Popular Posts
Four Headers, Zero Metrics: An Empty Huddle Board in the ICU Hallway A Locked Complaint Box in Greece: Learning From Customer Complaints, or Just Bureaucracy? Workplace Deaths by Age: Why Counts and Rates Tell Different Stories If This Were Assembly Line Medicine, You Could Stop the Line Where Was Toyota’s First Andon Cord? Thirty Years Later, “Keep the Line Running” Is Still the Message Outcome Bias, Near Misses, and Two Vials of Vecuronium Highlights From Five Conversations With Karen Martin
Illustration of a cassette tape whose tape unspools into a line of light running along an abstract production line and branching into connected nodes.

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape:  August 7, 2026

ByRyan McCormack August 7, 2026 Comment (0) 3747
Thanks, as always, to Ryan McCormack for this. He always shares so much good reading, listening, and...
Alt text: A yellow pull cord hangs untouched above an automotive assembly line while workers continue building vehicles in the background.

Thirty Years Later, “Keep the Line Running” Is Still the Message

ByMark Graban August 6, 2026 Comment (1) 254
mark graban lean blog interviews karen martin highlights

Highlights From Five Conversations With Karen Martin

ByMark Graban August 5, 2026 Comment (0) 175
Eight identical glass medication vials standing together on a hospital counter, with one vial lying on its side beside them.

Outcome Bias, Near Misses, and Two Vials of Vecuronium

ByMark Graban August 4, 2026 Comment (0) 221

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 (4)

Lean Blog Interviews Podcast

Art Byrne on Lean from the CEO’s Perspective and The Lean Turnaround Answer Book

Art Byrne on Lean from the CEO’s Perspective and The Lean Turnaround Answer Book

ByMark Graban May 22, 2024 6839
Art Byrne returns to the podcast to share CEO-level lessons from decades of Lean transformations and his new book, The Lean Turnaround Answer Book. The conversation covers Lean strategy, cost...
Japan Study Trips: A Voyage of Leadership Discovery with Katie Anderson

Japan Study Trips: A Voyage of Leadership Discovery with Katie Anderson

ByMark Graban May 8, 2024 3626
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #504 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Katie Anderson, author of the book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. In this...
Lean Coaching for Lean Coaches: Sam Morgan Helps Mark Graban

Lean Coaching for Lean Coaches: Sam Morgan Helps Mark Graban

ByMark Graban April 24, 2024 3308
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #503 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Sam Morgan of Illuminate Coaching + Consulting. He was previously a guest in...
Lean from a General Manager and Executive Perspective: DeWayne Allen

Lean from a General Manager and Executive Perspective: DeWayne Allen

ByMark Graban April 10, 2024 3524
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #502 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is DeWayne Allen, an executive, speaker, and workshop facilitator. DeWayne is a...

More Blog Posts

scott burgmeyer lean think

Why Most People Don’t Think — and What to Do About It, with Scott Burgmeyer

Mark GrabanByMark Graban April 29, 2026 1776
Scott Burgmeyer, founder and CEO of Become More Group, has spent more than 30 years watching smart people make avoidable decisions — not because they lack intelligence, but because they stopped...
A close-up of a metal name badge or nameplate on a dark blue work shirt. The badge reads "PROCESS COACH" in crisp embossed letters. The shirt and badge look new. Behind the figure, slightly out of focus, is an industrial factory environment with fluorescent overhead lighting and assembly line equipment. The composition emphasizes the contrast between the pristine, almost promotional quality of the title on the badge and the harsh, utilitarian reality of the environment. Photorealistic, documentary style, muted industrial color palette with deep blues and steel grays. The mood is quietly ironic - the title and the setting don't match.

Calling a Supervisor a “Process Coach” Doesn’t Mean the Job Really Changes

Mark GrabanByMark Graban April 28, 2026 1383
deming red bead game simulator

A Free Red Bead Game Simulator: Try Dr. Deming’s Experiment Online

Mark GrabanByMark Graban April 26, 2026 806
A yellow andon cord hangs in an empty automotive assembly plant, with one section slightly frayed and worn. Soft overhead industrial light illuminates the cord against a muted backdrop of grays and concrete tones.

Did Ford’s Andon Cord Problem Ever Get Fixed? Help Me Find Out.

Mark GrabanByMark Graban April 23, 2026 1079
A yellow andon cord stretches horizontally across the upper part of an empty factory interior, slightly slack and attached to a dark overhead beam. Below it, a large expanse of smooth concrete floor and muted gray walls creates generous open space, while a softly blurred production line runs along the right side. Natural overhead light and subdued editorial color grading give the scene a calm, documentary feel.

New Book Announcement: Psychological Safety for Lean Leaders — Vote on the Title

Mark GrabanByMark Graban April 22, 2026 563

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

Video: The Culture is Staff Input; Info About a Class on Kaizen at Franciscan St. Francis Health

Video: The Culture is Staff Input; Info About a Class on Kaizen at Franciscan St. Francis Health

ByMark Graban December 16, 2014 Comment (1) 1172
Here's the latest in our series of videos about Kaizen and a culture of continuous improvement at...
How Engaging Everyone in Kaizen Saves this Hospital Leader Time Lots of Time

How Engaging Everyone in Kaizen Saves this Hospital Leader Time Lots of Time

ByMark Graban December 2, 2014 Comment (0) 1492
A few weeks back, I posted the first new video from my Healthcare Kaizen co-author‘s health...
Is “The Jerk” Good at Problem Solving?

Is “The Jerk” Good at Problem Solving?

ByMark Graban November 21, 2014 Comment (0) 3713
Four years ago, I parodied the style of GEICO commercial that they were running at the time with a...
Kaizen in Action: How HonorHealth Empowers Every Employee to Improve

Kaizen in Action: How HonorHealth Empowers Every Employee to Improve

ByMark Graban November 14, 2014 Comment (1) 1477
Thanks to my friend (and future co-author) Mike Stoecklein for sharing this video (and a blog...
Video: Endoscopy Nurses are “Kaizen Crazy” at Franciscan St. Francis Health!

Video: Endoscopy Nurses are “Kaizen Crazy” at Franciscan St. Francis Health!

ByMark Graban November 12, 2014 Comment (0) 1749
Today, I'm traveling to Tokyo, but I'm still thinking of the amazing nurses and leaders at...

Mark Graban on YouTube

The Andon cord at Toyota works because pulling it is safe. People are taught that flagging a problem is the job, and within seconds someone shows up asking what's going on and what would help. Psychological safety is the foundation underneath the tool. In this clip from my conversation with David J. Bland on the How I Tested That podcast, I get to the comparison that makes the point. According to the BBC's reporting from inside both plants, the Andon cord was pulled roughly 2,000 times a week at a Toyota plant and twice a week at a Ford truck plant. I would never read that as Toyota employees being better at spotting problems or braver about speaking up. Take a Toyota team member, drop them into that Ford plant, and they would learn quickly not to pull the cord. Same person, different fishbowl. The transferable idea isn't the cord. It's that people can ask for help or admit a mistake without being punished, and that Toyota doesn't blame individuals for systemic problems. Healthcare does that constantly, and nurses burn out and quit. Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5MgFuM3y2Q More from me: https://www.markgraban.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgraban/
Toyota's Andon Cord: 2,000 Pulls a Week vs. 2 at Ford
Psychological safety does not happen by accident. At KaiNexus, where I'm a senior advisor, the co-founders set out to build culture on purpose instead of letting it happen, and the surveyed scores are high because of how leaders behave day to day. In this clip from my conversation with David J. Bland on the How I Tested That podcast, I talk about co-founder and CEO Greg Jacobson, an ER doctor by training, who is usually the first to say "I don't know," "I might be wrong," or "I made a mistake." That isn't false modesty from someone with nothing to prove. It sets the tone, and other leaders there reinforce it. I also push back on a common misreading. High psychological safety is not a place where everyone is coddled and nobody disagrees. It usually produces more disagreement, handled professionally and aimed at the mission. The best idea wins by being tested, not by who said it. None of the Lean tools work well without it. Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5MgFuM3y2Q More from me: https://www.markgraban.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgraban/
Psychological Safety at KaiNexus: Why Our CEO Says "I Don't Know"
Bill Rasmussen got fired by the Hartford Whalers, then had an idea for sports television around the clock. He funded it by burning through his own money, his credit cards, his son's money, his father's, his sister's, his brother's. A venture capitalist kept it alive for a while. Six months before launch, he was out of cash and did a deal with Getty Oil. Getty took financial control. That part may have been unavoidable -- Mike Soltys, who Bill hired as an intern, says a better financial deal probably wasn't there to be had. 🔵 The loose end nobody tied up: employment contracts 🔵 Bill's son Scott was shown the door at launch 🔵 Other early key figures were pushed out even earlier 🔵 Bill himself was gone a year later 🔵 Scott says the Getty experience taught him how to negotiate, and he did far better afterward Bill says he doesn't look back and doesn't name regrets. Mike, who has tried to pin him down on one, points to this. When you're negotiating away control, the terms that protect the people are the ones easiest to defer and hardest to recover. Subscribe for conversations with leaders about the mistakes that taught them the most. #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #ESPN #Negotiation #MyFavoriteMistake
He Founded ESPN And Had No Employment Contract | Mike Soltys on Bill Rasmussen
No show in television history has aired more often than SportsCenter. Do live TV that many times and mistakes are guaranteed. The question isn't whether they happen -- it's what the organization does next. Mike Soltys spent decades running communications at ESPN. His answer: they put the bloopers in the anniversary shows. 🔵 The brand promise was to take the sports seriously, not themselves 🔵 Innocent on-air flubs got celebrated rather than buried 🔵 Blooper reels became a fixture of anniversary programming 🔵 A sense of humor was a hiring trait, not an accident 🔵 The audience got to laugh along a second time Most organizations say they want people to admit mistakes. Far fewer put them on a highlight reel. The difference between those two postures is what people actually learn to do when something goes wrong. Subscribe for conversations with leaders about the mistakes that taught them the most. #PsychologicalSafety #Leadership #ESPN #LearningFromMistakes #MyFavoriteMistake
ESPN Celebrates Its Bloopers On Purpose | Mike Soltys
The "This Is SportsCenter" campaign ran on one premise: that Bristol, Connecticut was somehow the center of the sports universe, with athletes casually wandering the halls. One Friday afternoon, the crew needed what they called a "network suit." Mike Soltys was known around the building for keeping a blue blazer on the back of his door in case a TV interview came up on short notice. He got the call. 🔵 The bit: musicians turned sportscaster agents 🔵 Kenny Rogers the singer (not the pitcher) and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister were in the campaign 🔵 Mike's scene was Davy Jones of The Monkees negotiating a contract for Karl Ravech 🔵 His job was to sit there and get screamed at, take after take 🔵 His one line, delivered as flatly as possible: "We love Karl" Not every story on this show is a hard-won lesson. Sometimes it's just what happens when you keep a blazer on your door. Subscribe for conversations with leaders about what they've learned, including from their mistakes. #ESPN #SportsCenter #Leadership #MyFavoriteMistake
Getting Yelled At By Davy Jones For ESPN | Mike Soltys
ESPN's very first SportsCenter was supposed to prove the network could go live to a remote interview. They lined up Chuck Fairbanks, about to debut as Colorado's head coach. They tested the connection. It worked. Then they went to air and got a picture with no audio. Mike Soltys spent decades at ESPN and helped tell the story of its founding. Two lessons stand out here: 🔵 Preparation lowers the odds of failure -- it doesn't remove them 🔵 What separates teams is the next ten seconds, not the checklist 🔵 Nearly fifty years later, everyone in the room that night remembers it differently 🔵 Mike's tiebreaker is Bill Rasmussen's business diary, written in the moment If you wait to review what went wrong, you don't get facts. You get folklore. Subscribe for more conversations with leaders about the mistakes that taught them the most. #Leadership #ESPN #LearningFromMistakes #PsychologicalSafety #MyFavoriteMistake
ESPN's First Live Remote Failed On Air | Mike Soltys
Bill Rasmussen burned through his own money, his credit cards, his son's money, and his family's money to get a 24-hour sports network to the edge of launch. Then he signed the Getty Oil deal that funded ESPN and cost him control of it. Employment contracts for himself, his son Scott, and the early team were left as loose ends to settle after the contract. They never got settled. Two early leaders were pushed out almost immediately, Scott was shown the door at launch, and Bill was gone a year later. Mike Soltys was ESPN's first PR intern, hired in 1980. He stayed 43 years, the last 20 as a vice president in corporate communications, and he is now the network's official historian. He tells Bill's story on his behalf, because Bill still refuses to call it a mistake. What you'll hear: 🔵 Why financial control and employment protection are two separate negotiations, and why founders lose the second one 🔵 What Scott Rasmussen changed about how he negotiates after watching the Getty deal 🔵 How the 1970s oil crisis put a sports network on an oil company's balance sheet next to a logging operation 🔵 The penny-per-subscriber-per-day idea that got Bill laughed out of cable company meetings and became the industry's revenue model 🔵 Why ESPN's first live remote interview failed on opening night, and why everyone who was there remembers it differently 🔵 How Mike used Bill's 1978-79 business diary to settle disputes between people's memories 🔵 Why ESPN puts its bloopers in anniversary specials instead of burying them 🔵 What Jimmy Pitaro and George Bodenheimer say has lasted at ESPN since 1979 Mike Soltys is the producer of the documentary "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN" and a co-author of the book of the same name with founder Bill Rasmussen, with a foreword by Chris Berman. The audiobook features 22 interview voices alongside narrator Will Damron. #MyFavoriteMistake #ESPN #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #SportsBusiness Timestamps 00:00 Meet Mike Soltys, ESPN's first PR intern 01:01 The mistake: a deal signed without employment contracts 03:03 Bill Rasmussen's ventures before and after ESPN 05:27 Why an oil company bought a sports network 07:31 Getty to Texaco to ABC to Disney 09:00 "Intentional Optimism" and the original book title 10:54 The cable business model everyone got wrong 15:14 The go.com era and the value of four letters 16:12 Launching ESPN2 to reach an audience they already had 19:21 Filling the hours: darts, Aussie rules football, and The Ocho 24:35 The first live event: slow pitch softball and a beer sponsor problem 27:05 The first live remote interview failed on opening night 28:57 Why ESPN celebrates its bloopers 30:36 Inside a "This Is SportsCenter" commercial 33:16 The hardest PR moments in 43 years 34:39 What still remains from 1979 36:42 Why the "Sports Heaven" audiobook is worth hearing
The Deal That Saved ESPN and Cost Its Founder Bill Rasmussen Everything | Mike Soltys
Burger King is openly admitting that its quality has not been good enough—and promising a turnaround. The new ads highlight specific customer complaints: smashed burgers, poor presentation, and inconsistent execution. That kind of candor can work. Domino’s used a similar strategy years ago. But the timing matters. Mark Graban tried Burger King after seeing the new campaign and found that the restaurant experience had not caught up with the advertising. The quality changes apparently had not reached every location yet. Once you publicly ask customers to give you another chance, you need the operating system to deliver. From Episode 9 of Lean Coffee Talk with Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh. #Shorts #BurgerKing #Quality #CustomerExperience #Operations #Lean #ContinuousImprovement
Burger King Promised a Better Whopper—Did It Deliver?
Toyota's Kaizen methodology isn't just for the shop floor. Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh dig into a Toyota Times article on a multi-year Kaizen partnership with coffee farmers in Thailand, covering irrigation, harvest technique, quality scoring, and a quirky little conveyor system for delivering drinks to customers. Topics: how a coffee farm raised its quality score from commercial grade to high-grade specialty over six years, why harvesting only ripe cherries matters, the tradeoffs of automating the barista handoff, and whether that automation removes waste or just moves it. Timestamps: 0:00 Toyota's Kaizen work with coffee farmers in Thailand 1:14 Why local coffee farms are a good fit for Kaizen 2:14 Irrigation, harvest technique, and standardized work 3:20 Quality scores: commercial grade to high-grade specialty 7:27 The conveyor system for coffee handoff 9:07 Automating waste vs. fixing the layout 11:26 What's the right metric for this kind of Kaizen? Full episode: https://youtu.be/JPB9IwpZ444 Subscribe for more conversations on Lean thinking, quality, and continuous improvement. #Kaizen #LeanManufacturing #Toyota #ContinuousImprovement #ToyotaProductionSystem #LeanLeadership #QualityCulture #LeanCoffeeTalk
Toyota's Kaizen with Coffee Farmers in Thailand | Lean Coffee Talk
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