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

Nick Katko and Mike De Luca Talk About Practicing Lean Accounting

Nick Katko and Mike De Luca Talk About Practicing Lean Accounting

ByMark Graban October 19, 2021 3354
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guests for Episode #428 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Nick Katko and Mike De Luca. Nick is president and owner of the firm...
Interview with Karyn Ross on Lean and Kind Leadership

Interview with Karyn Ross on Lean and Kind Leadership

ByMark Graban October 12, 2021 2731
My guest for Episode #427 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is a returning guest, Karyn Ross. She was previously a guest in Episodes 266 and 411. She was also my guest...
Episode #426: John Gallagher, Lean and The Uncommon Leader

Episode #426: John Gallagher, Lean and The Uncommon Leader

ByMark Graban October 5, 2021 2071
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #426 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is John Gallagher, Founder and CEO of Growing Champions, LLC, an...
Episode #425: Katie Anderson on Breaking the Telling Habit

Episode #425: Katie Anderson on Breaking the Telling Habit

ByMark Graban September 28, 2021 1524
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #425 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Katie Anderson, who is joining us for the seventh time as a guest. Katie...

More Blog Posts

kathy miller lean blog interviews more is better

Kathy Miller on “MORE Is Better”: Meaning, Optimism, and Relationships in Operations Leadership

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 7, 2026 2602
What if stronger operations don't come from doing less–but from leading with more meaning, optimism, and connection? In this conversation, Kathy Miller shares insights from her new book More Is...
Doctor in a white coat with stethoscope, hands in pockets, against plain background.

From “White Coat Leadership” to Lean Leadership: John Toussaint’s Message Still Matters

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 6, 2026 2692
High-angle view of diverse business team in a modern conference room during a lean strategy meeting.

Executive Problem Solving: Are You Learning, or Just Deciding?

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 5, 2026 960
Enigmatic book cover with crumpled paper background, emphasizing process improvement and innovation.

Start 2026 with Learning – The Mistakes That Make Us Giveaway

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 3, 2026 656
Blank chart showing metrics for success, impact over time. Two concerned employees review blank chart, lacking metrics.

Don’t Start the New Year with Blank Charts: A Better Way to Manage Metrics

Mark GrabanByMark Graban January 1, 2026 4573

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

Excellent Continuous Improvement Video from Nemours Health System

ByMark Graban May 10, 2013 Comments (5) 1070
This video was uploaded to YouTube in the middle of 2012, but I just got tipped off to it. It's an...
Dr. Deming, Stand Up Comedian

Dr. Deming, Stand Up Comedian

ByMark Graban January 16, 2013 Comments (2) 1608
There is a wonderful two-hour video of Dr. W. Edwards Deming addressing a university in Connecticut...
Some Videos from the 2012 #LeanStartup Conference

Some Videos from the 2012 #LeanStartup Conference

ByMark Graban December 19, 2012 Comment (1) 1474
It's awesome that Eric Ries puts the video content from The Lean Startup Conference online each...

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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