In-depth conversations with leaders, authors, executives, and practitioners shaping the future of Lean, continuous improvement, and operational excellence. Hosted by Mark Graban, these interviews explore real-world leadership, systems thinking, psychological safety, and learning cultures across industries.
Browse episodes featuring CEOs, Toyota veterans, healthcare leaders, MIT researchers, and improvement thinkers sharing practical insights you can apply beyond tools and buzzwords.
Lean Blog Interviews features in-depth conversations on Lean leadership, continuous improvement, and operational excellence across healthcare, manufacturing, and knowledge work. Explore hundreds of podcast episodes with CEOs, authors, and practitioners focused on learning, systems thinking, and real-world results.
Today is the first of two episodes that I’ll post here during Patient Safety Awareness Week. I agree with the National Patient Safety Foundation that every day should be patient safety day. I’m sure my guest for episode #245 would…
Joining me again for Episode #244 is Dan Markovitz. Today’s episode is part 2 of our discussion about his most recent book Building the Fit Organization: Six Core Principles for Making Your Company Stronger, Faster, and More Competitive, a recipient of the Shingo…
My guest for Episode #243, Michael Bungay Stanier, takes us a bit outside of the Lean realm… but that’s good. Our topic today, which ties in very nicely to Lean and Kaizen (as you’ll hear in our conversation) is coaching. His…
Episode #242 is unique in that it’s a collection of audio clips from videos that Joe Swartz and I shot in late 2014 at his health system, Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis. In the videos, a number of nurses…
Joining me for Episode #241 is a returning guest and friend of mine, Dan Markovitz (@DanMarkovitz on Twitter). He was a guest on Episodes #135 (talking about A Factory of One) and #52 (talking more generally about office Lean). He has also…
My guest for episode #240 is somebody I’ve wanted to interview for a long time, Leah Binder, the president and CEO of Leapfrog Group, “a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America’s health industry that big…
Joining me for Episode #239 is Pascal Dennis, somebody I really respect and have learned a lot from over the years… I’d gladly call him “sensei” (although he and I agree that’s not a term one should bestow upon themselves). I’m very happy to have him as a guest again...
Episode #238 is a conversation with somebody I’ve wanted to talk with for a long time, Kevin Cahill. He is the executive director of the W. Edwards Deming Institute. He’s also a grandson of Dr. Deming! ...
My guest is my friend Paul Akers, author of the new book Lean Health. Paul was previously a guest for Episode 136, where he talked about his book 2 Second Lean and also for Episode 122. Today, we’re talking about his new book, just released...
In this episode, Dr. John Toussaint explains why Lean healthcare transformation fails when it’s treated as a set of tools instead of a leadership responsibility. Drawing on his experience as former CEO of ThedaCare, he discusses CEO accountability, patient safety,…
Today's guest is Sam MacPherson (@LeanLeaderWay), the co-founder of the Lean Leadership Academy and the founder of The Summit on Lean Leadership, a partnership with Lean Frontiers...
Today’s guest is Mitch Cahn, president of Unionwear, a manufacturer of hats, bags, and apparel in Newark, NJ. I first learned about Mitch and his company because of a display they had at the Northeast LEAN Conference, which I blogged about here. What caught my eye was their display of politician hats they produce, including the...