Yeah, it’s frustrating, LeBron

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Meme of a basketball player gesturing with arms spread toward a teammate on a court, overlaid with text: “You still think lean is only about tools? How many times have I told you it’s also a management system… c’mon, man!!”
By Mark Graban

The Lean point: Tools are the most visible part of Lean, so they're the easiest to copy. The harder part is the management system: how leaders spend their time, respond to problems, and support improvement. Without that, the tools tend to fade after the consultants leave.

See more in the Best of Lean Memes collection.

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Mark Graban
Mark Graban

Mark Graban helps leaders build workplaces where people speak up and improvement sticks, through Lean management, psychological safety, and better use of metrics. He is a keynote speaker, advisor, and host of the Lean Blog Interviews and My Favorite Mistake podcasts.

He is the author of The Mistakes That Make Us, Measures of Success, Lean Hospitals, and Healthcare Kaizen, and a three-time recipient of the Shingo Publication Award. His next book is The Silence Tax.

Mark is also a Senior Advisor to KaiNexus. Get his free ebooks.

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