In this episode, Mark Graban reads and reflects on his LeanBlog.org post, “When a CEO Talks About the Work: Larry Culp, GE Aerospace, and Real Lean Leadership.”
The post examines a rare example of a Fortune 50 CEO—Larry Culp of GE Aerospace—describing operational excellence not through slogans or dashboards, but through safety, trust, and small frontline improvements that compound into real results.
This episode explores:
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What it looks like when a CEO truly understands the work
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Why Respect for People shows up in system design, not values statements
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How safety, trust, and daily improvement drive performance
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Why Lean leadership is about behavior, not buzzwords
A practical and concrete example of Lean leadership in action—told through the words, stories, and operational details that CEOs rarely share this openly.