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.
The Longer Starbucks Coffee Stopper Is Obviously Waste… Unless It Is...
I started with a strong opinion when I took this photo.
The long green Starbucks coffee stopper felt like obvious waste. Five inches of plastic...
Revisiting the Opening of Lean Hospitals: The Need for Lean in...
TL;DR: After three editions of Lean Hospitals, I am not planning further updates to the book. This post reflects on how the opening of...
Mutual Trust and Respect: What Really Made NUMMI Work
TL;DR: NUMMI's success was not driven by Lean tools alone, but by leadership behaviors that treated people as partners in quality and improvement.
When you...
Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: February 6, 2025
Thanks, as always, to Ryan McCormack for this. He always shares so much good reading, listening, and viewing here! Subscribe to get these directly...
Safety First Isn’t a Slogan: What GE Aerospace’s CEO Gets Right...
TL;DR: GE Aerospace's annual report treats safety not as a compliance topic or a communications slogan, but as a core leadership responsibility. By putting...
Why “Speak-Up Culture” Might Be Better Language Than Psychological Safety
TL;DR: People speak up at work only when it feels safe and worth it. Psychological safety reduces fear--but without effective problem solving, speaking up...
When a CEO Talks About the Work: Larry Culp, GE Aerospace,...
TL;DR: Larry Culp's GE Aerospace CEO letter is a rare example of Lean leadership in practice, showing how safety, Respect for People, and small...
Ray Zinn on Learning from Mistakes — and Why “Fail Fast,...
Ray Zinn argues that effective leadership isn't about failing fast, but about learning from mistakes by acknowledging them quickly, fixing them early, and not...
What Ford and the UAW Saw in Japan in 1981 —...
In 1981, Ford Motor Company and UAW leaders traveled to Japan to study Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda -- and they came home with very...
When “AI Improvement” Adds Waste Instead of Value: A Hotel Valet...
TL;DR: When a so-called "AI improvement" adds steps, time, and friction while ignoring frontline and customer input, it is not innovation. It is waste,...
You Can’t Punish Your Way to Pride: Deming, Toyota, and Learning...
Fear Drives Compliance -- Respect Builds Pride, Learning, and Improvement
TL;DR: Don Ephlin once wrote, "You can't punish your way to pride." That insight still...
Why Public Address Announcements Aren’t a Substitute for Management
TL;DR: Hourly PA announcements like "top of the hour conditioning" are the audible equivalent of "be more careful" signs. They don't fix systems, resolve...
