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.
A Non-Lean Suggestion System
Thinking of employee suggestions, I had a flashback this week. Back when I worked at General Motors, we had a typical non-lean suggestion system....
Lean Tools vs. Culture
IndustryWeek : Lean: Closing the Reality GapHere is an article with a link to an upcoming Industry Week webcast (there will be software vendors...
Everyday Poka Yoke
Everyday Examples of Mistake-ProofingI've linked to this web page before, but I love it and I'll link to it again, on the topic of...
Error Proofing Excel
I spend a good amount of time working in Excel, analyzing data and such. I often accidentally hit the "F1" key in a...
Bottlenecks in Buying
Seth's Blog: Waiting in lineAnother thought provoking post from Seth Godin. Although he doesn't write about lean, think about the examples he gives:Lack...
Lean in New Zealand
New Zealand's source for business, stock market & currency news on Stuff.co.nzHere is a decent lean overview, which includes a visit by John Shook...
Muda and Kaizen in Customer Service
Here are two contrasting stories from my past week. The stories made me think of muda (waste) and kaizen, or at least the...
Here’s an Idea: Let Everyone Have Ideas
New York Times:Here is an interesting spin on the ideas of employee involvement and bottom-up problem solving:"Most companies operate under the assumption that big...
IKEA billionaire founder proud to be frugal at 80
Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.comI like the idea of the IKEA founder and CEO "following the rules" of the company and...
It’s Toyota, not "Japan," that you’re fighting Mr. Ford
The Cincinnati Post - Don't blame JapanHere's the latest column from Jim Womack (read my Q&A with him here).On Nov. 22 after a speech...
Come on MS, Let Dell Have Their Advantage
WSJ.com - As Microsoft Fumbles, Marketers Supplant Tech Managers:I could care less, personally, if Microsoft delays their next version, "Windows Vista." But, there's...
Q&A with Jamie Flinchbaugh, Part 2
I'm pleased to present the latest in my Lean Thinker Q&A series, this time with Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author of the recently-published book "The Hitchhiker's...
