# Preview: Ask Karen Martin Anything: Lean, Operational Excellence, and Leadership

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kainexus-continuous-improvement-leadership-and-more-4169/preview-ask-karen-martin-anything-lean-operational-excellence-and-leadership
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kainexus-continuous-improvement-leadership-and-more-4169/preview-ask-karen-martin-anything-lean-operational-excellence-and-leadership.md
Podcast: [KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More](https://stenobird.com/podcast/kainexus-continuous-improvement-leadership-and-more-4169)
Published: 2026-03-05T19:42:25+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kainexus/episodes/Preview-Ask-Karen-Martin-Anything-Lean--Operational-Excellence--and-Leadership-e3g0b2b
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/af4aa24/podcast/play/116451851/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-2-5%2Fb3dd5fc5-a564-44aa-bba4-e97228e0c77d.mp3
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Duration seconds: 625

## Resource

Karen Martin -- founder of TKMG Inc. and TKMG Academy, and author of "Clarity First" and "The Outstanding Organization" -- joins Mark Graban for a short preview of the upcoming KaiNexus Ask an Expert webinar on March 11th . In this conversation, Karen shares how she went from working in hospital laboratories as a microbiologist to building and running operations at a fast-growing HMO -- and eventually founding her own consulting and education business. She talks about what drew her away from Lean tools toward the bigger questions of culture, leadership, and organizational clarity, and why lack of clarity tends to generate more emotional friction in workplaces than people expect. The live webinar is March 11th at 1:00 PM Eastern. No slides -- just an hour of questions and answers on Lean, operational excellence, value stream thinking, leadership, and organizational design. Submit your questions in advance or ask them live. Register or find the recording

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## Transcript

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