Popular Posts
GE Aerospace’s Greenville Plant Proves Larry Culp’s “Safety First” Wasn’t Just Talk An Insulin Error Killed a Hospital Patient. How Does Every Other Hospital Learn From It? “Most People Wouldn’t”: Fear, Gratitude, and Reporting Medical Errors Larry Culp on Success Theater, Embracing Red, and the GE Turnaround What If Every Hospital Learned From Every Other Hospital’s Safety Incidents? Four Patients Got the Wrong Drug in Nashville. Ask a Better Question. Toyota Doesn’t Call It Lean? Its Own Websites Say Otherwise Ten Psychological Safety Outcomes, and What They Do and Don’t Prove The Independent Double Check and the Risk of Human Error
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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

Just the Lean Talk — Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh on “Skip the Lean 101 Training”

Just the Lean Talk — Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh on “Skip the Lean 101 Training”

ByMark Graban May 24, 2022 1282
Listen: Here is the episode if you want to stream the audio: Jamie Flinchbaugh and I started a podcast series just over three years ago called “Lean Whiskey.” It's a very conversational...
Lauren Hisey on Bridging the Gap Between People, Process, and Technology

Lauren Hisey on Bridging the Gap Between People, Process, and Technology

ByMark Graban May 10, 2022 1315
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #447 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Lauren Hisey. Lauren is a Continuous Business Process Improvement consultant...
Sumitra Vig on Lean & Quality: First Time Right or Next Time Right?

Sumitra Vig on Lean & Quality: First Time Right or Next Time Right?

ByMark Graban April 26, 2022 2016
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #446 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Sumitra Vig. She is a partner with her advisory firm Svakarma Advisory, LLP...
Michael Parent on “The Lean Innovation Cycle” — Human-Centered Design and More

Michael Parent on “The Lean Innovation Cycle” — Human-Centered Design and More

ByMark Graban April 12, 2022 1384
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #445 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Michael Parent. He is the Managing Director of Michael Parent Consulting...

More Blog Posts

Lean Blog Post Cover Image - 2026-02-07T133553.465

Revisiting the Opening of Lean Hospitals: The Need for Lean in 2026

Mark GrabanByMark Graban February 10, 2026 1576
TL;DR: After three editions of Lean Hospitals, I am not planning further updates to the book. This post reflects on how the opening of Chapter 1 has evolved since 2008, including John Toussaint's...
nummi mutual trust respect

Mutual Trust and Respect: What Really Made NUMMI Work

Mark GrabanByMark Graban February 8, 2026 1324
Lean Blog Post Cover Image - 2026-02-06T075552.990

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: February 6, 2025

Ryan McCormackByRyan McCormack February 6, 2026 4380
ge engine safety annual report

Safety First Isn’t a Slogan: What GE Aerospace’s CEO Gets Right About Respect for People

Mark GrabanByMark Graban February 5, 2026 1793
A man speaking up during a workplace discussion, representing a culture where employees feel safe to raise concerns.

Why “Speak-Up Culture” Might Be Better Language Than Psychological Safety

Mark GrabanByMark Graban February 4, 2026 4539

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

Steve Jobs on Continuous Improvement: Rare 1990 Video Shows Early Lean Thinking

Steve Jobs on Continuous Improvement: Rare 1990 Video Shows Early Lean Thinking

ByMark Graban April 8, 2014 Comments (7) 9418
tl;dr: This post features a rare 1990 video of Steve Jobs describing continuous improvement in ways...
Lean Thinking: Why We Don’t Blame Individuals for Systemic Errors

Lean Thinking: Why We Don’t Blame Individuals for Systemic Errors

ByMark Graban March 24, 2014 Comments (8) 4906
TL;DR: Lean thinking teaches us not to blame individuals for mistakes that are caused by broken...
Mark Graban Talks Kaizen and Continuous Improvement (Clips)

Mark Graban Talks Kaizen and Continuous Improvement (Clips)

ByMark Graban February 18, 2014 Comment (0) 1166
This video contains clips of a talk I gave at the University of Michigan Health System in early...

Mark Graban on YouTube

The silence tax is what an organization pays when people stop speaking candidly. It never appears as a line on the financial statements, which is exactly what makes it dangerous. In this clip I explain how the cost compounds. A quality problem nobody mentions gets past the process and reaches a customer. An issue nobody raises while it is small grows into an expensive one. The spending is real even though nothing on the P&L is labeled "silence." I also reference survey research estimating that poor management costs the U.S. economy more than $500 billion a year through turnover and lost productivity. That is a gut feeling on my part, but I suspect the estimate is low, since most organizations are paying some version of the silence tax right now. Watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/b4Z9RdjgTp8 🔵 What the silence tax is 🔵 Why it stays invisible to leaders 🔵 How small unspoken problems become costly ones 🔵 What poor management is estimated to cost the U.S. economy More on psychological safety and Lean leadership: https://www.leanblog.org
The Silence Tax: The Hidden Cost of People Not Speaking Up
Michael Chaleff spent his first week as a restaurant magician learning that things go wrong constantly in that job. Then a stranger said four words that took away his ability to speak for the first time in his adult life. 🔵 The line that stopped him cold 🔵 What actually happened next 🔵 Why he still remembers the shame decades later 🔵 The rule he built from that year: the sin isn't the mistake, it's what you do after Full episode: https://youtu.be/aHY6w449NZs
"I Don't Have Hands"
Is the "nice boss era" over? I joined Chris and Amy on KMOX in St. Louis to talk about tough bosses, why employees stay quiet, and what that silence costs. What we covered: - The difference between demanding and cruel, and why "kind" beats "nice" - Why the pendulum swings with the job market, and why both extremes backfire - Two kinds of bad boss: people promoted for the wrong reasons with no leadership training, and founders who never learn to ask - Why futility, not fear, is the most common reason people keep quiet - How to test the waters with one small, fact-based concern instead of a sweeping complaint - Whether it is safe to go to HR - The silence tax: a real cost that never appears on the financial statements 0:00 A bad boss bit, courtesy of Chris and Amy 0:57 Demanding versus cruel: a false trade-off 2:07 Is the nice boss era over? The pendulum and the job market 3:55 How common are cruel managers? 4:39 Two categories of bad boss 6:26 Fear versus futility 7:49 What to do when you cannot leave yet 8:34 Testing the waters with a small, specific issue 9:39 Can you trust HR? 13:06 What the silence tax is and what it costs 14:26 Setting goals without blaming people My next book, The Silence Tax: How Lean Leaders Can Drive Out Fear and Futility, is coming in early 2027. https://thesilencetaxbook.com/ Blog: https://www.leanblog.org Speaking and books: https://www.markgraban.com Podcast: My Favorite Mistake https://myfavoritemistakepodcast.com/
Is the Nice Boss Era Over? Fear, Futility, and the Silence Tax
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