“You can’t expect a microwave pope”
In all of the news of the newly announced Pope Francis, this line from a news article made me chuckle… after three votes did not result in the election of a Pope: “You can’t expect a microwave pope. It’s a…
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All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
How Hospitals Use Kaizen Idea Boards to Drive Daily Improvement
I saw some posters and presentations at the recent Society for Health Systems conference that include some nice examples of this approach from organizations including the Indianapolis VA, East Tennessee Children's Hospital, and Norwalk Hospital...
Waste & Lean in Healthcare: Are We Just 5S-ing the Deck Chairs on the Titanic?
If we're doing trivial Lean projects without addressing patient harm or patient waiting times, we run the risk of "5S-ing the deck chairs on the Titanic"...
Waste in Healthcare – Flushing Money Down the Toilet
As a reminder, I am giving a free Gemba Academy webinar tomorrow (Tuesday 3/12) on “Stories about the Eight Types of Waste in Healthcare.” Click here to learn more and sign up. I’m going to tell some stories from my…
Clare Crawford-Mason on Deming, “If Japan Can Do It, Why Can’t We?”
Producer Clare Crawford-Mason shares behind-the-scenes stories of W. Edwards Deming and the 1980 NBC documentary If Japan Can Do It, Why Can’t We?–and reflects on Deming’s lasting impact on management, healthcare, and leadership. Listen: My guest for episode #167 is…
I Don’t Always Ask Why–But When I Do, I Ask 5 Times
Last year, when Lean Memes were all the rage (or at least it was fun for a weekend), I had an artist create this image that is a parody of the beer commercial “Most Interesting Man in the World” character……
The 9th Type of #Lean Waste – Tape?
I was preparing for the Gemba Academy webinar that I’m doing next Tuesday (you can still sign up) on: Stories about the Eight Types of Waste in Healthcare. I found this fun picture from about 2008 that I decided to…
Help Fund this Kickstarter Project: “Breaking the Wall of Silence” Film
It’s the annual National Patient Safety Awareness Week, just ending now. Here are my thoughts from last year, including my stance that EVERY week needs to be patient safety week. The problem is big enough that we need awareness increasing…
Guest Post: The Time is Now for Lean-Led Hospital Design
Mark’s note: Here is a guest post by my good friend Naida Grunden, author of two great books on Lean Healthcare. America’s 5000 hospitals face a perfect storm: aging facilities that need renovation, replacement, or seismic retrofit versus a vastly…
SHS Notes: Hospital Improvement, Deming Lessons from Mike Stoecklein, Shocking Doctors
I’m still reflecting on what a great conference the Society for Health Systems put on again this year. Here are some highlights from other talks… (see also my previous two posts)… if you’re curious about “Shocking Doctors” in the post…
Society for Health Systems Conference – Roger Gerard, ThedaCare
Saturday at the Society for Health Systems conference, included an excellent keynote address from Roger Gerard, from the ThedaCare health system, co-author with Dr. John Toussaint of the book On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the…
Society for Health Systems (#SHS2013) Notes – MD Anderson Talks on #Deming & #LeanSigma
I think this was my sixth consecutive year attending the annual Society for Health Systems Conference, held this year in New Orleans. In the next few posts, I will share at least one key point from the talks and sessions…
