Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The best strategy in the world won’t succeed if a team falters operationally. But what is operational excellence, and what does it take to acquire it? Cal Poly faculty member (and former Intel strategist) John Miranda shares his thinking with our Heavy Strategy listeners. He discusses concepts like the theory of constraints, root-cause analysis, and effective after-action reviews, and shares his own success story reducing defects in a software product by 10X while improving developer productivity and customer satisfaction.
AdSpot Sponsor: Meter
Meter delivers full-stack networking—wired, wireless, and cellular—to leading enterprises. It’s a single integrated solution with everything included. Meter has designed the hardware, written the firmware, and built the software. Meter deploys and manages everything required at your site, or sites, so that you get performant, reliable, and secure connectivity. If you’re ready for fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of managing multiple providers or tools, it’s time to check out Meter. Go to meter.com/heavystrategy to book a demo now!
Links:
John Miranda on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/johnsmiranda
Theory of Constraint Book: The Goal, Eli Goldrattz amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0884271951/ref=sr_1_1
MIT Paper: Case Study of the Result https://web.mit.edu/nelsonr/www/MCT_CASE.pdf
Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck - amazon.com/Implementing-Lean-Software-Development-Concept/dp/0321437381/ref=sr_1_1
The Machine That Changed the World by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones - amazon.com/Machine-That-Changed-World-Revolutionizing-ebook/dp/B001D1SRRS/ref=sr_1_1
Adaptive Leadership Training (ALT) for Achieving Operational Excellence (PDF) - drive.google.com/file/d/1YFunNRmx3gjy_MxbJ7WvpYppnw23YtnJ/view
Heavy Strategy is part of the Packet Pushers network. Visit our website to find more great networking and technology podcasts, along with tutorial videos, the Human Infrastructure newsletter, and loads more resources for building your IT career. packetpushers.net
The best strategy in the world won’t succeed if a team falters operationally. But what is operational excellence, and what does it take to acquire it? Cal Poly faculty member (and former Intel strategist) John Miranda shares his thinking with our Heavy Strategy listeners. He discusses concepts like the theory of constraints, root-cause analysis, and effective after-action reviews, and shares his own success story reducing defects in a software product by 10X while improving developer productivity and customer satisfaction.
AdSpot Sponsor: Meter
Meter delivers full-stack networking—wired, wireless, and cellular—to leading enterprises. It’s a single integrated solution with everything included. Meter has designed the hardware, written the firmware, and built the software. Meter deploys and manages everything required at your site, or sites, so that you get performant, reliable, and secure connectivity. If you’re ready for fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of managing multiple providers or tools, it’s time to check out Meter. Go to meter.com/heavystrategy to book a demo now!
Links:
John Miranda on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/johnsmiranda
Theory of Constraint Book: The Goal, Eli Goldrattz amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0884271951/ref=sr_1_1
MIT Paper: Case Study of the Result https://web.mit.edu/nelsonr/www/MCT_CASE.pdf
Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck - amazon.com/Implementing-Lean-Software-Development-Concept/dp/0321437381/ref=sr_1_1
The Machine That Changed the World by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones - amazon.com/Machine-That-Changed-World-Revolutionizing-ebook/dp/B001D1SRRS/ref=sr_1_1
Adaptive Leadership Training (ALT) for Achieving Operational Excellence (PDF) - drive.google.com/file/d/1YFunNRmx3gjy_MxbJ7WvpYppnw23YtnJ/view
Heavy Strategy is part of the Packet Pushers network. Visit our website to find more great networking and technology podcasts, along with tutorial videos, the Human Infrastructure newsletter, and loads more resources for building your IT career. packetpushers.net
