Amazon

Continuous Improvement Manager

Area Manager

Site Manager

Junior Site Manager

Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark

Junior Research Assistant

Kverneland Group Kerteminde A/S

Master Thesis Project

ForeFlight

Data Consultant

Odense University Hospital

Semester Project

Follow for daily posts about Lean, CI & Innovation | Continuous Improvement Manager @ Amazon

Hi!👋 Ivan here

I'm an industrial engineer with 7+ years of experience in Operations Management and Continuous Improvement.

I serve two main groups of people:

	• Business owners and executives who want to turn their broken processes into brilliant ones (and save so much damn money) through Kaizen and Innovation

	• Founders and consulting firm owners within CI, Lean or Innovation who want to promote their businesses and make LinkedIn a legit revenue channel

(DM me for the details) 


I started writing on LinkedIn in October 2023. 

Since then, I have been sharing actionable, educational, and entertaining content to support LinkedIn community members in their continuous improvement journey. This helped me grow my audience from 9,000 to 100,000 followers in a year.

Join my newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/ddQncJM5

"Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast."

Sounds like terrible advice in a world obsessed with speed.

Until you watch a Formula 1 pit crew change four tires in 1.82 seconds.

They didn't get faster by rushing.

They got faster by 

+eliminating every wasted motion
+perfecting every sequence
+and making precision automatic

The best performers in any field understand this: 

Speed is the byproduct of flawless execution.

PS. What are you rushing through that would benefit from deliberate practice instead?

Ivan Carillo

li_at

JSESSIONID

Talks about #lean, #mindset, #innovation, #leadership, and #continuousimprovement

Founder of Gemba Walk AI • I help executives cut waste and fix the broken processes costing them millions

Daniel Garner

26 Kaizen Leadership Mantras

Here are the 4 principles that I believe are most powerful (and why):

1/ Gemba never lies; go and see for yourself.

I've seen leaders make terrible decisions because they trusted Excel sheets over their own eyes. The problems that cost us millions are often visible on the shopfloor, but nobody bother to look. Reports tell you what people want you to know. Gemba tells you what's actually happening. I think the moment you stop walking the floor is the moment you lose touch with reality. Your operators won't lie to you if you show up regularly, ask good questions, and actually listen to their answers.

2/ Without psychological safety, Kaizen dies.

I've watched brilliant Kaizen programs collapse because people were terrified to speak up. Companies that blame individuals for systemic problems get exactly what they deserve. Silence. Workers hide defects, skip reporting near-misses, and watch waste happen rather than risk looking stupid or getting punished. I think this is why most Kaizen initiatives fail within a year. You can't improve what people won't talk about, and people won't talk about problems in a culture of fear.

3/ The person doing the work knows it best.

I learned this the hard way early in my career when I implemented a Kaizen idea. The operators supported it, then immediately went back to their old method the moment I left. Every time I've ignored frontline expertise, I've wasted time and money solving the wrong problem. I think we underestimate how much knowledge lives in the hands and muscle memory of people who do the same task hundreds of times daily.

4/ Kaizen culture doesn't support strategy. Kaizen culture is strategy.

I spent years thinking CI was something that helped execute our "real" strategy. I was wrong. Companies with a strong Kaizen culture adapt faster, survive disruptions better, and outperform competitors with superior strategic plans. I think this is the principle most executives miss. Your competitors can copy your products in months, but they can't copy a culture where thousands of people solve problems every single day.

P.S. What's your fav one in the list?

Kaci M.

Brutal truth: most Kaizen implementations fail within 6 months.

Here's why (and how to fix it):

Common failure pattern..

↓ Launch with great enthusiasm 
↓ Form improvement teams 
↓ Run some workshops 
↓ See initial results 
↓ Get distracted by other priorities 
 ↳ Kaizen activities fade away

The missing ingredient? 
Systems thinking.

Successful Kaizen requires these systems working together:

1/ Total Quality Management

+Customer focus throughout organization
+Process-oriented improvement mindset

2/ Just-In-Time Production

+Elimination of waste in all forms
+Flow-based operations

3/ Total Productive Maintenance

+Equipment reliability and efficiency
+Operator involvement in maintenance

4/ Policy Deployment

+Clear targets cascading from top to bottom
+Aligned improvement efforts

5/ Suggestion Systems

+Employee engagement in daily improvement
+Recognition of participation

6/ Small Group Activities

+Quality circles and improvement teams
+Collaborative problem-solving
 
Most companies try to implement Kaizen 
…without these foundations. 

Remember:

Success requires patience.

+Start with one system
+Build it thoroughly
+Connect it to others gradually

…and never stop improving!

Do you wanna start your Continuous Improvement journey?

Learn to see the 3M's of Lean.

Most leaders can't see waste.
Because they don't know the 3M's:

The 3M's of Lean refer to  

+Muda
+Mura
+Muri

Three Japanese terms used in the Toyota Production System (TPS).

These concepts are key to identifying why your processes are broken:

1/ Muda → Waste

What customers won't pay for.

Muda can be further classified into:

→ Type I: Muda which cannot be eliminated immediately
→ Type II: Muda which can be eliminated quickly through Kaizen

Example: 

I watched a nurse walk 2.7 miles per shift.
Not caring for patients. Just fetching supplies.

That's Muda.

***
2/ Mura → Unevenness

Mura can be seen as variation in quality, cost, or delivery.

It often leads to Muri and Muda.

Example:

Monday: Skeleton crew drowning
Friday: Full staff standing idle

Creating both overtime costs AND wasted wages.
That's Mura.

***
3/ Muri → Overburden

Unreasonable stress or burden placed 
on workers and processes.

Muri often results in safety and quality issues.

Example:

Expecting 60 minutes of work
in 45-minute windows.

Guaranteeing mistakes and burnout.
That's Muri.

P.S. Which M is killing your operation?

Look closer. It's all three.

***
Continuous improvement feels overwhelming
when you don't know where to start or what to focus on.
 
And that's why I created The Kaizen Geek.
 
My weekly newsletter helps you make strategic small changes 
that compound into extraordinary outcomes.
 
Join The Kaizen Geek now: ivancarillo.com

Most companies create fantastic value stream maps.

Then file them away. (I've seen it dozens of times) 

Video credit to Krish Sengottaiyan. Give him a follow

Teams spend weeks mapping their current state. 

They identify waste. 
They draft the future state

Then ...nothing changes.

You know why?

No one is responsible for the customer experience.

Traditional organizations are function-based.

→ Finance reports to CFO 
→ Operations reports to COO 
→ Sales reports to CRO

Each leader knows their department.
But nobody understands how value flows end-to-end.

No single leader owns value stream performance.

"Everyone" is responsible = No one is responsible

VSM needs an owner with authority. 
One leader who can make decisions across silos.

CEO could, but they operate too high to manage CI.

So it's key to assign executive-level VSM ownership. 

Before you map your next value stream, answer this:

Who owns the complete customer journey?

If you can't name them...
save yourself the effort.

P.S. Does anyone in your organization have E2E accountability for value delivery?

Master Continuous Improvement to keep your business ahead in 2025.
 
Go from zero to pro through the Kaizen way.
 
Here is an acronym that captures the essence of Kaizen:
 
K - Knowledge
➟ Continuous learning and skill development 
 
A - Adaptability
➟ Embracing change and flexibility
 
I - Incremental Changes
➟ Making small, consistent improvements
 
Z - Zero Waste
➟ Commitment to eliminating Muda
 
E - Empowerment
➟ Giving your team the tools, permission, and confidence
 
N - No Limits
➟ Removing mental barriers and challenging old assumptions
 
***
There are 7 types of Muda:
 
+Overproduction
+Waiting
+Transportation
+Over-processing
+Inventory
+Motion
+Defects
 
Muda can be further classified into:
 
Type I: Muda which cannot be eliminated immediately
 
Type 2: Muda which can be eliminated quickly through Kaizen 
 
***
5S Methodology
 
5S refers to 5 Japanese terms which are used to describe
the main steps of visual management toward OpEx: 
 
(1S) Seiri → Sort
(2S) Seiton → Set In Order
(3S) Seiso → Shine
(4S) Seiketsu → Standardize
(5S) Shitsuke → Sustain
 
When successfully implemented, 5S can turn any dirty place
into a clean, standardized workplace.

[NO AUDIO NEEDED] Consultants who've never run a production line, telling manufacturing teams how to 'optimize' their workflow:

***
Many people want to optimize their workflows but get lost in complexity and jargon.
 
And that's why I created The Kaizen Geek.
 
My newsletter breaks down proven Kaizen principles into
weekly, implementable tips so you can streamline your processes.
 
Join The Kaizen Geek now: ivancarillo.com

Founder of Gemba Walk AI — I help executives cut waste and fix the broken processes costing them millions

Great execution beats perfect planning every time.

Want to build consistency? Start with these 6 strategies:

1/ Start Small

Don't overhaul everything at once. Pick one habit: 20-minute workouts three times weekly, or 15 minutes of daily reading.
Master that before adding more.

2/ Schedule It

I block 7-9 AM every morning for content creation, before emails, before meetings. This isn't negotiable time. If it's not scheduled, it doesn't happen.

3/ Focus on Consistency, Not Perfection

You'll have off days. Accept that. I've had days where my writing felt flat. But I published anyway. In years of continuous improvement work, I learned this: showing up beats waiting for perfect. 

4/ Find Your People

I turned down several job offers to build a life I love. I burned some money, but today I have a support network. Join communities, find accountability partners, work from co-working spaces. Isolation kills consistency faster than anything.

5/ Celebrate Progress

When gembawalk.ai got its first 500 waitlist signups, I took a day off to explore Malaga. Completed a week of your new habit? Acknowledge that. Small wins fuel the next push forward.

6/ Reframe Setbacks

Setbacks are data points. When something fails, I ask "What did this teach me?" not "Why did I fail?". Turn failures into experiments.

Consistency is powerful, but you build it one day at a time.

What consistency habit changed your life? Share below.

--

"Good intentions don't work, mechanisms do" Jeff said.

My weekly newsletter helps you turn 
good intentions into measurable results.

Join The Kaizen Geek now: ivancarillo.com

A few days ago, I promoted gembawalk.ai in a post. 184 leaders joined the waitlist from that, but I've received criticism from a few experts. Here's what happened:
 
On 4 Nov, I promoted the SaaS I'm working on for the first time.

The results surprised me.
 
I was happy to share something about my new journey with you,
and I wanted to reach my ideal audience.

(without getting screwed over by the algorithm)
 
So I did what I'm reasonably good at:
 
-created a comparison infographic
-added some controversial points at the top
-shared a story reasoning with the reader
 
From a marketing perspective, it was a success.
 
→ 73.675 impressions
→ 68 followers gained from the post
→ 213 people saved the content
→ 292 visited gembawalk.ai
→ 184 leaders joined the waitlist from that post.
 
People who signed up surprised me even more:
 
→ CEO of a global leading company in monitoring systems
→ Head of OpEx in a tier 1 manufacturing company
→ VP of Operations in a Fortune 100 company
 
The waitlist is full of these profiles.
 
I could be happy with that…
but some criticism has emerged.
 
Some experts have offered constructive criticism, and I love it.
 
Others just dismissed me, saying I don't understand anything.
 
This is ok, too.
 
I've been writing for two years on LinkedIn
and I've learnt at least one thing here:
 
Most knowledge keepers don't care if you have a real impact.
 
They appear either when you do something silly,
or when you challenge the status quo.

I have a question for them:
 
When you retire, what happens?
 
All that knowledge, all those patterns you can spot walking a shop floor, the 30 years perfecting CI practices.
 
Well, it walks out with you.
 
I'm working to make every Gemba Walk part of a learning system, where collective insights drive faster, better decisions than any single expert could achieve.
 
Join the waitlist to get first access + exclusive pricing: gembawalk.ai
 
P.S. In that post, I was too 'salesy',
and that distorted the product idea.
 
I am refining the product marketing now.
 
Thank you for your feedback.

Your managers make million-dollar decisions from their meeting room. While the right answers sit 20 metres away, on your shop floor.

I watched an executive spend tons of money on new software
to "fix" a production bottleneck.

The real problem?

A $12 worn bearing that workers had reported 6 times.

Nobody listened.
Nobody walked the floor.
Nobody asked.

This is why 70% of improvement initiatives fail.

Gemba isn't a buzzword.
It's Japanese for "the real place."

Where value is created.
Where problems live.
Where solutions hide.

Toyota executives spend 50% of their time on Gemba.

Most leaders? Less than 5%.

The formula is simple:

Go See → Ask Why → Show Respect → Repeat

Every. Single. Day.

When did you last have dirt on your shoes from walking your operation?

P.S. Manufacturing teams struggle to capture critical floor insights.

That's why we are building gembawalk.ai.

Gemba Walk AI tracks every observation 
from insight to implementation. 

Join the waitlist to get first access + exclusive pricing: 

gembawalk.ai

Still treating Kaizen as a toolkit?
 
Real Kaizen begins with mindset and leadership.
 
Over 20 years of Kaizen leadership and coaching, 
my friend Peter Weiss uncovered 11 Kaizen myths.
 
I suggest you 

+read this content
+save it for later

And repost it to inspire other leaders in your network

PS. What Kaizen myth would you like to dispel once and for all?

Real Kaizen

Construction workers don't build skyscrapers on weak foundations. 
They use reinforced structures designed to handle weight and pressure.
Well, your relationships are your scaffolding.

Weak connections? 
Your growth collapses.

Toxic people? 
Structure corrodes.

Stop maintaining relationships out of guilt or history. 

A supportive tribe can help you build as high as you want.

Build your tribe intentionally.

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