Tag: LAME
When Lean Fails Its People: Why Disengaged Employees Signal Deeper Problems
How is it that we have two realities out there in healthcare... in parallel, Lean is awesome and Lean is horrible. It depends on where you are, unfortunately. I had an amazing day yesterday with a major health system...
Another Conversation About L.A.M.E. and Lean in Manufacturing and Healthcare
It's far too common to see somebody with just a little bit of understanding about Lean do things that really shouldn't be described as...
Why “Just-in-Time” Retail Scheduling Is Not Lean
TL;DR (2026 update): So-called "just-in-time" retail scheduling that relies on on-call shifts, last-minute cutbacks, or sending people home early is not Lean--it's cost cutting...
The Office 5S Misstep That Didn’t Happen: Lessons from a Lean...
It's time for another Throwback Thursday where I revisit a blog post from the past. To the left, that's a baby Mark Graban... probably...
Throwback Thursday: Be Lean, not L.A.M.E.
Today's post is a throwback to an essay that I originally wrote for the excellent book Lean-Led Hospital Design: Creating the Efficient Hospital of the...
Lean: Hit or Myth? Layoffs, Patient-Centered Care, and More
TL;DR: Lean is often misunderstood. It's not about rushing patients, cutting staff, or blindly installing tools. When practiced properly, Lean is fundamentally patient-centered, focused...
Why is Today “#WorldNoResourcesDay” and Why Do Words Matter?
I learned about this the other today via Twitter (hat tip to @agile_memes), but today is "World No Resources Day" (see hashtag #WorldNoResourcesDay). See the...
Addressing Lean Missteps: Why We Can’t Overlook the Dark Side of...
tl;dr: The blog examines the pitfalls of poorly executed Lean methodologies, using an analogy of a cheeseburger to discuss unhealthy implementations. It argues for...
Throwback Thursday – “Lean Sigma” is Still Pretty Often Wrong on...
Last weekend, at a patient safety conference, I heard a physician talk about "robust process improvement" and this, thankfully, included an endorsement of Lean...
My Cogent, Academic Analysis of the “Fake Lean” Problem & “Muppets...
Today's post is published over on LinkedIn, as part of the "Influencers' program that I'm a part of.
Kermit the Frog & Lean Management: How...
This Date in Lean Blog History: August 6
My blog will turn 10 years old in February 2015. You're probably either thinking, "Wow, that's awesome!" or "Get a life, dude." :-)
Here's a...
It’s Awful When the Person Teaching Lean Doesn’t Get the Bad...
Long-time readers might remember this post of mine from February 2007:
Bad Lean/5S Hits the UK Media
Please check out that post. It's a classic example...
