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.
How a Pharmacist-Led Kaizen Improved Cardiac Care and Reduced Costs by...
When Better Care Leads to Lower Costs: A Pharmacist-Driven Kaizen Story
In healthcare, improvement initiatives often get derailed when they start with one primary question:...
Why Care: Building Respectful Lean Cultures with Caroline Greenlee & Chris...
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My guests for Episode #537 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Caroline Greenlee and Chris...
Healthcare Cost Pressures Are Real–But So Are the Costs of Harm
I heard from two different people this past week--each working in very different hospitals.
One message began with:
"The hospital removed the wrong leg from a...
Lean Coffee Talk: Ask Us Anything: Submit Your Lean, Leadership &...
Listen:
Submit your question (and maybe win a Lean Coffee Talk mug!) at: LeanBlog.org/coffeequestions
In this short bonus episode of Lean Coffee Talk, hosts Mark Graban...
The Deadly Cost of Ignoring Lockout/Tagout: What Lean Leaders Must Learn
In the Lean management framework, we often emphasize "Respect for People" as a foundational principle--one that drives how we lead, how we improve, and...
Leader Standard Work Is About Behavior, Not Just Your Calendar
Leader Standard Work: It's Not Just Where You Go, But How You Show Up
Too often, the concept of Leader Standard Work (LSW) in Lean is reduced...
A Look Back at Continuous Improvement at the Bedside: Allina Health...
In 2014, Gregory Clancy and I co-authored an article about Allina Health's early Kaizen-based improvement journey. We told a story that felt both simple...
From 5S Frustration to Lean Leadership: A Conversation with a Future...
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with a supply chain student (taking undergraduate courses) who reached out with thoughtful questions about Lean principles....
New Catalysis CEO Carlos Scholz on Lean Healthcare, Leadership, and Psychological...
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My guest for Episode #536 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Carlos Scholz, the new...
Smiles, Sharpies, and Systems: What Do Starbucks Customers Really Value?
Starbucks has been in the headlines for a renewed push toward hospitality and "moments of connection." The Wall Street Journal recently reported on new...
Kickoff Returns and Lean Metrics: What the 2025 NFL Season Teaches...
tl;dr: Headlines say kickoff returns are "dramatically up" in 2025, but process behavior charts show this isn't random fluctuation. The NFL's new dynamic kickoff...
From Know-It-All to Learn-It-All: Leadership Lessons from Mistakes
Lessons from my book The Mistakes That Make Us, plus conversations with Phillip Cantrell and Damon Lembi
One of the central themes in my book, The...
