The importance of looking inward

Winnipeg Free Press

11-06-2025

James Simon has spent his career studying and implementing continuous improvement but it wasn't until he was working on a book that he realized leaders need to look inward before implementing change in the workplace.
Simon was writing Headwaters to Change: Navigating Growth, Cultivating Presence when he realized that just as the word 'improvement' starts with the letter I, true improvement starts with the self.
'This word has been telling all of us this from the very inception,' Simon said. 'It starts within ourselves as a leader, either formally or informally. If we are not willing to put the work in up front… we're not going to sustain the changes that we want. We won't be able to fully show up for those that need us.'
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
James Simon delivers a keynote speech Tuesday at the RBC Convention Centre suggesting that people practise mindfulness — or being fully present — by paying attention to their breath and then focusing on the task at hand.
The coach, speaker and program manager at Edmonton's University of Alberta Hospital shared that message Tuesday during a keynote speech at the Embracing Excellence Lean Conference in Winnipeg's RBC Convention Centre.
Organized by Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), the four-day conference started Monday.
Around 900 people are expected to attend the event, which aims to demonstrate how embracing excellence and engaging people in continuous improvement drives growth and benefits employees, customers and stakeholders alike.
During his 40-minute address, Simon pointed to a study conducted by psychologists at Harvard University that found that, on average, people spend approximately 47 per cent of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they are actually doing. This wandering of the mind makes them unhappy.
To combat this, Simon suggested that people practise mindfulness — or being fully present — by paying attention to their breath and then focusing on the task at hand.
Staying steady through life's ups and downs, approaching conversations with kindness and compassion and expressing gratitude are other practices individuals and teams can use to achieve sustainable improvements and unlock inner mastery.
Embracing a 'beginner's mind' — having an attitude of openness, eagerness and lack of preconceptions — is also fundamental to continuous improvement, Simon said.
'I think if we don't take the opportunity to start with (ourselves) and understand what it really, truly means to move forward with lean and continuous improvement, we can't truly establish the culture that we're looking for,' he told the Free Press after his speech.
Started in 2012 and held every three years, the Lean conference is especially important today because of Canada's productivity crisis, said John Chaput, conference chair.
Reports show Canada's productivity level is lagging behind countries like the U.S., the U.K. and France.
'A lot of our Canadian companies haven't been able to invest in their culture, in their people, in their technology and sustainability just because they don't know what's possible and they don't know how,' Chaput said on Monday. 'This (conference) helps to show them the how.'
Throughout the conference, participants are attending presentations grouped under different 'value streams': technology, improvement, sustainability and culture. They also have the option of attending tours of more than 20 Manitoba businesses to gain insight into how others approach continuous improvement.
Chaput hopes the conference helps attendees find new ways to do business.
'It's all about performance-enhancing thinking and strategy, which will help them compete nationally, internationally and globally so they can nail down and secure new supply chains,' he said.
About 20 per cent of attendees are from outside Manitoba, according to Chaput. Just about every Canadian province is represented and there are about a dozen delegates from the U.S., he said. The majority of attendees are from the manufacturing sector, with 'just under 20 per cent' from the service and public sectors.
During remarks he made to the audience prior to Simon's keynote address, MLA Jamie Moses, minister of business, mining, trade and job creation, noted the supply chain instability and global trade uncertainty that businesses are faced with today.
'That's why I think it's even more meaningful that we learn to work together; that we find ways to connect and support each other as industry so that we can all be stronger through turbulence,' he said.
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Those words were echoed by Dennis Darby, CME's president and CEO, who called the conference 'a call to action' and encouraged attendees to talk with each other about what's working for them.
'We need to find those opportunities to continue to work together and get those productivity gains that we know are there,' he said.
The manufacturing industry employs more than 1.7 million Canadians and contributes over $700 billion in annual sales, Darby said.
The conference ends on Thursday.
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Aaron EppReporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
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