Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement

Longtime manufacturing process engineer and trainer John Dyer discusses operational excellence and continuous improvement with Professor Mohamed Saleh, a Lean, Six Sigma and continuous improvement expert. Between them, the two share nearly 60 years of continuous improvement expertise. IndustryWeek has partnered with Dyer and Saleh to present their insights to a wide audience of manufacturing professionals.

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Behind the Curtain
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Podcast hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer explore Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s emphasis on on-the-job training, highlighting its role in fostering continuous improvement and developing...
Dec. 29, 2025
Behind the Curtain
Podcast cohosts Mohamed Saleh on the left and John Dyer
Hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer dive into Dr. W. Edwards Deming's fifth point for management transformation.
Dec. 22, 2025
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Hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer discuss the fourth of Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s 14 points for management transformation and his assertion that choosing suppliers based on ...
Dec. 15, 2025
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Hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer focus on Dr. Deming’s call for built-in quality, sharing examples from the workplace and discussing the benefits of poka-yoke, also known...
Dec. 8, 2025
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Hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer explore Deming’s second point for management transformation, which they say takes aim at management and leaders who persist in pursuing outdated...
Dec. 1, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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Cohosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer begin their review of Dr. Deming’s 14 points of management, starting with “constancy of purpose.”
Nov. 24, 2025
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Behind the Curtain podcast co-host John Dyer had the opportunity to meet Dr. W. Edwards Deming face to face and learn from him.
Hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh delve into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, often referred to as the father of the quality movement, and his influence on the Toyota...
Nov. 18, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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Hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh reflect on their favorite discussion topics from past episodes and highlight the No. 1 driver of successful organizational change.
Nov. 10, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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Hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh say a union environment typically is more challenging to a transformational journey and provide tips to lessen the strain.
Nov. 3, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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Hosts Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer explore how change management differs in an older, established organization versus a younger, entrepreneurial enterprise.
Oct. 30, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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Learn how an organization’s size impacts access to resources, cultural agility and leadership bandwidth.
Oct. 28, 2025
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Yes, it does. Step one navigating the challenges is recognizing that they exist.
Oct. 27, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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In this episode of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement, podcast hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer continue their multi-episode discussion about 10 critical...
Oct. 14, 2025
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Hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer discuss four styles of decision-making, and the art of balancing speed, facts and empowerment.
Oct. 13, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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Podcast hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and Dyer discuss corporate cultures that throw roadblocks in the way of leaders who are strategic thinkers with a systems perspective.
Oct. 9, 2025
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Co-hosts Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer delve into four aspects of this often-overlooked leadership characteristic.
Oct. 7, 2025
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“This is probably one of the areas most leaders fall short in,” podcast co-host John Dyer says. … “but without the vision, then you're just treading water.”
Oct. 6, 2025
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If you’re not growing, you’re standing still or worse—and that goes for leaders as well as the organizations they helm.
Oct. 2, 2025
So That Happened
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“We really never have respect for people departments, even though respect for people is the input that gets you continuous improvement.”
Sept. 30, 2025
Behind the Curtain/John Dyer/Mohamed Saleh
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Gemba-focused leaders go to the action and engage with the workforce, learn what the problems are and remove obstacles to resolving those problems.
Sept. 29, 2025
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In this episode, hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh launch a series on the 10 characteristics of a good leader.
Sept. 25, 2025
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Hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh discuss key elements to developing a training roadmap that successfully guides a lean transformation.
Sept. 23, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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In an effective training course, knowledge is transferred, knowledge is retained and knowledge is applicable to the trainee's day-to-day job.
Sept. 22, 2025
Behind the Curtain
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Podcast hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer tackle the topic of how to design training that is engaging, effective and makes a lasting impact.
Sept. 18, 2025