All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
I’m part of the crowd that asks the following of healthcare organizations and leaders: be transparent and share quality data with the public, be open about problems and realize that “no problems is a problem,” and practice continuous improvement in…
Next class: Boston, May 20, 2015 I was thinking yesterday about the “Lean for Knowledge Work” seminars I’m doing with Jim Benson and I was thinking that Kaizen and “Personal Kanban” are such a good combination, it’s like the old…
If you have to add a warning or instruction label to something that should be obvious in its use, then the item is probably badly designed. I think that’s a pretty good design principle for products or software. Slapping on…
When I started blogging here in 2005, I was still about six months away from my transition from “lean manufacturing” to “lean healthcare.” It was mind boggling and disturbing to me to learn about the healthcare quality and patient safety…
TL;DR: Lean transformation isn’t about copying Toyota’s tools. In this video, John Shook of the Lean Enterprise Institute explains why real Lean starts with a clear purpose (“true north”), develops people alongside processes, and requires leadership behaviors and management systems…
Next class: Boston, May 20 2015 I’m happy to be once again partnering with fellow Shingo Award recipient Jim Benson to teach our combined full-day “Lean for Knowledge Work” class. We did this together last year in Seattle and had…
Joining me for podcast #192 is John Torinus, author of the excellent book, The Company That Solved Health Care: How Serigraph Dramatically Reduced Skyrocketing Costs While Providing Better Care, and How Every Company Can Do the Same. John is the…
I’m happy to be attending two really outstanding events in the next two months and I hope to see you there! The picture at left shows rows of people sitting, listening, and taking notes. I think the best parts of…
I had a chance, on Tuesday, to attend what’s often informally called the “Detroit Auto Show” (or the NAIAS, formally). As a kid, I went to the show every single year and always loved it, especially the concept cars (like…
Today, Joe Swartz and I are leading a workshop about “Healthcare Kaizen” in Farmington Hills. A “core Kaizen concept,” as Joe says, is that leaders who want their employees to participate in Kaizen should first make an improvement to their own work.…
Yesterday, I had a chance to visit Menlo Innovations, a software company in Ann Arbor, MI. I was happy to not only meet their CEO (and my recent podcast guest) Rich Sheridan, but to meet team members and get a…
I’m in my home town of Livonia, Michigan this week, having arrived to the snow and cold yesterday, staying through Thursday. Boy, my blood has really “thinned out” from 15 years of mostly living in Texas or Arizona. I made…
