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PODCAST

Excellence Unlocked

Ishan Galapathy

If you"re immersed in the world of manufacturing or supply chain management, you"ve likely encountered the elusive concept of excellence. But what does it truly mean? Is it a destination or a journey? And how do we navigate the path to unlock excellence within ourselves and our organisations? With more than 25 years’ experience in manufacturing across the Asia Pacific region, Ishan Galapathy delves into the heart of excellence, shifting the focus from tools and technology to the true drivers of

business management

All Episodes

16:28

Ep84 Summer Series: People, not tools, are the real...

Excellence Unlocked ·

2026/01/13

When organisations want to lift performance, they usually reach for new tools, new systems, new dashboards. But here’s the truth: tools don’t change culture — people do. Excellence has never been a technology problem. It’s always been a people game. Over the past couple of years of Excellence Unlocked, one theme has come through loud and clear: when people are involved early, listened to deeply, and trusted to lead change, performance follows. You’ll hear from three

en-AU

13:43

Ep83 Summer Series: Automation without discipline Is...

Excellence Unlocked ·

2026/01/06

In this special summer edition of Excellence Unlocked, Ishan brings some of the best insights from past guests – starting with a critical lesson for manufacturers, warehouses, and supply chain leaders everywhere. Yes, automation can reduce labour costs. Yes, it can drive efficiency. But done badly? It can make performance worse, faster. You’ll hear from three highly experienced supply chain leaders: Peter Campbell, a former EY consultant and PhD-qualified practitioner who shares hard-won

en-AU

8:11

Ep82 New Year, Better Systems

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/12/30

As the clock ticks down to midnight, Ishan looks ahead to the fresh start that 1 January brings and the goals we so often set with the best intentions Lasting progress comes not from ambition alone, but from the systems, habits, and processes built into everyday life and work. Whether the goal is improved health, stronger finances, or better business performance, success follows the structure that supports it. As we welcome a new year, the invitation is to design systems that make progress

en-AU

23:01

Ep81 The Power of the Pause: Celebrating Wins That...

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/12/23

When is there a better time than on Christmas Eve to reflect on the power of celebration? In the rush to deliver projects, transformations, and results, it’s easy to move straight on to the next challenge without pausing to reflect. Ishan explores why stopping to recognise progress, acknowledge achievements, and celebrate with your teams is essential to unlocking sustained excellence. From daily recognition to milestone celebrations, positivity and progress are contagious. As we reflect on the

en-AU

15:33

Ep80 The hidden power of a tidy, intentional workplace

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/12/16

True efficiency isn’t about adding more bells and whistles; it’s about ditching the clutter that’s slowing you down. The big idea is simple: when your workspace and processes aren’t a scavenger hunt, everything runs smoother. Enter the 5S approach—sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain—a tidy little recipe for turning chaos into calm. Clear out what’s useless, keep what matters close, and suddenly productivity feels less like a battle. The real

en-AU

13:39

Ep79 The lean origin story: how greatness gets built

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/12/09

Continuous improvement didn’t appear out of nowhere; it evolved over more than a century of problem-solving and innovation. The story begins in the early 1900s with Henry Ford, who reshaped manufacturing through the moving assembly line, standardised work and the relentless removal of waste. After World War II, Toyota expanded on these ideas and created the Toyota Production System, refining waste reduction, improving flow and building a culture where everyone contributes to better ways of

en-AU

22:39

Ep78 Unlocking excellence by seeing what others overlook

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/12/02

A casual fruit-picking weekend proves that powerful lessons in business excellence often come from the simplest places. Today, Ishan turns that moment into three principles that drive meaningful improvement: seeing familiar processes with fresh eyes, pursuing opportunities others overlook, and applying simple tools with greater depth across the organisation. Through real operational examples, Ishan shows how small adjustments in speed, flow or daily routines can generate significant gains, and why

en-AU

17:23

Ep77 How KAIs, not KPIs, unlock daily excellence

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/11/25

Standards on paper mean little when teams model what they see, not what they’re told. Many organisations remain stuck in “third gear,” weighed down by disengagement, reactive leadership and KPIs (key performance indicators) that only surface issues after the fact. Ishan unpacks how KAIs (key activity indicators), those consistent daily huddles and visible involvement, form the behavioural backbone of high performance. He shows how to align actions with expectations, engage

en-AU

13:32

Ep76 ASCLA Awards: Gratitude, greatness & recognition

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/11/18

Australia’s premier celebration of supply chain and logistics excellence – ASCLA Awards – delivered one of its most memorable nights yet. Hosted at Melbourne’s grand Town Hall with more than 500 guests, the evening blended breathtaking performance, heartfelt cultural acknowledgment, and well-earned industry recognition. Ishan shares an immersive, behind-the-scenes recount of the event, from the awe-inspiring pipe organ and live string quartet to the powerful stories of

en-AU

12:40

Ep75 Green light, red light: how to keep your...

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/11/11

During peak hour, traffic lights on highway on-ramps allow just a few cars through at a time. It seems like a delay, but it’s a clever way to maintain steady flow and prevent gridlock. Businesses work much the same way. When too much work enters the system at once, it overwhelms capacity and slows everything down. By introducing smart “on-ramp controls” — simple pauses, prioritisation, and visual cues — leaders can create rhythm, consistency, and safety across their

en-AU

12:39

Ep74 How small shifts create big performance gains

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/11/04

Small experiences often reveal powerful lessons about improvement and perspective. In business, progress rarely comes from one grand move but from recognising when to act quickly and when to think long term. Balancing short-term fixes with strategic shifts is what separates teams that continually improve from those that stall. Real excellence lies in understanding which problems to tackle now and which to build for later — and creating systems that make both happen seamlessly. For a copy of

en-AU

13:09

Ep73 When the familiar road leads you astray

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/10/28

Have you ever been driving on a familiar road when suddenly the way ahead is blocked — roadworks, flashing lights, detours everywhere? You know this route, you’ve taken it dozens of times, but now you’re forced to stop, re-route, and find another way forward. In that moment, it’s easy to feel frustrated, even second-guess your decisions. But isn’t that what happens in business, too? We follow the same familiar paths, confident they’ll take us where we need to go,

en-AU

45:43

Ep70 Make progress visible: The secret to unlocking...

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/10/25

We often race toward the next goal, chasing the next KPI, project, or deadline – so fast, we rarely pause to ask: what did we just accomplish, and who helped make it happen? In the noise of day-to-day operations, progress becomes invisible. Wins blur into routine. Morale dips. Excellence suffers. But what if we made recognition a rhythm? What if we could embed celebration into the fabric of how we work – hourly, daily, monthly, quarterly? This isn’t about balloons and bonuses

en-AU

25:40

Ep72 What got you here …won’t get you there

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/10/20

Every successful business eventually hits a ceiling — that moment when the systems, habits, and thinking that once drove growth start holding it back. Some leaders of large, thriving companies have realised exactly that. They’re not failing — far from it — but they know instinctively that what got them here won’t get them there. Unlocking excellence isn’t about working harder or doing more. It’s about thinking differently — moving from firefighting to

en-AU

18:41

Ep71 Why fence-sitters hold the key to real change

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/10/14

Every kick-off tells the same story. The energy in the room is electric – new beginnings, fresh ideas, promises of transformation. But beneath the excitement lies something else: hesitation. “We’re too busy,” they say. “We’ve done this before.” And they’re right to be cautious. Because for too long, businesses have relied on the same 20% of people – the diligent few who hold everything together – while 60% quietly drift to the sidelines

en-AU

24:11

Ep69 Turning common sense into common practice

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/09/30

Improving performance shouldn’t feel like rocket science. Yet, many businesses invest in tools, training, and consultants – and still find themselves stuck in firefighting mode. Why? Because the real challenge isn’t knowing what to do. It’s getting people to do it consistently. Operational excellence often gets buried under jargon, over-engineered frameworks, or grand announcements that never stick. But the truth is, sustainable change starts quietly – in the corners of

en-AU

17:56

Ep68 Build for tomorrow, not just today

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/09/23

Too often in business, we make decisions based on today’s pressures: short-term costs, quarterly targets, economic noise. But what if the real opportunity lies in building systems and strategies not for now – but for what’s to come? In this episode, Ishan explores three pitfalls that hold leaders back from future-proofing their business – and the mindset shifts needed to leave behind a legacy that lasts. Because the best time to prepare for the next era… is before it

en-AU

15:06

Ep67 The hidden cost of waiting for the “right time”

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/09/16

Too many leaders tell themselves they’ll begin the journey to excellence later. Later, when the right people are hired. Later, when projects ease up. Later, when the team isn’t stretched so thin. The problem is waiting comes at a cost. Every day of delay normalises inefficiency – half-used resources, costly mistakes, downtime, disengagement, and frustration. And every restart – every false beginning – requires more energy, more trust to rebuild, and more momentum to

en-AU

20:28

Ep66 Drive or move: A wake-up call for business leaders

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/09/09

Ever been stuck behind someone driving well under the speed limit… in the fast lane? You’re boxed in. Nowhere to go. Tension builds. And the drivers behind you? They’re tailgating hard, as if you’re the problem. In business, the same thing happens every day. Teams ready to move, primed for change… but held back by well-meaning leaders unknowingly stuck in the way. Ishan lifts the bonnet (or the car hood) on what’s really preventing momentum inside organisations

en-AU

16:39

Ep65 Balancing structure and freedom to unlock...

Excellence Unlocked ·

2025/09/04

Sustaining change is one of the toughest challenges leaders face. Embedding a new process or standard is one thing — keeping your team engaged with it weeks and months later is something else entirely. Ishan explores how to stop good habits from slipping, avoid the drift back to “business as usual,” and keep standards alive long after the excitement of day one. It’s about finding that sweet spot between structure and variation, between following the playbook and keeping

en-AU

85 results

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