A Mystery Solved! That Photo I Use to Talk About Standardized Work and Workarounds
There's been this mystery that's been hanging over my head for about 15 years. It's a mystery that's bothered me…
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Best Posts from the Lean Blog Archive
Breaking Old Habits: Evidence-Based Decision Making vs. Tradition in Healthcare…
If you missed yesterday's blog post and podcast with Dr. Rob Hackett from Australia, please check it out.
After…
Did Toyota’s #Lean Mindsets & Practices Really Leave the (Now) Tesla…
Tesla builds cars in what used to be the NUMMI factory, a joint venture between Toyota and GM (which meant it was…
Doctors vs. Taylorism and Toyota Lean: Exploring the Controversial Debate in the…
In the article posted today, Pamela Hartzband, M.D., and Jerome Groopman, M.D. (the later the author of the popular…
Is it Really Lean if the Employees are Upset? Understanding the Importance of…
How is it that we have two realities out there in healthcare... in parallel, Lean is awesome and Lean is horrible.…
Maybe We Should Call it “The Many Whys” Instead of “The Five…
There’s no magic about the number five. I’ve seen some people write that five is somehow a “magic number.” No,…
Just Ask Why Five Times? Effective Problem Solving for #Lean or #LeanStartup…
We don’t just ask why. We start by properly defining and clarifying problems. Jumping straight to Five Whys is like…
Fighting Against “The Way We’ve Always Done It” – Before…
Through our practice of Lean, we're looking at processes and our management system, looking to identify waste and…
5S: The Good, the Bad, and the Extreme in Japanese Hospitals
My two previous trips to Japan have been incredible experiences, both personally and professionally. I'm planning…
Can You Even Consider Kaizen When the Chart Showing Time and Workload Looks Like…
In th KaiNexus webinar that I did with Dr. Greg Jacobson earlier this week ("Making Time for For Continuous…
Moving from “Visuals” to “Visual Management” and to…
I've been studying and working with Lean for 20 years now and I love Lean because I'm still learning and getting…
Why This Sushi Company Policy Letter Should be Copied by Hospitals – As Long…
I love the Texas-based grocery store chain "Central Market." It's like a local version of a Whole Foods,…
We Can’t Ignore “Lean Horror Stories” or That Cheeseburger…
When people ask me why I do what I do, my first answers are:
improving patient safety
creating better…
“Accountability” Shouldn’t Mean Blaming People for Things Out of…
"Accountability" is a word that's easy to throw around in an organization. It's often pretty meaningless (or not…
Strategy Deployment as a Series of Hypotheses or Predictions (Part 1)
Note: I'm actually doing TWO free webinars on January 27. One is for Becker's Hospital Review, sponsored by…
Managing With Red/Green Charts is Like Driving By Looking at the Rear-View Mirror
There's an expression that was used by Dr. W. Edwards Deming, and also by Dr. Don Wheeler, that says managing…
Why Lunch Can Be Annoying at the Sensei Cafe
Last week, I published my first cartoon collaboration with a skilled artist (and medical assistant), Carrie…
To Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement, Put Away the Gavel!
I am giving a new webinar on Wednesday, hosted by the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value (to promote a public…