All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
The Christmas Tale / Le Conte de Noël Two years ago, I received an unexpected and incredibly specific Christmas gift from Charles Desneuf on LinkedIn. He wrote a PDF eBook about Process Behavior Charts… and Christmas! This led to Charles…
A 2005 tour of the NUMMI plant revealed lessons about Lean that had little to do with tools and everything to do with leadership, learning, and respect for people. Twenty years later, these small, human moments still define what Lean…
In a webinar I hosted with Sandro Casagrande from Electrolux, we reflected on the 20-year evolution of their Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS). One of the highlights was hearing how KaiNexus became part of that journey starting in 2017. You can…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape explores how technology, leadership, and culture intersect in continuous improvement. Topics range from AI-driven quality engineering and jidoka in an AI era to healthcare process improvement, humility in leadership, and the importance…
KaiNexus recently hosted a webinar I was especially looking forward to: “Unlock the Power of Leadership: The Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS) Way,” presented by Sandro Casagrande from Electrolux. The session took place on December 10 at 1 pm Eastern, and…
Why do so many Lean efforts fail in offices, engineering, and executive work? In this episode, Don Kieffer explains why copying Toyota’s rituals misses the point–and how Dynamic Work Design applies Toyota thinking to intellectual work, leadership systems, and real…
TL;DR: Two data points don’t make a trend — whether it’s gas prices, Oscars ratings, or your team’s monthly KPIs. Snapshot comparisons (“up from last week, down from last year”) give the illusion of insight without the reality of understanding.…
Last year, my friend (and long-time fellow blogger) Tim McMahon from the A Lean Journey blog sent me a set of questions he’s asked various Lean practitioners over the years. His goal is simple but valuable: create reflection, encourage dialogue,…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape highlights practical thinking on value creation, continuous improvement, and leadership in an AI-influenced world. From empowering nurses at Cleveland Clinic and using AI as a problem-solving coach to avoiding common change mistakes…
At the hospital on Monday, a chaplain shared a Thanksgiving poem on the theme of being grateful.
It struck a chord with me. As a Lean practitioner, it's easy to focus on the waste... the problems... the gaps. We think about what could be and the "ideal state." We strive for perfection and it's easy to lose site of what we have.
When we think about how change happens in organizations, especially those practicing Lean, we often focus on tools, plans, and communication strategies. But what about the actual conversations we’re having? Too often, those conversations look like this: That’s not engagement…
tl;dr: Lean fails when organizations cherry-pick tools like 5S, pull, or heijunka without adopting Lean as a complete management system. Sustainable results require long-term thinking, aligned leadership behaviors, and psychological safety–not just isolated practices. Why don’t people do pull? Why…
