All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
My typing is a bit hampered after my finger surgery still. At least my surgery was safe and my outcomes seem to be good. Not everybody is so lucky. This week is the annual Patient Safety Awareness Week. In this…
tl;dr: A minor finger surgery revealed how confusing instructions, generic processes, and poor communication create frustration and risk for patients. Even when clinical care is competent, healthcare systems often lack patient-centered design, clear standards, and learning loops–problems that Lean thinking…
I’m going to think out loud here about book pricing for the paperback version of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More — in the name of transparency and getting input, I’ll share some thoughts below. As for timing, the…
tl;dr: Checklists don’t prevent mistakes unless people actually use them, and they work best in cultures where it’s safe to speak up. A missed step in a webinar setup shows how Andon-style intervention–someone noticing a problem and saying something–can quickly…
It’s two Barrys in a row on the podcast, as my guest for Episode #335 is Barry O’Reilly and we’re talking, in depth, about his latest book, Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results. Barry is a…
I’ve been battling some sort of bronchitis or respiratory infection for about five days now…. blah. Lots of coughing and my voice is shot. Good thing I’m traveling or speaking this week. And, I’m glad not to be in a…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Ontario is betting big on an untested hypothesis of reorganizing and consolidating healthcare operations and budgets predicting it will result in patients “seamlessly” moving through the health system. Time will tell, but the history has…
Back in 2013, I wrote a LinkedIn article (orread on Medium) about how the “Doctors: Best of 2013” list in a San Antonio magazine had a disclaimer that warned: “S.A. Doctors: Best of 2013 is the name of our publication,…
Joining me for Episode #334, all the way from Australia, is Barry McCarthy. Barry spent more than 15 years in leadership roles with Toyota in Australia and now works as an Associate with consulting firm Honsha. We were able to…
tl;dr: The Red Bead Experiment demonstrates how firing “low performers” based on arbitrary targets or rankings punishes people for system-driven variation, not individual effort. Bad metrics and poor leadership can create outcomes that look discriminatory, even when intent isn’t–highlighting why…
Recently, I blogged about how a Lean hospital would focus on reducing overwork on nurses and other staff: Another term that could be used is “overburden.” The Japanese word for this is “muri,” for what it’s worth. Many Lean practitioners…
It’s always a fun day of learning when I get a chance to teach and facilitate my day-long workshop that will teach you the core concepts from my book Measures of Success. Why take a workshop? Well, you’ll get a…
