The beginning of the Continuous Improvement Movement finds its roots in a quaint little town named Somerville, three hours away from the bustling city of Houston. It was within the walls of my mentor's house that this movement came to life. As I sat there, I contemplated a fusion of my two great passions: Continuous Improvement and Politics. You see, during my college days, I had the privilege of presiding over the entire University's electoral commission. It was a role that exposed me to the transformative potential of politics when wielded ethically – the power to enhance people's lives through education. Upon graduating, I embarked on an internship journey with PepsiCo, a place I still consider my home and the source of my knowledge. It was during this time that I first encountered terms like "Continuous Improvement," "lean," "lean six sigma," and "hard savings." Little did I know that these terms would remain a guiding light in my path. Why do I share this journey with you? Because, over the years, working across various companies in different countries, I witnessed the same fundamental flaws and misconceptions when it came to deploying what was then known as a lean transformation. We became obsessed with certifications and titles like lean six sigma yellow, lean six sigma green, and black belt, thinking they held the solution to our problems, primarily centered around cost reduction. However, we failed to grasp the essence of Continuous Improvement. We overlooked the rich heritage of the Toyota Production System, the wisdom of Edward Deming, the significance of the Theory of Constraints, and, my newfound favorite, Systems thinking. All these methodologies under the umbrella of Continuous Improvement were designed not just for financial gains but to enhance efficiency, quality, and overall performance of processes. Sadly, financial benefits often overshadow these noble goals in today's business landscape. Countless corners have been cut on the path to implementing Continuous Improvement, bypassing crucial steps like 5S, Hoshin Kanri, Kaizen, Toyota Kata, Lean, and Systems thinking. The result? Superficial transformations that lack sustainability. Why? Because they lack the essential foundation and understanding needed to deploy Continuous Improvement effectively throughout an organization. My awakening came during a year spent with my mentor, a Lean Six Sigma Master Black with over four decades of experience and a track record of 30 successful company-wide deployments. He imparted the wisdom that each element of the lean transformation system should be implemented, tailored to the specific circumstances of each organization. For him, it all made sense, thanks to his deep-seated systems thinking mindset—a concept I had recently grasped, despite having unwittingly employed it for some time. It is for this reason that I firmly believe that systems thinking is a fundamental cornerstone for the proper deployment of Continuous Improvement. And so, we resolved to birth the Continuous Improvement Movement. Our goal is to unite like-minded individuals and instigate meaningful change within organizations across the globe, championing sustainable and respectful process improvement. Together, we're redefining the way Continuous Improvement is understood and implemented, ensuring that it remains a beacon of progress for generations to come.