Lead improvement your team owns.
What it is: Online coaching (NZD 690 for 4 sessions) and People Whisperer mentoring (NZD 290 a month), with a free 20-minute intro call.Who it's for: Team leaders, supervisors and site managers leading change in manufacturing.What you get: Skills to deliver one real change your team owns, keeps to the standard and can show the ROI of.
Online coaching and mentoring for team leaders, supervisors and site managers in manufacturing. For when you've been asked to lead a change, and you want it to stick with the people who do the work.
From CI-AI Fusion Ltd: 30+ years leading change on the manufacturing floor. New Zealand and Australia, online.
Leaders in the middle of the change
Team leaders and supervisors
You run a shift or a team and you've been handed an improvement to deliver, on top of the day job.
Production and site managers
You need changes to hold after the project ends, and you want your leaders to own them.
New or stepping-up leaders
You're growing into leading change and want a sounding board who has done it on the floor.
The people side of change
Changes slip back
It works for a few weeks, then the old way returns. We work on standards, ownership and follow-up so it holds.
The team isn't on board
Resistance, "we tried that before", or quiet non-adoption. We plan how to involve people early and handle pushback.
Not sure where to start
Lots of problems and little time. We pick one improvement worth doing and plan it in small steps.
Getting buy-in upwards
Making the case to your manager for time or money, with numbers they trust.
Running improvement routines
Stand-ups, KPI boards and idea follow-up that people actually keep doing.
Your own growth
Confidence, communication and habits as a change leader, with someone in your corner.
Talk, plan, lead, review
Intro call
20 minutes to understand your situation and whether coaching fits.
Pick one change
Agree one real improvement you'll lead, and how you'll know it worked.
Lead it on the floor
You run it with your team between sessions. We prepare, rehearse and adjust.
Review and lock
Check the results, write the standard and plan the next step.
What's the difference
Coaching
Builds your skills on one real change. A set programme of 4 sessions: you pick one improvement, plan it, lead it with your team and lock it in. We ask more than we tell, so you find your own way of leading it.
Lead your first improvement · NZD 690 · 4 sessions
See the programmeMentoring
Ongoing guidance from someone who has been there. Monthly sessions drawing on 30+ years leading change on the manufacturing floor, for when your team isn't buying in or changes aren't sticking. We share what has worked, and you decide what fits.
The People Whisperer · NZD 290 a month · cancel any time
About People Whisperer mentoringThree ways to start
Online, NZ and AU. Prices in NZD, GST inclusive.
Free intro call
- 20 minutes by video call
- Talk through your situation
- Honest view on whether coaching fits
Lead your first improvement
- 4 × 60-minute sessions over about 6–8 weeks
- Pick, plan, lead and lock one real improvement
- Simple templates from the Shop-Floor Improvement Toolkit
- Email support between sessions
- Uses the Houston method to turn stuck into action
- We build your Work Backwards Change Plan together in the 4 sessions
- Unused sessions refunded
The People Whisperer
For new or existing leaders whose team isn't buying in, and whose changes aren't sticking.
- 1 × 60-minute session a month, on real situations from your site
- Email support between sessions
- The people side: buy-in, resistance, habits that hold
- Cancel any time before the next month
Prefer a company-paid arrangement or coaching for several leaders? Mention it on the intro call.
“Houston, we have a problem”: from stuck to one action today
What it is: The free Houston 5-step worksheet and Wins Log.Who it's for: Anyone stuck or putting off a change.What you get: One action today and a log of wins that shows your manager the return.
For when what you tried hasn't worked, you're starting to put it off, and there's nothing to show your manager yet. These action hacks take you from stuck to one small action you own, in a single session.
- 1Stop and listenPause and hear the whole story before fixing anything.
- 2Picture the winWhat outcome do you want, and what would it mean for you?
- 3Name the costWhat staying stuck is costing you now, in feeling and cost, without blame.
- 4Find the yesExplore small options together until you say “yes, I can do that”.
- 5One thing today, then log itOne action before you leave: what, by when, how you'll know. Then record the win in your Wins Log to show your manager.
Why it works
It slows down before it speeds up. You're heard first, you get clear on what you want, and you choose the next step yourself, so it's yours. A small action today beats a big plan for later.
The 1 thing
Every session ends with one question: “What's the 1 thing you'll do when you leave here today?” Specific, with a time, and a way to know it's done.
Log it
Each action goes in your Wins Log. Over time that's real evidence of growth to share with your manager, in reviews or when you go for promotion.
Free downloads
Use it on your own, or bring it to a coaching session. Free, no sign-up.
Not sure what the problem really is yet? Start with the free “Houston, I have a problem” diagnostic, then use the worksheet to turn it into one action.
Plan the whole change, starting from the win
What it is: A free Work Backwards PDCA plan and tracker.Who it's for: Leaders planning a change from the result back.What you get: 3 to 4 milestones that lock each win as a standard and track the ROI.
The Houston method gets you to the first action. This plans the whole change. Start with the win you want, decide what will prove it, then work back to four milestones that follow Plan, Do, Check, Act. Finish with a 30-second elevator speech so everyone hears the same story.
- ★The winWhat success looks like, measured, by a date, and who benefits.
- M4Act: it sticksStandard work, owners and habits in place.
- M3CheckResults measured against the target, then adjusted.
- M2DoA pilot with the team, and some small wins.
- M1PlanProblem defined, team involved, baseline agreed.
← Planned backwards from the win. Done forwards: Plan → Do → Check → Act.
Elevator speech example
“We're changing how we do changeovers on Line 2 so that every shift gets more run time with less rushing. We'll get there in 4 steps: measure today's changeover together, trial a better sequence, check the results, then lock it in as standard work. By 30 June you'll see changeovers at 25 minutes or less.”
Template: We're changing X so that Y. We'll get there in 4 steps: … By [date] you'll see Z.
What's in the plan
- The win and 2 to 3 outcomes, baseline to target
- Four milestones with dates, owners, measures, who needs to say yes, and the main risk
- The people side: who's affected, likely resistance, how to involve them (see The People Whisperer)
- Your first action today, the same as Houston step 5
Free downloads
A blank worksheet with a worked example, and an Excel tracker with RAG status, a timeline and an elevator speech that builds itself. Free, no sign-up. In the coaching programme we build this plan together across the 4 sessions.
When your team isn't buying in
For new and experienced leaders who know what needs to change, but find the team isn't with them yet and the change won't stick. Monthly mentoring on the people side of change, NZD 290 a month.
Signs you're stuck
- Open resistance, or "we tried that before"
- People nod in the meeting, then go back to the old way
- Quiet pushback: workarounds, slow uptake, things "forgotten"
- Change fatigue: one more initiative, same tired faces
- Old habits return once you stop watching
What we work on
- Reading the room and what's really going on
- Listening well and influencing without forcing
- Finding the informal leaders people already follow
- Involving the team so they own the change
- Handling resistance with respect, as useful information
- Small, visible wins that build trust
- Habits and standard work so it sticks
- Your own confidence and resilience as a leader
How it runs
One 60-minute video session a month, with email support in between. Each session starts from a real situation on your site this month: a conversation that went badly, a change that's slipping, a team you're new to. We work out what's happening, plan your next step, and review how it went next time.
NZD 290 a month incl GST. Cancel any time before the next month.
What changes over time
- Your team helps shape changes instead of waiting them out
- Changes hold after the first few weeks
- You handle pushback calmly and keep people's trust
- You know who to bring in early, and how
- You lead with more confidence, and less of it rests on you alone
When you or your team feel stuck, sessions use the Houston method to get to one action you'll take today.
From a first look to a full change
Coaching sits alongside the tools and the free assessment. Use whichever step fits where you are.
Questions about coaching
Who is this for?
Team leaders, shift supervisors, production and site managers in manufacturing who are being asked to lead improvement or a change, and want it to stick with their people.
Is it online?
Yes. Sessions are by video call, so it works anywhere in New Zealand and Australia. Times are agreed to suit your shifts.
Do I need to be a CI specialist?
No. Most people we work with run a team or a site, not a CI department. We keep the tools simple and practical.
Can my employer pay?
Yes. We can invoice your company, and the free Business Case template in the Toolkit can help you make the request.
Is the intro call really free?
Yes. 20 minutes to talk through your situation and see if coaching is a good fit. No obligation and no follow-up pressure.
What is People Whisperer mentoring?
Our monthly mentoring path for leaders whose team isn't buying in to a change, or where changes keep slipping back. One session a month on real situations from your site: building buy-in, handling resistance with respect, and making new habits stick. NZD 290 a month incl GST.
Is it about getting people to just go along with me?
No. It's about listening, involving people and earning trust, so the team genuinely owns the change. Resistance is often useful information, and we treat it that way.
What is the Houston method?
Five simple steps for when you're stuck: stop and listen, picture the win, name the cost, find the yes, then one thing today and log it. Each session ends with one action you'll take before you leave. The worksheet and Wins Log are free to download on this page.
What if it isn't working?
People Whisperer mentoring can be stopped at any time before the next month starts. For the 4-session programme, any unused sessions are refunded. See the refund policy.
Start with a 20-minute conversation
No pitch. Tell us what you're trying to change and we'll give you an honest view on the next step.
