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What Toyota’s 1992 Booklet Leaves Out About Leadership When Standard Work Isn’t Followed, Your Reaction Is the Real Standard Do Not Remove: What a Kaizen Binder Taught Me in Japan The First Three Seconds After Someone Admits a Mistake
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The First Three Seconds After Someone Admits a Mistake

ByMark Graban July 13, 2026 Comment (0) 78
Someone walks into your office and says, “We have a problem.” Notice what your body does...
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Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape:  Best of First Half of 2026

ByRyan McCormack July 10, 2026 Comment (0) 3770
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Do Not Remove: What a Kaizen Binder Taught Me in Japan

ByMark Graban July 9, 2026 Comment (0) 188
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What Toyota’s 1992 Booklet Leaves Out About Leadership

ByMark Graban July 8, 2026 Comment (0) 245

Mark Graban

Welcome to my blog!

Since 2005, LeanBlog.org has shared practical insights from real-world work in healthcare, manufacturing, and beyond.

Books Keynote Speaking Coaching / Advisory Podcasts
Books by Mark Graban on Lean, Leadership, and Learning (1)

Lean Blog Interviews Podcast

Joan Wellman on the Early Days of Lean Healthcare and Building a Management System

Joan Wellman on the Early Days of Lean Healthcare and Building a Management System

ByMark Graban December 4, 2009 2712
This episode is a discussion with Joan Wellman, of the consulting firm Joan Wellman & Associates. Joan is a real pioneer in the lean healthcare arena, having started her initial work with a hospital...
LeanBlog Podcast #79 – Eve Yen, CEO of Diamond Wipes on Manufacturing Close to the Customer

LeanBlog Podcast #79 – Eve Yen, CEO of Diamond Wipes on Manufacturing Close to the Customer

ByMark Graban November 17, 2009 1570
Eve Yen, founder and CEO of Diamond Wipes, is our guest for episode #79 of the podcast. In this podcast, Eve discusses her company and how manufacturing in the United States provides a strong...
Sorrel King on Josie’s Story: Turning Tragedy Into Patient Safety Advocacy

Sorrel King on Josie’s Story: Turning Tragedy Into Patient Safety Advocacy

ByMark Graban November 3, 2009 3442
Episode #78 brings a very special guest, Sorrel King, to talk about systems, communication, and patient safety. Sorrel's 18-month old daughter, Josie, was the victim of a series of preventable medical...
LeanBlog Podcast #77 – Bob Emiliani, Principles of Mass and Flow Production

LeanBlog Podcast #77 – Bob Emiliani, Principles of Mass and Flow Production

ByMark Graban October 20, 2009 1467
A returning guest (episodes #30, #38, and #48), Bob Emiliani is again featured in episode #77 of the LeanBlog Podcast.  MP3 File Today, we talk about his most recent work – the...

More Blog Posts

Amazon Experiments with Displaying Star Ratings for Books and Products

Amazon Experiments with Displaying Star Ratings for Books and Products

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 21, 2023 1667
tl;dr: In this post, Mark examines Amazon's experimental approach to displaying star ratings for books and products. He explores the implications of such changes for consumers, authors, and sellers...

When a CEO Falls Down on Their Gemba Visit — The Leader Behaviors That Matter

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 18, 2023 1690

A Quick Video Overview of “The Mistakes That Make Us”

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 17, 2023 1288

Audiobook Now Available! The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 16, 2023 1540

A Roundup of Recent Blog Posts and Podcasts About Mistakes: August 15 Edition

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 15, 2023 1136

Webinars

karen martin ask the expert webinar kainexus

Ask Karen Martin Anything on Operational Excellence: A KaiNexus Webinar

March 5, 2026
Karen Martin is one of those people I've been lucky to know and learn from for a long time. She's...
1. Professor with glasses in front of EMS 20th anniversary logo and KaiNexus logo on blue background.

Unlock the Power of Leadership: A Preview of the Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS) Webinar

December 4, 2025
KaiNexus recently hosted a webinar I was especially looking forward to: “Unlock the Power of...
Breaking Through Cultural Friction: Respect for People and Sustainable Performance

Breaking Through Cultural Friction: Respect for People and Sustainable Performance

June 9, 2025
When organizations struggle to sustain Lean transformation, people often look first at tools...
Driving a Culture of Patient Safety: Lessons for Healthcare and Beyond

Driving a Culture of Patient Safety: Lessons for Healthcare and Beyond

April 28, 2025
Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a webinar titled “Driving a Culture of Transforming...
Why Lean Fails Without Psychological Safety

Why Lean Fails Without Psychological Safety

April 16, 2025
TL;DR: Lean tools don't fail because people resist change–they fail because people don't feel...
Preview: Driving a Culture of Accountability – Transforming Patient Safety with KaiNexus (Webinar, April 15)

Preview: Driving a Culture of Accountability – Transforming Patient Safety with KaiNexus (Webinar, April 15)

April 8, 2025
One of the most powerful elements of continuous improvement is the ability to learn from each other...
My Upcoming Webinar on Mistake-Proofing Across Industries

My Upcoming Webinar on Mistake-Proofing Across Industries

February 3, 2025
I'm excited to be presenting this webinar on February 12th at 1 pm ET as part of the KaiNexus...
Top 5 Takeaways from my KaiNexus Webinar: Psychological Safety as a Precondition for Continuous Improvement

Top 5 Takeaways from my KaiNexus Webinar: Psychological Safety as a Precondition for Continuous Improvement

January 8, 2025
TL;DR: Psychological safety isn't optional for continuous improvement. This KaiNexus webinar...
Creating Leader Standard Work (LSW) Across a Distributed Business Model — Webinar Preview

Creating Leader Standard Work (LSW) Across a Distributed Business Model — Webinar Preview

November 7, 2024
I'm happy to be hosting and moderating this webinar that will be presented by Brent Loescher, a...
Embedding Change Management into your Continuous Improvement Initiatives – Webinar Preview

Embedding Change Management into your Continuous Improvement Initiatives – Webinar Preview

September 25, 2024
I'm happy to be hosting and moderating this webinar that will be presented by Melissa Sherman, a...
View Our “Ask Us Anything” Event on Psychological Safety and Lean

View Our “Ask Us Anything” Event on Psychological Safety and Lean

August 20, 2024
Psychological safety is often described as “feeling safe to speak up.” In Lean...
From Strategy to Execution: Webinar with Karen Friedenberg

From Strategy to Execution: Webinar with Karen Friedenberg

July 17, 2024
Are you looking to transform your business strategy into actionable results? Join us for our...

Videos

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Mark Graban on YouTube

Larry Kasanoff borrowed a rule from legendary auto executive Bob Lutz: a car that some people love and some people hate will beat a car that everyone thinks is just okay. Lutz was talking about car design, but Larry applies it to all creative work -- and to the people you lead. The logic is uncomfortable but hard to argue with. "Okay" is everyone's second choice, and second choices get forgotten. The work that gets remembered, chosen, and talked about is the work somebody was willing to risk being disliked for. Play it safe to avoid criticism and you drift toward the middle, where mediocrity lives. Larry's advice -- the same thing he tells actors before an audition -- is simple: take a shot. For leaders, that is a real tension. The instinct to smooth every edge and please everyone produces products, strategies, and teams that nobody hates and nobody remembers. Standing behind a bolder call means accepting that some people will push back, and being okay with that. 🔵 Why aiming for "okay" quietly makes you forgettable 🔵 The Bob Lutz design rule and what it means for your work 🔵 Why being everyone's second choice is the weakest place to be 🔵 The case for taking a shot instead of playing it safe Larry Kasanoff is a film producer and studio head behind Terminator 2, True Lies, Mortal Kombat, and Platoon, and the author of A Touch of the Madness. From the My Favorite Mistake podcast with Mark Graban. Full video: https://youtu.be/Zx9IuIB2m0g #Leadership #DecisionMaking #Innovation #LarryKasanoff #MyFavoriteMistake #Shorts
Why "Good Enough" Makes You Forgettable | Larry Kasanoff #myfavoritemistake
Larry Kasanoff risked getting fired to greenlight Platoon when nobody famous was in it and the studio didn't want to make it. That bet -- and the philosophy it sparked -- shaped a career spanning Terminator 2, Mortal Kombat, Dirty Dancing, and more than 200 films. In this conversation, Larry shares what "a touch of the madness" means for innovation, why the audience always knows what it wants (even when executives don't), and where the line sits between bold and reckless. 🔵 Why his boss said "if it fails, you're fired" -- and Larry greenlit the movie anyway 🔵 The real story behind T2's helicopter stunt that wasn't in the script 🔵 How a hyperventilating 11-year-old saved a Mortal Kombat character design 🔵 The Dirty Dancing song nobody liked -- until the label changed and nothing else did 🔵 Why algorithm-driven filmmaking produces forgettable work 🔵 A 3D TV network that died in six months because nobody asked "who's the audience?" 🔵 Where AI helps the film business -- and where human creativity can't be replaced 🔵 The practical joke with a 12-foot python that went a little too far Larry Kasanoff is chairman and CEO of Threshold Entertainment and author of A Touch of the Madness. 📖 Book: A Touch of the Madness 🔗 Full episode and show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake357 Subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss new episodes of My Favorite Mistake with Mark Graban. #MyFavoriteMistake #LarryKasanoff #Platoon #Terminator2 #MortalKombat #TouchOfTheMadness #Innovation #Leadership #MovieProducer #FilmIndustry #RiskTaking
He Bet His Career on Platoon — And Won | Larry Kasanoff
One email from Amazon: "This is against our guidelines." No explanation, no chance to fix it. Just her books gone. Publishing strategist Wiebke Tasch had two Amazon accounts, one for her pen name, one for her real name, not knowing that's against the rules. Amazon read it as spam and deleted both accounts along with her bestselling book, right after she'd quit her job to write full time. Full episode - "Why Amazon Deleted Her Bestselling Book Overnight - with Wiebke Tasch": https://youtu.be/i2_wYH7rbTM #MyFavoriteMistake #Amazon #SelfPublishing #AuthorTips #KDP
Two Amazon Accounts, One Innocent Mistake, Her Whole Business Gone
Asked to name the 5 S's, the manager gets every one wrong: "straighten, salami, stopwatch, Sasquatch, and salmonella." He can't explain how any of it helps the work. His only answer is that the consultant said so. That's the actual failure mode here, not the mangled Japanese. A leader who can't explain the reasoning behind a program can't sustain it, coach it, or adapt it when it stops working. The team ends up following instructions instead of understanding a problem-solving method, and that's the difference between Lean as a toolkit and Lean as a costume. Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/t8IfQp4A4ZI #Lean #5S #LeanManagement #ContinuousImprovement #Leadership
"Salami, Stopwatch, Sasquatch..." -- This Manager Has No Idea What 5S Means
Publishing strategist Wiebke Tasch reviews manuscripts for a living. She says she can tell within a few pages when a book was written by ChatGPT: paragraphs disappear, replaced by short, choppy sentences formatted like a social media post. It reads fast and looks flat, and readers notice. Her point isn't that AI has no place in writing. It's that overuse flattens voice, and voice is the thing readers are actually there for. Full episode - "Why Amazon Deleted Her Bestselling Book Overnight - with Wiebke Tasch": https://youtu.be/i2_wYH7rbTM #MyFavoriteMistake #AIWriting #ChatGPT #SelfPublishing #AuthorTips
The AI Writing Pattern Editors Spot Immediately
A consultant tells an office to tape outlines around hammers, monitors, and coffee cups because "the best factories do this." No one asks whether any of it fits the work actually being done. This clip is a satire of what happens when 5S gets applied as a checklist instead of a way of thinking. Real 5S starts with understanding the work and removing friction for the people doing it -- not mandating tape and pen limits because a consultant said so. Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/t8IfQp4A4ZI If you've ever sat through a "Lean program" that felt more like theater than improvement, this one's for you. #Lean #5S #ContinuousImprovement #LeanManagement #WorkplaceCulture
This Office 5S Program Is INSANE (Lean Gone Wrong)
Publishing strategist Wiebke Tasch reviews manuscripts for a living, and she says AI-written chapters give themselves away fast. Same sentence structure. Same "it's not this, it's that" construction, over and over. Once you've seen it a few times, you can't unsee it. Her advice for authors: use ChatGPT for proofreading and unsticking, not for writing your book. Readers notice sameness, and it costs you the one thing AI can't replace, your own voice. Watch the full episode - "Why Amazon Deleted Her Bestselling Book Overnight - with Wiebke Tasch": https://youtu.be/i2_wYH7rbTM #MyFavoriteMistake #AIWriting #ChatGPT #SelfPublishing #AuthorTips #BookWriting
ChatGPT's Writing Style Problem: Why Editors Can Spot It Instantly
The biggest mistake authors make isn't in the writing. It's finishing the book, publishing it, and telling no one. Publishing strategist Wiebke Tasch explains why the first five days after launch function as a blueprint for a book's entire future on Amazon. The algorithm tracks how much traffic you drive in that window, then uses it to decide whether your book gets suggested to readers in your niche going forward, or quietly disappears. Watch the full episode - "Why Amazon Deleted Her Bestselling Book Overnight - with Wiebke Tasch": https://youtu.be/i2_wYH7rbTM#MyFavoriteMistake #BookMarketing #AmazonKDP #SelfPublishing #AuthorTips #BookLaunch
The Biggest Book Marketing Mistake: Publishing, Then Going Silent
Publishing strategist Wiebke Tasch had built a bestselling book and a comfortable full-time income on Amazon -- enough to quit her PR job. Then one morning an automated email told her she had violated Amazon's terms, and both of her accounts and all of her books were deleted. No warning, no explanation, no human to appeal to. Her mistake: she had opened two accounts, one for a pen name and one under her real name, not knowing Amazon allows only one per person. This is Wiebke's favorite mistake, and losing everything became the start of her company, Digital Authors. Episode page with links and more: http://markgraban.com/mistake356 What you'll learn: 🔵 How an innocent rule violation can erase a book and an income overnight 🔵 Why you should never build your livelihood on a platform you don't control 🔵 How to bring readers into your own community instead of renting an audience 🔵 Why book structure should start with market demand, not your own wish list 🔵 Why the first five days after launch shape an Amazon book's entire future 🔵 Where AI genuinely helps an author, and where over-reliance produces forgettable books About the guest: Wiebke Tasch is a publishing strategist and the founder of Digital Authors, a US-based firm that helps nonfiction authors across the US and Europe publish professional, market-ready books. Her work spans market analysis, positioning, structure, editing, cover design, and launch marketing, with an emphasis on building a direct relationship between authors and their readers. She holds a master's degree from the Bauhaus University in Germany. Digital Authors: https://digital-authors.com Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Wiebke Tasch and Digital Authors 01:06 Wiebke's favorite mistake: two Amazon accounts 04:12 The email from Amazon 09:35 Why you can't build a business on a platform you don't control 20:50 Has Amazon's customer service improved? 26:09 Where AI helps authors and where it hurts 32:30 Book structure as a strategic decision 34:44 Marketing a book: start before you publish 38:45 The book description and keywords Subscribe for more honest conversations about leadership, mistakes, and what it really takes to learn from them. New episodes of My Favorite Mistake every week. #SelfPublishing #BookMarketing #WritingCommunity #Authors #AmazonKDP #NonfictionBooks
Amazon Deleted Her Bestseller Overnight | Wiebke Tasch
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