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Leading Enterprise Excellence: Sustainable Results Through Ideal Behaviors

April 8, 2026 – Chris Butterworth, Stephen Dargan, Brad Jeavons, Indrajit Ray

Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to get culture change to stick? Many organizations invest significant money and effort to embed a culture change, but these efforts don’t always achieve a sustainable outcome. Why? Because systems drive behaviors. If systems aren’t deliberately designed to drive the ideal behaviors needed to achieve ideal results, culture change efforts will be wasted, and the old behaviors created by existing systems will persist.  

This understanding is at the heart of the Shingo Institute’s Three Insights of Organizational Excellence, which shaped the thinking behind Leading Enterprise Excellence: 

  1. Ideal results required ideal behaviors. 
  1. Purpose and systems drive behavior. 
  1. Principles inform ideal behavior. 

Align, Engage, Execute: A Systems-Based Approach 

Leading Enterprise Excellence is structured into three main sections—Align, Engage, and Execute—which align with the Shingo Model dimensions of Enterprise Alignment, Cultural Enablers, and Continuous Improvement. 

Align 

After years of observing what enables sustainable enterprise excellence, we concluded that most organizations should begin by aligning with a clear purpose that succinctly articulates why the organization exists. It is then possible to define the desired culture, determine the behaviors needed to create this culture, and make a strong connection between daily work and customer value. 

In the Shingo Model, the progression from purpose to behavior is anchored in the Enterprise Alignment dimension and the Shingo Guiding Principles of Create Value for the Customer, Create Constancy of Purpose, and Think Systemically. Key systems associated with this dimension include Strategy and Culture Formation, Strategy and Culture (Behavior) Deployment, and Customer Experience. When aligned, these systems create a clear pathway from organizational intent to enterprise excellence. 

Engage 

Once the purpose has been established, the process of engaging with all the people in the organization can begin. Each individual should be able to connect with the organization’s purpose—and ideally understand how it relates to their own purpose—and know their role in achieving it. In Leading Enterprise Excellence, we discuss the low levels of employee engagement worldwide (averaging less than 25%) and the important role that leaders have in improving this. Key business processes play a critical role in increasing alignment and engagement. 

The Shingo Model grounds this work in the Cultural Enablers dimension and the principles of Respect Every Individual and Lead with Humility. These principles are operationalized through systems such as Safety, Environmental, Social, and Governance; Leader Standard Work and Coaching; Onboarding; Learning and Development; and Recognition. Such active practices of respect and humility strengthen alignment, build capability, and sustain meaningful engagement across the entire organization.  

Execute 

Every organization needs to deliver on its purpose and constantly improve the value and efficiency of its offerings to sustain long-term success. It is essential to continuously improve through both top-down projects and change management and bottom-up continuous improvement. 

Within the Shingo Model, effective execution is emphasized in the Continuous Improvement dimension, which encompasses the principles of Assure Quality at the Source, Improve Flow & Pull, Seek Perfection, Embrace Scientific Thinking, and Focus on Process. Some of the systems that enable this work include Project, Innovation, and Change Management; Continuous Improvement; and Maturity Review. Such practices ensure that progress toward organizational excellence is deliberate, measurable, and enduring. 

Sustaining Excellence 

While Leading Enterprise Excellence outlines a sequence of Align, Engage, and Execute, it’s important to remember that this is not a one-off activity. Creating and embedding a culture of continuous improvement requires constant attention and review. There is no organization that has a perfect culture or perfect systems, but the best organizations recognize that managing culture and systems never stops. Every organization needs a way to understand progress and identify opportunities for further improvement. This is the role of the maturity review system, which provides the strategic check in a constant PDCA cycle. 

Building on the Shingo Institute’s Systems Design workshop, Leading Enterprise Excellence provides a blueprint for different systems that can be easily adapted for any type of organization, including real-life examples and over twenty case studies from a wide range of organizations and industries. The interdependence of systems and a suggestion for how to approach this challenge is explored using Ana Oliveira’s case study of a Shingo Prize winner. 

Each system needs to have the following key elements: 

The systems and case studies provided offer insights that can be applied to any system in any type of organization. In particular, our aim is to outline the why, what, and how of the key systems needed to sustain a culture of enterprise excellence, where both the organization and its people thrive.   

To learn more, please join us for a webinar on April 28, 2026, at 11 a.m. EDT. Register at shingo.org/events.