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Improvement as a Human Endeavor

January 29, 2026 – Cheryl Jekiel and Steve Gund

Over time, continuous improvement efforts have consistently demonstrated a fundamental truth: improvement is a human endeavor. We know that applying the right tools helps, systems matter, and operational discipline is essential. However, true improvement only occurs when people choose to participate.

The Gund Company (TGC) embarked on their pursuit of continuous improvement almost two decades ago, aiming to prevent problems and support sustainable growth. Based in St. Louis with operations worldwide, TGC manufactures engineered materials and electrical insulation products for industrial customers who depend on reliability and technical performance—and the company competes in environments where mistakes are costly and precision is crucial.

Gains and Disappointments

Early improvement efforts at TGC focused primarily on Lean tools. Teams learned 6S, SMED, Kanban, poka-yoke, and other operational methods. Events were run, and problems were solved. Yet the outcome failed to have the expected impact on the workplace. Reflecting on that time, President Steve Gund observed, “We were educating people on compliance with the tools.” The approach generated activity and incremental performance gains, but it did not alter how people were involved in the work.

People at the Center of Work

TGC’s trajectory changed when they became acquainted with the Shingo Model. They hired Phil Williford, who had worked at Medtronic’s Jacksonville facility—a Shingo Prize recipient—and brought practical experience with integrated systems that connected leadership behavior to capability development and improvement. Steve recalls, “Phil had learned at Medtronic that tools were not enough. They needed the Cultural Enablers to capture hearts and minds.” That insight resonated with TGC and aligned with their vision for improvement. Over time, the company formalized its improvement system around five interconnected pillars: Gemba, visual management, Kaizen, process standardization, and cultural leadership.

Through the adoption of the Shingo approach, TGC repositioned improvement as an integrated system of culture and leadership grounded in respect and humility. Steve emphasizes, “It became clear that the focus needed to be about developing people.” A visible cultural shift occurred when leaders began asking questions with genuine curiosity rather than assuming they already knew the answers, and continuous improvement became a mindset that encouraged feedback from everyone in the business. A TGC team member describes, “I was invited to contribute rather than just required to follow the program.”

Listening as a Foundational System

One of the clearest examples of this shift is TGC’s listening system. One of the longest-standing cultural systems includes having Trained Culture Coaches meet with each team member in annual small-group listening sessions. Each session concludes with a review of Q12+ survey data to quantify themes, followed by Kaizen events to translate listening into prioritized action.

The effective use of A3 project teams played a central role in this process, serving as a problem-solving tool, a project management platform, and a communication method. Rather than capturing feedback on parking lots or flip charts, issues became structured projects with owners, timelines, and updates visible to the workforce. The listening system made respect observable by closing the loop between what team members and leadership said and what the organization did.

Annual prioritization prevented the listening system from becoming symbolic. Over the years, TGC has consistently focused on identifying the top opportunities for improvement. Steve describes, “Improvement became like climbing stairs—each level created new expectations, and team member standards rose accordingly.” This system illustrates how respect and humility were put into practice. Improvement is based on trusting relationships, which are founded on listening and enable contribution. Without trust, technical pillars struggle to take root. With it, improvement becomes continuous and increasingly self-reinforcing.

Leadership That Turns Culture into Strategy

While cultural leadership appeared as the fifth pillar, it functioned as the foundation. Leaders built relationships, listened deeply, and demonstrated respect before expecting participation in Kaizen or standardization. Gemba walks shifted from supervisory inspections to fostering connections: leaders introduced themselves, asked questions, checked on how people were doing, and only then addressed technical matters. The order signaled priority.

During this developmental period, Steve increasingly viewed leadership as stewardship. Knowing someone’s family story became his personal litmus test for connection because contribution depends on trust. As he explained, “Our company has a primary goal for team members to have the lives they were meant to have.” He came to believe that leaders must show respect and care and demonstrate accountability so that people can contribute at higher levels.

Systems That Enable Capability

As cultural enablers took root, systems became essential. Workshops alone could not sustain improvement; systems made expectations robust and repeatable, clarifying how decisions were made, how problems were identified, and how work was coordinated across the organization. Steve explained, “Collaboration became easier because the organization made it easier.” Systems reduced friction when collaboration became part of how work was done.

In addition, systems supported contribution rather than controlling it. They allocated authority—not just tasks. Team members understood the priorities and responded to problems with clarity rather than hesitation. This alignment embodied the Shingo Model’s logic: cultural enablers shape leadership, leadership shapes systems, systems shape behavior, and behavior shapes results. While A3s turned listening into accountable action, visual management boards made progress visible and reinforced that employee voice had weight.

Respect As a Performance Advantage

Respect Every Individual is one of the Shingo Guiding Principles in the Cultural Enablers dimension of the Model. For TGC, respect became a performance advantage. It influenced how ideas were received, how dissent was managed, and how improvement was suggested. People offered more ideas when they felt respected. They asked better questions. They challenged assumptions. They took ownership. Improvement was worth pursuing because contribution mattered. It also changed the tone of accountability. Leaders had high expectations, but they were rooted in care rather than control.

Steve described this shift as “winning hearts and minds,” not as a sentiment but as a strategy. People tried harder, stayed with problems longer, and collaborated more effectively. Conflict did not disappear, but it became productive. Respect created the psychological space needed for continuous improvement to thrive. Once contributions became normalized, participation in problem-solving moved beyond engineers and managers and into the broader workforce, reinforcing improvement as shared work rather than specialist work.

Results Reflect a Humanized Workplace

The results of this journey emerged over time. Customers benefited from more consistent execution, supporting TGC’s continued growth. As the company expanded, the systems approach to operations and culture proved a significant asset. Becoming intentional about culture and leadership led to quantifiable results: engagement reached world-class levels according to Gallup’s Q12 benchmark, quality performance became consistently world-class, and the organization sustained a 15% annual growth rate over a 20-year period. The combination of cultural strength and operational excellence enabled TGC to achieve industry-best performance. These outcomes reflected more than a business transformation; they reflected a humanized workplace in which people believed their contributions mattered—and saw evidence that leadership believed it, too.

Final Reflections on the Gund Journey

TGC’s experience reinforces a lesson common to Shingo practitioners: improvement becomes sustainable when it becomes cultural. What does that really mean? The role of leaders is to build systems that enable greater contributions across the broader workforce. Senior leadership and ownership play a decisive role because they determine whether culture is viewed as a strategic asset or as a byproduct of organizational life. Steve Gund exemplifies how Shingo-aligned CEOs focus on leadership as stewardship, and on improvement as a human endeavor. TGC’s experience highlights that leaders must build trust before expecting improvement.