KPI Fireside: A Continuous Improvement Podcast
KPI Fireside: A Continuous Improvement Podcast
KPI Fire
Matt Yearsley on Why Bad Systems Beat Good Employees
59 minutes Posted Jul 20, 2026 at 12:00 pm.
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Show notes

Most leaders blame the person. The real problem is almost always the system.

In this episode of KPI Fireside, host Keith Norris sits down with Matt Yearsley, founder of Operational Excellence Advisors and a manufacturing and operations leader with more than 25 years of experience. Matt helps growing companies move beyond firefighting by building the systems, standards, and people development practices that let good employees actually succeed.

πŸ”» Why "hold them accountable" is meaningless without a documented standard to point to

πŸ”» How to know in three questions whether a failure belongs to the employee or to you as a leader

πŸ”» How to use a one-on-one to keep standards alive instead of letting them collect dust on a shelf

πŸ”» How to turn a chronic complainer or a troublemaker into your best problem solver

πŸ”» Why busy is not the same as productive, and how to tell the difference

πŸ”» How to define what winning looks like for jobs where success is hard to measure

πŸ”— Connect with Matt Yearsley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-yearsley-0317b0/

πŸ”— Learn more about Operational Excellence Advisors: https://www.opex-advisors.com/

πŸ”— Learn more about KPI Fire: https://www.kpifire.com/

πŸŽ™ Hosted by Keith Norris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithnorris/