Not Jack Handey’s “Deep Thoughts” … more like Larry King’s old USA Today column… it’s Lean Thoughts for Feb 12, 2009… the byproduct of a three-hour drive and too much time listening to cable news on XM…

Hello, caller from Lewisburg, PA… what’s your question? Funny how there’s a glaring “defect” on the new Detroit Lions calendar, featuring a player they traded last year… Fumble!!!!… It’s wonder they were 0-16 last year with that sort of quality control… What is a “quality control coach” by the way? … Does he build in quality or inspect it in? Coach Deming would want to know… the old quality control coach got fired… maybe they need three of them now as more inspectors = better quality? Coach Deming says quality starts at the top of the organization… the Ford Family.

For my money, there’s no better Lean leader out there than Gary Convis, who is now trying to make Dana’s factories Lean now that he’s no longer CEO… I am shocked to find myself ever agree with Rep. Barney Frank, but he raised a good question today — why do Wall St. people need the promise of huge bonuses to do their job? Dr. Deming asks where is the pride in their work? “Cheaper By the Dozen” is the best movie ever made about an efficiency expert, don’t you think?… Rep. Frank called the Wall Street bonuses “a bribe” which I believe is the same language Dr. Deming would have used….

Kudos to Captain Sully and his crew… of course they used a “checklist” to help deal with their emergency… more hospitals need to adopt THEIR form of checklists to save lives in another way… I forgot my BlackBerry charger when I checked out of my hotel this morning… my wife says (of course) “You need a checklist or something, honey.” ZING!… So true… Dr. Richard Shannon is now implementing his Lean methods for reducing hospital infections in Philadelphia after his groundbreaking work in Pittsburgh… I expected more steak in a Geno’s cheese steak… Whiz with… yum!

About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus.

Tagged as: Deming, Lean Thoughts, Sports