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Creating a Continuous Improvement System in Accounting: Nick Katko on PDCA, Culture, and Psychological Safety Signals & Levers: Elisabeth Hendrickson and Joel Tosi on Change Theater, Open Loops, and Systems Thinking for Software Teams How Toyota Turned Around Its Kentucky Plant: Darril Wilburn on Leadership
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Mark Graban

Lean Leadership, Psychological Safety, and Continuous Improvement

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

Ken Pilone, the Author of Lean Leadership on a Napkin; Toyota Says “Lean” and More

Ken Pilone, the Author of Lean Leadership on a Napkin; Toyota Says “Lean” and More

ByMark Graban August 24, 2022 2841
Podcast interview with Ken Pilone, author of Lean Leadership on a Napkin, discussing Toyota, TPS vs. Lean, leadership humility, and common misconceptions about Lean management. Scroll down for how to...
Why Damon Baker Thinks Lean Has a Marketing Problem; the Need to Speak the CEO’s Language

Why Damon Baker Thinks Lean Has a Marketing Problem; the Need to Speak the CEO’s Language

ByMark Graban August 16, 2022 4071
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #454 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Damon Baker. He is the founder and CEO of the firm Lean Focus. He's also a...
Sarah Boisvert on New Collar Careers and the Need for 21st Century Apprenticeships

Sarah Boisvert on New Collar Careers and the Need for 21st Century Apprenticeships

ByMark Graban August 9, 2022 2011
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #453 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Sarah Boisvert. She is the founder of New Collar Network and Fab Lab Hub. ...
Luke Szymer on Agile, Testing Hypotheses, and Process Behavior Charts

Luke Szymer on Agile, Testing Hypotheses, and Process Behavior Charts

ByMark Graban August 2, 2022 1624
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #452 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Luke Szyrmer. He's the founder of “Launch Tomorrow.” He helps new...

More Blog Posts

image showing two approaches: A report that's dumped on a desk vs. a live coaching conversation about an A3 report

An AI Gave Me an A3 Evaluation. I Needed a Coach.

Mark GrabanByMark Graban March 25, 2026 885
TL;DR: AI tools can evaluate your A3, but evaluation creates dependence — coaching develops thinking. I used A3 thinking on the Lean Hospitals Coach itself to fix the difference. There are AI...
A photograph taken from inside a car at a Starbucks drive-thru window, where a smiling barista named Sarah, wearing a black beanie and green apron, hands an iced cold brew drink in a branded cup to a customer. On the left, a customer holds a smartphone displaying a 'PAYMENT CONFIRMED' screen within the Starbucks app. On the right, another customer's hand reaches for the drink. The drive-thru interior background shows a detailed digital menu board, brick walls, and a 'MOBILE ORDER & PAY PICKUP' sign.

Starbucks Mobile Order Timing: What Arrival Signals Could Improve

Mark GrabanByMark Graban March 24, 2026 2605
Cartoon illustration of a lone Lean practitioner standing in a long empty hospital hallway at night, lit by a single overhead light, inspired by the quiet isolation of Edward Hopper paintings.

A Coach for the Coach: Why the Lone Wolf Lean Practitioner Needs a Thinking Partner

Mark GrabanByMark Graban March 23, 2026 599
Healthcare leaders observing daily management practices during a Lean study tour at a Japanese hospital

Lean Healthcare Study Tour in Japan: September 2026

Mark GrabanByMark Graban March 21, 2026 5539
Lean Blog Post Cover Image - 2026-03-21T120737.774

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: March 20, 2026

Ryan McCormackByRyan McCormack March 21, 2026 4317

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: Toyota Helps Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Their Eye Clinic

Video: Toyota Helps Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Their Eye Clinic

ByMark Graban June 3, 2014 Comments (2) 2002
California week on the blog continues after yesterday's post about Lean at San Francisco General...

Failure Is Indeed an Option if We’re Trying New Things

ByMark Graban May 13, 2014 Comments (5) 1173
If we're trying new things, there are bound to be “failures.” If our leaders want...
What Formula 1 Pit Stops Teach Us About Process Improvement

What Formula 1 Pit Stops Teach Us About Process Improvement

ByMark Graban April 18, 2014 Comments (13) 6280
Even if you're not a racing fan, this video is worth watching. Side-by-side footage of Formula 1 pit...

Mark Graban on YouTube

Do we want to be right, or help others change? This speaker reel connects psychological safety, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. I’m Mark Graban, an author, speaker, and consultant. In these keynote clips, I discuss stories from Toyota and a comparison with Ford to explore how leadership and culture shape people’s willingness to speak up. The clips cover: - Responding constructively when mistakes happen - Combining psychological safety with practical problem-solving - Modeling vulnerability and rewarding people for speaking up Planning a conference, leadership meeting, or workshop? Let’s discuss your audience and goals. Speaking topics: https://www.markgraban.com/speaking/topics/ Booking inquiries: https://www.markgraban.com/speaking/book-mark/
Mark Graban Speaker Reel | Psychological Safety & Leadership
A patient was supposed to undergo surgery for a right-sided inguinal hernia. But the incision was made on the left side. Dr. David Mayer, then a senior anesthesia resident, recalls how the operating room team moved quickly into the procedure while everyone focused on their own responsibilities. About two minutes after the incision, the attending surgeon entered the room, looked at the patient, and asked: “I thought this was a right-sided inguinal hernia?” That was the moment the team realized what had happened. In this clip from *My Favorite Mistake*, Dr. Mayer describes the wrong-site surgery that became a defining experience in his career—and helped shape his commitment to patient safety, transparency, and learning from medical errors. The larger lesson isn’t simply “be more careful.” It’s to understand how systems, communication, time pressure, teamwork, and culture can allow an error to reach a patient. Full episode: **The Surgical Mistake That Changed a Doctor’s Life: Dr. David Mayer on Honesty and Patient Safety** #PatientSafety #MedicalErrors #Healthcare #Leadership #SurgicalSafety #MyFavoriteMistake
Wrong-Site Surgery: The Mistake Discovered Mid-Procedure
How did Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant go from needing to build almost 90% of its capacity just to break even, to a much healthier 60%? Former Toyota team member Darril Wilburn, co-author with Hiro Yoshiki of Courage, Humility, Kaizen: The Three Disciplines of Toyota Leadership, tells the inside story. We talk about the andon cord myth, “healthy paranoia,” why Toyota never talked about being number one, sending managers back through jishuken, why every VP’s first A3 was sent back by design, and why doing TPS was never the point. Full episode page, links, show notes, and transcript: https://leanblog.org/551 What you’ll learn: 🔵 What really happens when someone pulls the andon cord 🔵 Why psychological safety at Toyota includes being challenged 🔵 How “healthy paranoia” keeps an organization from getting complacent 🔵 How TMMK cut its break-even point from nearly 90% to 60% 🔵 Why Hiro Yoshiki rejected blame and focused on equipping people to succeed 🔵 How Toyota turned its masters’ know-how into teachable curriculum 🔵 Why humility had to be built into how executives were developed Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Darril Wilburn and Courage, Humility, Kaizen 01:47 How Darril met Hiro Yoshiki 05:52 The andon cord myth 07:59 How andon escalation actually works 11:35 Building psychological safety before line-off 13:23 Respect for humanity includes challenge 15:56 Healthy paranoia 18:36 Why Toyota didn’t talk about being number one 20:03 Toyota’s careful entry into the U.S. 22:36 Rapid expansion and a 90% break-even point 24:47 The turnaround: from 90% to 60% 25:39 No blame 27:00 Pulling wisdom out of the masters 30:36 Why expertise had to be dragged out 33:52 Breaking the cycle of rescue teams 35:11 Jishuken and the humility to relearn 37:04 Straight talk instead of spin 40:35 Hiro, not heroes 42:52 Formal and informal communication 46:08 Can you help someone become more humble? 47:42 Every VP sent back on the first A3 51:07 “Doing TPS was never the point” 52:32 Toyota is a business 53:48 Stop counting kaizens when you’re losing money 54:36 Closing Subscribe to Lean Blog Interviews for more conversations on Lean, leadership, continuous improvement, and psychological safety: http://leancast.org/ #Toyota #LeanManagement #ToyotaWay #Kaizen #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #PsychologicalSafety
Toyota’s Kentucky Turnaround: Courage, Humility, Kaizen | Darril Wilburn
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