This curated archive highlights some of the most-read, most-cited, and most-discussed articles from LeanBlog.org. These posts reflect real-world lessons on Lean thinking, leadership, psychological safety, metrics, and continuous improvement—drawn from healthcare, manufacturing, startups, and service organizations.
Rather than promoting tools for their own sake, these articles focus on systems thinking, respect for people, and learning from mistakes. Topics include Lean leadership, problem solving, metrics that drive the wrong behavior, psychological safety at work, healthcare improvement, Toyota Production System principles, and common myths that hold organizations back.
If you’re new to Lean, this collection offers a grounded starting point. If you’re experienced, these articles revisit core ideas with nuance, evidence, and practical examples that still matter today.
Here’s one to ponder and comment on – does putting a pharmacist in jail for six months and ruining his career and life do anything to bring back a two year-old girl? Does it do anything to make future patients…
TL;DR: Standardized work, influenced by Toyota and Dr. Atul Gawande, is crucial for improving safety, quality, and efficiency in healthcare. It should be created by those who do the work, be flexible, and serve as a basis for continuous improvement.…
Language that undermines Lean, respect for people, and real improvement TL;DR: The words Lean leaders use matter–some common phrases quietly reinforce command-and-control thinking, fear, and misunderstanding rather than learning and improvement. If Lean is truly about respect for people and…
I recently ran into David Meier, co-author of the outstanding books The Toyota Way Fieldbook and Toyota Talent. He was talking about kaizen events and he made a few interesting points from his time at Toyota: 1) He was only…
What 90+ Practitioners Taught Us About Credentials and Capability Originally published September 2009. Updated January 2026. This post turned into one of the most active discussions in LeanBlog history. More than 90 practitioners, leaders, recruiters, consultants, and educators weighed in…
TL;DR — Healthcare Quality & Patient Safety by the NumbersPreventable medical errors remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Research suggests hundreds of thousands of patients die each year from avoidable harm, while millions more are injured due…
I love it when I have a chance to meet Lean Blog readers and Twitter followers in the “real world.” In the past few weeks, I’ve finally met, in person, @flynncraig and @bryanlvt (at the Dan Jones Lean Healthcare Transformation…
I’m sure anybody who has done any work with Lean has heard these words said in one form or another, often prefaced with a “You don’t understand…” We’re different. Diff’rent (it’s fun to spell that way, like the old show…
Business list mixes Covey with Seuss – JSOnline There’s a new book I saw at the airport the other day, a compilation of short summaries of the “Best 100” business books of all time: The 100 Best Business Books of…
Neatness Counts at Kyocera and at Others in the 5S Club – WSJ.com I’m going to violate a rule I have to try not to blog when I’m frustrated or angry. Here goes… Today’s front page (argh, front page) article…
Dell to close Austin plant, cutting more than 800 jobs | Statesman Business Blog I’m angry. I try not to blog when I’m angry, so I’ll try to watch my words carefully. Probably won’t succeed. This recent news hits home…
How would you error proof this material handling / logistics situation? I have a few ideas, but thought this would make for interesting discussion. I won’t set up a “spend no money” rule, but cheaper and simpler ideas are always…
