and cost savings aren't what makes operational excellence last. People are.

The leaders who create enduring, high-performing organizations are after something beyond business results. They want a company where people end the day more capable, more confident, more energized than when it began. That's the difference between a workplace that wears people down and one that builds powerful people.

Gary Peterson spent more than 30 years building that kind of culture of continuous improvement at OC Tanner. But the hardest part wasn't creating the systems or processes to get better outcomes. It was his own transformation — coming to see how, without meaning to, he'd become the leader getting in his people's way.

Put people first, and the results follow.

And the deepest transformation you'll ever lead is your own.

You’ll Learn:

• Why operational excellence only lasts when leaders focus on building people, not just cutting costs and eliminating waste
• Why the best leaders make an identity shift from being the expert with every answer to creating the conditions for others to solve problems
• What it takes to move managers from enforcers to coaches and make continuous improvement something your team never fears, even as roles and headcount shift
• How to influence real organizational change when you have no authority to make anyone follow
• Why so many leaders give up on culture change too soon, and how long it really takes

ABOUT MY GUEST:

Gary Peterson spent more than 30 years at OC Tanner, where he held leadership roles across manufacturing, marketing, and operations, most recently as Executive Vice President of Supply Chain and Manufacturing. He led the people-first transformation that earned OC Tanner the Shingo Prize and made it one of the few companies Toyota holds up as a global showcase for its system outside automotive. Gary is an Association for Manufacturing Excellence Hall of Fame inductee.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

• Full episode show notes: ChainOfLearning.com/79
• Connect with Gary Peterson: linkedin.com/in/garypeterson
• Follow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjanderson
• Subscribe to my newsletter: kbjanderson.com/newsletter
• Check out my website for resources and working together: KBJAnderson.com
• Join me on the Japan Leadership Experience: KBJAnderson.com/japantrip

TIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:
03:44 Why Toyota saw something different at OC Tanner

05:02 The real purpose of operational excellence

07:19 How Gary knew the culture was changing

09:00 Creating people who change the world

12:13 The outcome every leader should want

13:07 Two pillars that shaped the journey

14:26 Breaking a culture of fear and control

15:35 The five-minute habit that changed everything

17:15 Redefining what it means to be a manager

19:12 Why transformation takes longer than you think

20:05 What to do when leaders don't support the change

22:26 The experiment that almost got shut down

24:19 Helping managers make the coaching shift

25:23 When people outgrow their leaders

28:28 Why improvement should never threaten jobs

30:23 The manager who couldn't stop yelling

32:23 The leadership habit that destroys ownership

35:35 Becoming the leader you never wanted to be

37:00 The habit that was holding people back

38:01 The executive behavior that shuts people down

40:07 Proving your worth vs. creating conditions

45:37 Showing results isn't the same as showing people

49:53 Where transformation really begins

51:16 The question every leader should ask about their people

53:34 When helping starts limiting growth

55:14 The shift that made everything else possible