Create a Continuous Improvement Culture with Gary Cox's new book ‘Cultivating Champions of CI'
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Canada, Dec. 29, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and leadership expert Gary Cox has released his latest book, 'Cultivating Champions of CI: A Leader's Toolbox for Creating a Continuous Improvement Culture' (ISBN: 978-1779622884), published by Tellwell Publishing in December 2024. This essential guide offers leaders a practical approach to building a culture of continuous improvement (CI) within their organizations.
Drawing inspiration from W. Edwards Deming's famous insight, 'It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best,' Cox delivers a comprehensive framework for fostering growth and resilience. Excellence cannot be achieved with disengaged teams, stagnant processes, and suboptimal middle management leadership and frontline development strategies that hinder organizational growth. By providing actionable tools, relatable insights, and a clear roadmap, 'Cultivating Champions of CI' empowers leaders to overcome these challenges and foster a culture where innovation and operational excellence thrive.
Through the engaging narrative of Sherry, a general manager navigating her team through a server-downtime crisis, readers are shown practical strategies for unlocking their teams' potential and achieving long-term success. Each chapter includes interactive questions designed to prompt self-discovery and enable immediate application of CI principles. Illustrated with Cox's original Cox-Box cartoons, the book blends leadership acumen, team dynamics, and motivational insights into an engaging and accessible resource for leaders at all levels.
With over 20 years of hands-on experience in CI leadership across diverse industries, Gary Cox has a proven track record of enhancing organizational performance and employee engagement. As the National Director of Process Engineering at Canada Post, he spearheaded transformative CI programs. Currently, at Barrington Consulting, Cox leads Operational Performance Services, helping organizations develop sustainable CI cultures.
Beyond his professional achievements, Cox is a sought-after speaker, a creator of CI training courses, and an innovator in creative storytelling. His portfolio includes a comic book, spiritual growth programs, and interactive theatre productions, showcasing his ability to connect with diverse audiences. Cox-Box cartoons, a signature feature of his work, add humor and relatability, ensuring readers gain both practical insights and an enjoyable reading experience.
'Cultivating Champions of CI: A Leader's Toolbox for Creating a Continuous Improvement Culture' is available through all major online book retailers.
BOOK SUMMARY:
Author: Gary Cox
Email: [email protected]
Genre: Leadership
Released: December, 2024
PAPERBACK ISBN-13: 9781779622884
Publisher: Tellwell ( https://tellwell.ca)
Image link for media: https://garycoxcreates.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/gary-cox-author-of-the-book-cultivating-champions-of-CI.png
NEWS SOURCE: Tellwell Publishing
Keywords: Books and Publishing, Author Gary Cox, new book, Tellwell Publishing, CI training courses, continuous improvement, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, ISBN 9781779622884, HALIFAX, Nova Scotia
This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Tellwell Publishing) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P123684 AP-R15TBLLI
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This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (COME TOGETHER - A Community for Wine Inc.) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126739 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
Business Insider
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Having it in risky assets like stocks makes it vulnerable to downside in the near term. "I always say liquidity is huge for a young professional," Kuderna said. "I might move out, I might have to get a new car, I might be getting engaged, married, a kid — all these things that can happen in your 20s." While you might not want your money invested in stocks right away, you also don't want to have it just sitting in a checking account. Instead, plug it into a high-yield savings account or a money market fund to collect a better yield while short-term interest rates are still high. Open multiple investment accounts OK, now for the investment accounts. First, make sure you have a Roth IRA or 401(k) set up with your employer and are collecting their monthly minimum match. As of 2025, you can contribute up to $23,500 to a 401(k) and $7,000 to a Roth IRA. 401(k) contributions are made with pre-tax money; the money is then taxed upon withdrawal. Roth IRA contributions are made with post-tax income, and eventual withdrawals are not taxed. Setting these accounts up is important because the money comes straight out of your paychecks — it's like it never existed, and there's less of a temptation to spend it since withdrawals before you're 59-and-a-half years old are penalized at 10%. Plus, you can take advantage of the tax benefits. "I'm huge on Roth options, especially for young people," Kuderna said. "If we can get tax-free growth for another four or five decades, that's worth its weight in gold." Once those are set up, open up a brokerage account to invest your excess savings. Considering your cash savings, Kuderna said this is taking a three-pronged approach: having cash for the short-term, a brokerage account with stock investments for the medium-term (maybe a down payment for a house in five, 10, or 20 years), and retirement accounts for the long-term. Having a brokerage account for medium-term investments will allow you to capture potential market upside while not being subject to the 10% penalty of withdrawing money from a 401(k) or Roth IRA early. "You don't want to neglect the mid-term," he said. "When you're 40 or you're 50 and you need money, you don't want to hit your retirement accounts, and you don't want to have it all just sitting in cash." Decide where to invest Now that you have your accounts set up, it's time to decide where to invest. The classic portfolio structure is 60% stocks and 40% bonds. Stocks, while riskier, offer greater upside potential. Meanwhile, bonds are supposed to act as a buffer to stock market volatility by protecting your capital, producing a steady yield, and appreciating during times of economic distress. 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Right now, the Vanguard 2065 fund has 53.1% of its assets in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, which is made up of US stocks; 37.5% of the fund is in the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund; 6.5% is in US bonds; and 2.9% is in international bonds. Expense ratios, or the fees that certain funds charge, are also something to keep in mind. The Vanguard Target Retirement funds, for example, have a fairly cheap expense ratio of 0.08% a year. The cheapest S&P 500 index fund is the Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX) at 0.015%. For your medium-term investments, you should assess your risk-tolerance and timeline. Stock valuations are high at the moment, which suggests average 10-year returns may not be great. So if you need the money in five-to-10 years, being fully in stocks might be the wrong approach. But if you feel you can have a longer timeline than that, Kuderna said investing in bluechip stock indexes like the S&P 500 is a good approach. If you want to be especially aggressive, you might consider investing heavily in tech stocks, he said. The sector is often riskier than other areas of the market, but has seen explosive growth over the last 15 years. Some funds that offer exposure to tech stocks include the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW), and the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM). "If you look at the greatest returns over a long period of time, it's in equities, it's people who have a higher risk appetite," Kuderna said. "If you've done those beginning steps of building a rainy day fund, setting money aside, not carrying any bad debt — if you're good there and we can afford ourselves a long-term time horizon, then we should try to almost encourage ourselves to be a little more aggressive."
