Proof That Nelson from The Simpsons is Not a Good Kaizen Coach Mark Graban Aug 24, 2014 5 Best If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of The Simpsons. The show has been on TV for 25 of my 40 years. The…
Why “More Nurses” Isn’t the Best Way to Solve What Ails… Mark Graban Aug 21, 2014 21 Best There are certainly many serious problems in healthcare. Let's look at nursing, in particular. It's a rewarding…
The One Where a Dog Reviews the Strategy Deployment Metrics Wall Mark Graban Aug 18, 2014 15 Best I've had some cartoons on the blog before, including a few "Doofus & Leanies." I can't draw at all, believe me…
Kaizen: What if We Get Bad Ideas from Employees? Mark Graban Aug 15, 2014 11 Blog In our Healthcare Kaizen books, Joe Swartz and I have tried to make the case that the Kaizen style of…
Is it a Bad Idea to Pay a Lean Consultant Based on a Percentage of Cost Savings? Mark Graban Mar 27, 2014 50 Blog The price paid for most management consulting work is based on either a daily rate or some variation of a!-->!-->!-->…
10 (Actually, 20) of the Most Read LeanBlog.org Posts in 2013 Mark Graban Dec 27, 2013 5 Blog Thanks everybody for reading my blog in 2013! I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to read and…
Lean, Deming, and “Accountability” Mark Graban Dec 5, 2013 11 Best Today, I'm spending the day with a health system and their quarterly management retreat, which includes about 200!-->…
Toyota’s Lean Philosophy: Understanding the Role of Respect for People in… Mark Graban Feb 26, 2013 53 Blog A principle that has been often discussed (and hopefully practiced) in the Lean community over the past few years!-->…
Just Call it “5S Six Sigma” Instead of “Lean Sigma,”… Mark Graban Oct 22, 2012 26 Blog My whole career, I have worked with the Lean methodology (aka the Toyota Production System). I've just really never…
A Hard Habit to Break Mark Graban May 23, 2012 26 Blog No, this isn't a post about the the 80s Chicago tune "Hard Habit to Break." It's about individual habits related!-->…
A Video Showing Office 5S Gone Wrong Mark Graban Apr 28, 2012 46 Best You might also have seen the first video animation that I did last week about the waste of getting new recycling…
Time & Motion Studies Are Not “Discredited,” Just How They Are… Mark Graban May 25, 2011 28 Blog First off, a huge thumbs up and thanks are due to Eric Ries and his thought-provoking "Startup Lessons Learned"…
Does Setting a Goal for Number of Kaizens Violate “Kaizen Spirit”? Mark Graban Mar 30, 2011 27 Blog In discussions of "kaizen" (the Japanese word that is translated to "continuous improvement" or "change for the…
What Are Barriers to “Kaizen” in Healthcare? Mark Graban Mar 4, 2011 41 Blog Regular readers might know that I'm working on a second book project, about "kaizen" (continuous improvement) in…
Two Extreme Sides to Every Story in Politics *and* Lean?? Mark Graban Jul 9, 2010 20 Best This is going to seem like a political rant, but I promise this is mainly a post about Lean and healthcare, or at…
April Fool: A New Way to Learn Lean? Wii Lean! Mark Graban Apr 1, 2010 30 Blog Note: I edited the post title on April 3 to make it clear this was an April Fool's Joke. Comments posted by!-->…
How Checklists Help Me With My Podcasts Mark Graban Mar 22, 2010 8 Best Regular followers of my blog know that I've been creating audio podcasts since 2006. Later today (at 3 PM), I am!-->…
A Pharmacist’s Jail Cell Interview – What Good Does Blame Do? Mark Graban Mar 10, 2010 26 Best Here's one to ponder and comment on - does putting a pharmacist in jail for six months and ruining his career and…