All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
It's time for another new, revised edition of my book! The 4th edition is the fastest new edition yet, since the world is changing quickly and increasingly uncertain. Hospitals need to react now! Do something! Cut costs! Reduce costs! Slash costs!
Thanks to my friends at Gemba Academy for having my Healthcare Kaizen co-author Joe Swartz and me on their podcast, in an episode that was released yesterday.
This article in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye the other day: "Can Tech Speed Up Emergency Room Care?" But, it seems like the real story is process redesign, which is barely mentioned in the story...
This recent tweet of mine struck a nerve, apparently, based on the number of times it was liked and retweeted -- "Heard often: "We don't have time for improvement." Heard never: "We don't have time for fire fighting."
Can leaders get some improvement just by asking for it? Does improvement stall out if we don't have a method for doing so? What can "process behavior" charts show us in our work today?
A few of you sent me this article... and you were correct to think I would be interested: "Inside Alabama's Auto Jobs Boom: Cheap Wages, Little Training, Crushed Limbs." What are the parallels and lessons for hospitals?
I'm happy to be playing the role of host for a free webinar being held next Tuesday, March 28... presented by Karyn Ross, co-author of the Shingo Award-winning book The Toyota Way to Service Excellence. Her webinar is titled: "How to Coach for Creativity & Service Excellence"
Joining me for episode #277 of the podcast is Kay Kendall (@KayAKendall), co-author (with Glenn Bodinson) of the excellent book Leading the Malcolm Baldrige Way: How World-Class Leaders Align Their Organizations to Deliver Exceptional Results. Kay is CEO & Principal at BaldrigeCoach…
Lean thinkers do their best to avoid blaming individuals for systemic problems. This lesson comes also from W. Edwards Deming who was deeply influential on Toyota. It’s easier said than done. Old habits die hard. We all sometimes find ourselves…
It's been 10 years since I first wrote about my awkward acronym L.A.M.E. Is it helpful to distinguish between true Lean principles and "Lean As Misguidedly Explained?" Will we see more L.A.M.E. talk and behaviors in the future?
Good design, for products or processes, should be intuitive, if not obvious. In this post, I struggle with refueling my car, opening a trash can, and finding an auditorium seat writing surface. Hilarity ensues.
Mark's note: Today's post is by Cristal Totterman, a pharmacist and Lean leader I have known for a couple of years now. She's written a post that made me think about and reflect on the never-ending journey of improvement, both as individuals and organizations.
