Monthly Archives: March 2011
Smart Error-Proofing in Fast Food: How In-N-Out Outsmarts Quiznos with Simple Design
I was in L.A. on Tuesday, and I had a little extra time on my way to the Burbank airport, which meant a rare...
Does Setting a Goal for Number of Kaizens Violate “Kaizen Spirit”?
In discussions of "kaizen" (the Japanese word that is translated to "continuous improvement" or "change for the better"), I often hear of organizations talk...
What’s Your Role in Hospital Quality?
I snapped this pic while visiting a hospital earlier this year. This was out in the cafeteria as part of a series of signs...
Command-and-Control Killed this Cosmonaut? Lessons for Our Organizations…
Lean is not a "command and control" leadership and management model. The old command-and-control dynamic leads to so much poor quality and misery in...
Weekend Fun: The Management Methods, They Are a-Changin’
Fans of Bob Dylan and Mike Rother's book Toyota Kata will appreciate this song especially:
Interview Today with Prof. Samuel Culbert – Questions on Annual Reviews?
Today, I am recording a podcast interview with Prof. Samuel Culbert from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is author of the...
An Astronaut’s Viewpoints on Systems & Patient Safety
Today, I'm sharing a brilliant Slate.com interview:
"Risky Business: James Bagian "NASA astronaut turned patient safety expert" on Being Wrong."
He's actually also an...
Podcast #116 – Jim Womack, His New Lean Book ‘Gemba Walks’
Episode #116 is a chat with Jim Womack, founder and former Chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute, now their Senior Advisor and author of...
GM Blames Layoffs on the Japan Earthquake and JIT; Should Instead Look in Mirror
Here is a sad article with the headline"General Motors lays off workers at NY plant." This is an addition to earlier Shreveport layoffs.
The media...
Updating “A Vision for a Lean Hospital”
I am working on finishing up the revised and updated edition of my first book Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction....
Collected Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Improvement Statistics – Lean Healthcare
I'm going to use this blog post / page to collect published statistics about the impact the Lean management philosophy has had on healthcare...
Survey: Title & Subtitle for My Second Book on “Kaizen” and Continuous Improvement for...
Hi - As a reader of my blog, your input and thoughts are important to me.
I am currently co-authoring a new book with Joe...
