About this Presentation
This keynote explores how TOC can help government organizations deliver better, faster, and cheaper results at the same time. Drawing on public-sector experience, it highlights how leaders can move beyond reorganization, automation, and cost cutting to identify the real system constraint, align measures with outcomes, and build practical strategies for lasting improvement.
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.
This keynote reframes government improvement around a simple but demanding standard: better, faster, and cheaper at the same time, not as tradeoffs.
A central insight is that success does not start with reorganization, automation, training, or bigger budgets. It starts with diagnosing the real system constraint and asking better questions.
The session points to a practical roadmap for public-sector transformation: define measurable goals, use thinking and analysis tools, build strategy, engage staff and customers, and synchronize policy with projects.
You’ll also see how Utah connected budget and operations through performance measures tied to quality, throughput, and operating expense rather than activity alone.
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.