About this Presentation
In this powerful session, Kristen Cox reveals why organizations often overlook the simple, foundational principles that unlock extraordinary performance. She demonstrates how returning to the basics—clear goals, focus on the true constraint, and disciplined execution—creates breakthroughs that complex initiatives fail to deliver. Attendees will learn how to strip away noise, challenge assumptions, and apply essential TOC principles to drive meaningful, repeatable, and sustainable results.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Learn why organizations often miss performance improvements by overlooking basic principles in favor of complex initiatives.
Understand how clarifying goals, identifying the true constraint, and maintaining disciplined execution drive consistent results.
See how challenging assumptions and removing unnecessary complexity helps teams focus on what actually moves performance.
Gain insight into applying core TOC principles in a practical, repeatable way to achieve sustainable improvement.
Instructor(s)
Kristen Cox
Kristen Cox is a visionary leader, author, and expert in systems thinking and constraints management, specializing in helping governments and nonprofits cut through complexity and achieve breakthrough results. Best known for orchestrating a 35% measurable improvement in the State of Utah’s $20 billion executive branch, Kristen has a proven track record of transforming large-scale operations by focusing on what truly matters.
As the Founder & CEO of Epiphany Associates, LLC, Kristen brings her expertise to organizations worldwide, guiding leaders to eliminate inefficiencies, maximize impact, and drive sustainable change. She has served as an Executive Director, university instructor, Senior Fellow, advisory board member, keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant. She co-founded The Fulcrum and created Utah’s SUCCESS Framework and the Quality Throughput over Operating Expense (QT/OE) metric, both of which have been widely recognized for driving government effectiveness.
Kristen is also the co-author of Stop Decorating the Fish, a powerful business fable that exposes ineffective problem-solving strategies often used in government and business. The book, co-written with TOC expert Yishai Ashlag, helps leaders recognize and avoid misleading solutions that create the illusion of progress but fail to address core issues.
Beyond her professional expertise, Kristen’s personal journey as a blind leader adds depth to her work. She weaves together inspirational lessons on resilience, innovation, and clarity of thought, helping others develop the discipline to focus on real solutions that drive meaningful impact.