Mark Graban

Hear Mark read the post (subscribe to the podcast): This is an elaboration on something I originally posted on LinkedIn. I saw somebody touting an approach that...

One challenge with teaching Lean is that there isn't aways a consistent definition that's used by everybody. Some of the definitions are really bad....

I really enjoyed and appreciated this new white paper that was written by Dr. Lisa Yerian and Nate Hurle from The Cleveland Clinic: "No More...

Any rare event creates a number of challenges when it comes to manufacturing and supply chains. We're seeing a pretty historic "spike" in demand for products like the inexpensive glasses that allow one to safety view the eclipse (our friends in the totality zone can look at the totally-eclipsed sun safely, but that's the only time). You could call it "supply chain challenges" or a "lack of planning on my part," but I cannot find eclipse glasses anywhere. There are MANY articles online about this widespread problem -- it's been impossible to buy "eclipse glasses" anywhere. Why is this? What could have been done?

I'm excited to be playing host for a KaiNexus webinar on August 30 on a topic that's very important to me (and to many) -- patient safety. As I mentioned yesterday on LinkedIn, estimates suggest that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States, with approximately 250,000 deaths a year... and that's four times as many deaths as caused by the opioid crisis. Don't get me wrong, opioid abuse and what happens to patients who end up addicted is horrible. But the newly-named "national emergency" of opioid abuse gets far more attention than what I would call "the international patient safety emergency" that has been around for a long time. I try bringing attention to the serious, yet solvable, problem of patient harm caused by preventable medical error. That's why I'm happy that we'll have three presenters on the 30th on this topic: "Teaming with Patients to Improve Safety" Click here to register - the webinar is free.

I've read most of retired General Stanley McChrystal's excellent book Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World (I start a lot...

Today at 3 PM, I'm doing a webinar at the invitation of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, as part of their "Quality Café" series. Thanks for the invitation! It's open to the public and it's titled: "Standardize What Makes Sense... Then Engage Everybody in Improving What You Standardized" I hope you can join us...

There's a fun game you can play online in your browser... and it's free. Start typing a phrase into the Google search box (or into...

I enjoy "gemba visits" (of sorts) to wineries and vacations often focus on this walking, tasting, and learning. I usually read the wine column that's...

This year, I have the opportunity to run the W. Edwards Deming "Red Bead Experiment" at Lean Startup Week in San Francisco, with the...

Joining me for Episode #285 is my friend and colleague, Karen Martin. She was previously a guest on Episode #151 where we discussed her book The Outstanding Organization and #190 we discussed her book Value Stream Mapping book. We'll be doing another podcast later this year about her next book, which is titled Clarity First: How Wise Leaders and Organizations Achieve Outstanding Performance. Karen reached out with a provocative question that's easy to discuss, but hard to answer: "Is Lean Dead?" The reason she asked is that she's heard murmuring and read articles that ask "is it time for something new?" or if we're somehow in a "post-Lean" world.

I am always happy to see something even vaguely related to the practice of Kaizen in mainstream publications. Here's a recent essay from the...