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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

Bridging the Communication Gap in Lean: What We Can Learn from Journalism with Jacquie Maupin

Bridging the Communication Gap in Lean: What We Can Learn from Journalism with Jacquie Maupin

ByMark Graban February 13, 2025 4519
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #522 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jacquie Maupin. She joins the podcast to discuss her upcoming workshop at the...
Preview of Mark Graban’s AME Australia “Road Show” in 2025; Improving the Way We Improve

Preview of Mark Graban’s AME Australia “Road Show” in 2025; Improving the Way We Improve

ByMark Graban December 11, 2024 5222
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Welcome to this bonus session of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, originally recorded as a LinkedIn Live event! In this conversation, I...
Daily Management, Strategy Execution, and Lean Leadership with José Ferro

Daily Management, Strategy Execution, and Lean Leadership with José Ferro

ByMark Graban December 4, 2024 5792
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #521 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is  José R. Ferro, PhD, a Senior Advisor with the Lean Enterprise Institute and the...
Transforming Operations with Lean Leadership: Bill Remy, CEO of TBM Consulting, on Driving Growth Through Continuous Improvement

Transforming Operations with Lean Leadership: Bill Remy, CEO of TBM Consulting, on Driving Growth Through Continuous Improvement

ByMark Graban November 20, 2024 5809
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #520 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Bill Remy, CEO of TBM Consulting.  Bill is both an accomplished business...

More Blog Posts

cartoon illustration of a team member pulling an andon cord

No, One Toyota Worker Can’t Stop the Whole Factory

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 29, 2026 1535
LinkedIn has a genre of infographic that's very popular right now… that's mostly right. You've perhaps seen them. A clean illustration of a Toyota assembly line, a worker reaching up for a cord...
mixtape leanblog june 2026

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: June 26, 2026

Ryan McCormackByRyan McCormack June 26, 2026 4232
thomas cox and andre demerchant lean

Why Lean Fails to Stick — with Thomas Cox and Andre DeMerchant

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 24, 2026 1722
Lean Blog Post Cover Image - 2026-05-04T072020.396

What Toyota’s 1992 Booklet Means by Kaizen and Job Ownership

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 22, 2026 898
Manga- and anime-influenced editorial illustration in a wide horizontal format. A small lone figure, seen from behind in plain clothes, stands on a glowing crimson ribbon that stretches horizontally across the frame like a floating path. The ribbon gently rises and falls but stays level. The person leans forward with one arm extended, reaching toward a soft sage-green glowing ring far below and ahead across a wide empty gap. Pale cliffs frame the distant lower edges, while most of the image is filled with a vast cream-to-blue sky with thin clouds and ample negative space. The mood is quiet, reflective, and slightly wistful.

Even in Japan: A Target of Zero and a Process That Lives Near Seven Percent

Mark GrabanByMark Graban June 19, 2026 536

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

View Now: Panel Discussion Webinar on the Proposed National Patient Safety Board

View Now: Panel Discussion Webinar on the Proposed National Patient Safety Board

ByMark Graban January 18, 2023 Comment (0) 1113
I'm happy to have hosted and moderated a panel discussion format webinar that was sponsored by Value...
Lucy and the Chocolate Factory–Reimagined With Sushi: A Lean Lesson from Drake & Josh

Lucy and the Chocolate Factory–Reimagined With Sushi: A Lean Lesson from Drake & Josh

ByMark Graban January 11, 2023 Comment (0) 5294
Many Lean practitioners know the famous Lucy and the Chocolate Factory Lean example from I Love...
The Video From the Toyota Museum in Nagoya, Japan

The Video From the Toyota Museum in Nagoya, Japan

ByMark Graban December 12, 2022 Comment (0) 6439
When I visited the Toyota Museum in Nagoya, Japan (see my previous blog posts about it), they had a...

Mark Graban on YouTube

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
Michael Chaleff spent a year working as a restaurant magician before law school, in rooms where something went wrong almost every night. In his first week, he opened his best card routine with "imagine you have a deck of cards in your hands," and the woman at the head of the table said, "I don't have hands." He lost the ability to speak. The rule he took from that year: the sin is not the mistake, the sin is what you do after it. 🔵 Why the recovery, not the error, is what an audience actually judges you on 🔵 How a mistake can be something you didn't cause but are still responsible for handling 🔵 What "don't draw attention to your mistake" means for a performer, and where it stops being useful for a leader 🔵 Why anticipating the ways a moment can go wrong is a skill you build before you need it 🔵 What cross-examination teaches about never asking a question blind 🔵 Why giving people more facts makes your case weaker, not stronger 🔵 The four-act structure for micro storytelling, and the fourth act Michael added himself Michael Chaleff served as a Naval officer during the Gulf War, went on to become a DOJ trial attorney, and has performed as a professional magician and mentalist for more than three decades. He now delivers keynotes and workshops on influence and storytelling through Practical Influence. Practical Influence: https://www.practicalinfluence.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-chaleff-9269305/ Full show notes and transcript: https://markgraban.com/mistake363 Subscribe for new episodes of My Favorite Mistake, where leaders share what they got wrong and what they learned. Chapters 00:00 Meet Michael Chaleff 00:54 A year as a restaurant magician 03:31 The card routine, performed live 07:41 "I don't have hands" 10:25 When the mistake isn't yours 13:36 The sin is not the mistake 19:30 Never ask a question you don't know the answer to 29:25 The four-act structure for micro storytelling 38:27 The book in progress
What Magicians Know About Mistakes | Michael Chaleff
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