All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
Let’s commemorate today’s national holiday for Dr. King with a look back at my post from 2012: A Lean Lesson from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And here is a quote that should remind folks of Kaizen and continuous improvement:…
TL;DR: “Lean is for speed, Six Sigma is for quality” is a false trade-off. Lean improves flow by removing obstacles like waiting and rework–and when work flows better, quality improves too. High-performing teams don’t choose between speed and execution; they…
I’m looking forward to facilitating a workshop at Shingo Connect: USA 2026 in San Diego titled “Psychological Safety as a Foundation for Continuous Improvement.” This session takes place on March 18, and it brings together themes that have shown up…
At our 2016 Kaizen Live! event at Franciscan St. Francis Health, Mischelle McMillin shared practical, honest, and refreshingly human insights on Gemba Walks that remain highly relevant today. This post explores the leadership behaviors that make Gemba Walks effective–and why…
Thanks to StoreSMART for being a long-term advertiser and partner here on the blog. Check out their useful products for Lean metrics boards, visual management, 5S, and other purposes. They offered to create a useful “safety cross” template and other…
Headlines say Bourbon is in crisis: Yeah, this looks bad. Look at that decline! This chart supports headlines like: And it’s not just Bourbon, it’s wine and alcohol in general. There were plenty more like this. These headlines are written…
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you might appreciate how I think about Lean, leadership, and improvement. Or maybe you don’t — and that’s OK too. :-) But if my work resonates with you, I’d like to offer…
Summary: Today’s “mixtape” post brings together timely ideas on continuous improvement, leadership, productivity, and workplace culture. From avoiding “blank slate” metrics and rethinking PDCA/PDSA debates to learning from small, human-centered improvements like the Moylan Arrow, this edition highlights practical ways…
Formerly known as “Lean Whiskey.” Mark and Jamie Answer Listener Questions Listen: In Season 2, Episode 6, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh bring “lean coffee” to Lean Coffee Talk, kind of. But first, we haven’t caught up in a while,…
TL;DR Twenty years later, Jeffrey Liker’s message still applies: Lean fails when it’s treated as a set of tools instead of a leadership system. Toyota’s results come from developing people, creating stability, and fostering psychological safety–not from dashboards or templates.…
What if stronger operations don’t come from doing less–but from leading with more meaning, optimism, and connection? In this conversation, Kathy Miller shares insights from her new book More Is Better and decades of experience leading large-scale manufacturing operations. Scroll…
TL;DR: Dr. John Toussaint says healthcare culture won’t change until leaders do–moving from “white coat leadership” (all-knowing, autocratic, blaming) to Lean leadership as facilitator, teacher, and student who learns improvement by doing it. Mark’s note (2026): I originally shared this…