All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
Hosted by Catalysis, I shared some key concepts from my new book Measures of Success (now available in the Apple Books store among other places).
This webinar was geared toward a healthcare audience that is also, likely, interested in or practicing elements of Lean Daily Management.
This was held Monday, August 20 at noon EDT.
Mark's Note: I asked my firiend Sam Selay to write a blog post on this topic after some private discussions that we had. He agreed and shared this post. I've talked to many others who have run into similar roadblocks and frustrations when trying, with the best of intentions, to bring their Lean skills and experience into healthcare.
Sam was one of the contributing authors to the anthology "Practicing Lean," which is now available through Apple iBooks, in addition to Amazon (Kindle and paperback), and Leanpub (eBook and audiobook). Here is his post:
In June, I was informed by my employer that the company had decided to go in a new direction. They said they would now build lean into their processes and enable process owners to be responsible for all continuous improvement functions. To date, I don’t know many organizations that have been able to successfully embed lean into everyone’s work and sustain it.
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patient Canadian healthcare is still mired in a system of outdated technology (including reliance on faxing and pagers) in a world where consumers expect total transparency and availability of data. Canadian doctors agree that patients should have…
Somebody pointed Dominic Rubino to me as somebody who could be a guest on his podcast. His podcast is focused on cabinet makers and woodworkers. I don't know anything about that field. But, I think our conversation goes to show that concepts of Lean, Kaizen (continuous improvement), and practices for metrics are pretty transferrable across industries.
I haven't done a Throwback Thursday in a while, but here's a new one.
I was reminded of an article I wrote for LinkedIn back in 2013:
The Carrot and The Stick "On Steroids"
The article begins:
There are a few cliché expressions that I've heard a lot of recently at healthcare conferences. Some of these clichés really need to be retired, including the phrases "carrot and the stick" and "on steroids."
Today I have two guests joining me for Episode #314 of the podcast. They are Skip Steward, the Chief Improvement Officer at Baptist Memorial Health Care in Tennessee and Brandon Brown, the owner and "Master Kata Coach" of his firm, Continuous Coaching Commitment, LLC.
In this episode, we discuss their use of methods such as "Training Within Industry" and "Toyota Kata" in the important work of healthcare improvement. Skip and Brandon both have backgrounds in manufacturing, but they have been able to translate Lean skills and mindsets into healthcare. We'll also talk about their dynamic as consultant / client and how the roles of "coach" and "learner" are often very situational and how we can be both at different times.
It's been a while since I've contributed something to the Lean Enterprise Institute's online publication, The Lean Post (see past articles).
Today, they're allowing me to introduce some ideas from my book Measures of Success. Many "Lean thinkers" just haven't been exposed to these ideas. Many haven't read Deming or Wheeler... it's not their fault for not knowing of Process Behavior Charts and methods like this.
But, I hope this post helps people see that "bowling charts" and "red/green" analysis are not the only way (or the best way) to look at metrics.
My article:
"React Less and Improve More by Using SPC More Effectively"
A retired labor leader from the automotive industry (who reads this blog) sent me a link to this article:
#RedforMed: 1,800 Vermont Nurses Are On Strike Demanding Their Hospital Put Patients Over Profits
The article isn't from a newspaper; it's from a site that provides "independent and incisive coverage of the labor movement and the struggles of workers to obtain safe, healthy and just workplaces."
Again, for the record, I'm all in favor of "safety, healthy, and just workplaces." That's what Lean management aims to deliver.
Here is a recorded webinar...
I played host (along with KaiNexus) for this webinar that was held Tuesday, August 14 at 1 pm ET.
Here's a reprieve from posts about my new book Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. Although I will mention that the book should be available very soon in the Apple iBooks store. And today's post is on themes from the book.
Unfortunately, I've had two trips to the emergency room within the past year, due to stomach flu problems. Or, it was possible food poisoning. In cases like these, the doctors aren't really worried about the exact root cause, because the treatment is the same either way. They're treating symptoms.
Last Wednesday morning, I woke up early and I was sick. Stomach issues. Fever. I noticed on my Fitbit that my heart rate was elevated above normal levels. I was working from home that day, so I stayed in bed, slept, and rested. I wasn't really able to eat anything and it was hard to get liquids down...
Today's episode (#313) of the podcast is a bit of a departure from the norm. Instead of interviewing a guest about their book or other work, I'm reading what's basically an audiobook-style excerpt of the first part of my new book Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More.
I say "audiobook-style" because it's not professionally produced and my voice has been bad after being sick last week... but I thought this would be one way to share some of this material and promote the book. I won't be doing a full-blown audiobook because the book is so full of charts, I don't think it all translates well to the audiobook format. But, here I'm reading the foreword, the preface, the introduction, and part of Chapter 1.
I’m happy to announce that my latest book, Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, is completed! That means I was able to release it in the Amazon Kindle Store, which is probably the easiest way for most people…
