Happy Labor Day

Monday is Labor Day, a holiday in the United States. Since one of the main pillars of the Toyota Production System is “respect for people,” let's revisit previous Lean Blog posts that focus on that concept (click on the “Respect for People” tag at the bottom of the post).

I learned, very early in my career, that a company's problems aren't likely the result of “lazy” employees who “don't care” about the business at hand. Leadership has a responsibility to have the right management system in place.

Henry Ford once said something to the effect of, “Workers will work under any system.” Instead of blaming workers for our problems, let's put the right type of Lean leadership in place and let's turn “workers” into “thinkers” of the “Thinking Production System.”‘

Happy Labor Day, everyone.

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Mark Graban

Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. His latest book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. He also published the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

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