Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups.
Mark's latest book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award.
He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean, previous Shingo recipients.
Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
From “White Coat Leadership” to Lean Leadership: John Toussaint’s Message Still...
TL;DR: Dr. John Toussaint says healthcare culture won't change until leaders do--moving from "white coat leadership" (all-knowing, autocratic, blaming) to Lean leadership as facilitator,...
Are Executive Teams Solving Problems — or Just Making Decisions?
Many executive teams move quickly to decisions but skip the shared learning needed to solve complex problems for good. This post explores a working...
Start 2026 with Learning – The Mistakes That Make Us Giveaway
Want to start 2026 with a better mindset around leadership, culture, and continuous improvement?
As we begin the year, it's a natural time to reflect--not...
Don’t Start the New Year with Blank Charts: A Better Way...
Charts like this always make me wonder why we throw away the additional context of data from 2016 when we start the 2017 chart.
It's unlikely that January 1st in any given year is the magical creation of a new system or a new process. In other words, January 2017 was likely the same process as December 2016. The annual cutoffs are arbitrary. Sure, people are accustomed to thinking in annual cycles, but is this helpful for improvement?
Gemba Claus Is Comin’ to Town: A Lean Christmas Song Parody
TL;DR: A Lean-themed Christmas song parody that mixes kaizen, gemba, and holiday humor--just for fun, and maybe a little reflection.
Here's a musical holiday treat...
LeanBlog.org 2025 Second Half Top 10: Most-Read Articles on Lean, Leadership,...
TL;DR: These were the 10 most-read LeanBlog.org posts from July-December 2025, based on Google Analytics.
Each year, I take a year-end look at what readers...
U.S. Measles Cases Over Time: Signal or Noise in the Data?
tl;dr: Headlines comparing two years of measles cases can be misleading. Looking at the full CDC time series with Process Behavior Charts shows that...
A Christmas Tale That Explains Process Behavior Charts
The Christmas Tale / Le Conte de Noël
Two years ago, I received an unexpected and incredibly specific Christmas gift from Charles Desneuf on LinkedIn....
Five NUMMI Tour Lessons That Still Define Lean Thinking
A 2005 tour of the NUMMI plant revealed lessons about Lean that had little to do with tools and everything to do with leadership,...
Digital Support for a Culture of Improvement: A Reflection on Electrolux...
In a webinar I hosted with Sandro Casagrande from Electrolux, we reflected on the 20-year evolution of their Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS). One of...
Unlock the Power of Leadership: A Preview of the Electrolux Manufacturing...
KaiNexus recently hosted a webinar I was especially looking forward to: "Unlock the Power of Leadership: The Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS) Way," presented by...
How Don Kieffer Applies Toyota Thinking to Modern Knowledge Work
Why do so many Lean efforts fail in offices, engineering, and executive work? In this episode, Don Kieffer explains why copying Toyota's rituals misses...
