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)

Pascal Dennis on Lean Production Simplified (3rd Edition) and Lean Beyond Manufacturing

ByMark Graban January 18, 2016 3362

Joining me for Episode #239 is Pascal Dennis, somebody I really respect and have learned a lot from over the years I’d gladly call him “sensei” (although he and I agree that’s not a term one should...

Kevin Cahill on His Grandfather W. Edwards Deming, Lessons, and Legacy

ByMark Graban January 11, 2016 2394

Episode #238 is a conversation with somebody I’ve wanted to talk with for a long time, Kevin Cahill. He is the executive director of the W. Edwards Deming Institute. He’s also a grandson of Dr...

Podcast #237 – Paul Akers, “Lean Health”

ByMark Graban January 5, 2016 1712

My guest is my friend Paul Akers, author of the new book Lean Health. Paul was previously a guest for Episode 136, where he talked about his book 2 Second Lean and also for Episode 122. Today, we’re...

John Toussaint on CEO-Led Lean Healthcare Transformation and Patient Safety

ByMark Graban December 16, 2015 2185

In this episode, Dr. John Toussaint explains why Lean healthcare transformation fails when it's treated as a set of tools instead of a leadership responsibility. Drawing on his experience as former...

Jacob Stoller on Productivity Reimagined, Lean Thinking, and Sustainable Growth

ByMark Graban October 16, 2024 4588

Jacob Stoller challenges common productivity myths and explains why true productivity growth comes from improving processes, quality, and culture–not just cutting costs or adding technology...

Yes! Another Lean Book Emphasizes Psychological Safety’s Importance

ByMark Graban October 15, 2024 2370

Whoa! A.I. Podcast Hosts Discuss “The Mistakes That Make Us”

ByMark Graban October 9, 2024 2354

Roberto Priolo on the Lean Global Connection and Building a Truly Global Lean Community

ByMark Graban October 9, 2024 4175

Why Labeling Mistakes as ‘Stupid’ Is the Real Mistake: Turning Errors into Growth

ByMark Graban October 7, 2024 2118

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...

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

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

April 28, 2025

Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a webinar titled “Driving a Culture of Transforming...

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)

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

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

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

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

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

August 20, 2024

Psychological safety is often described as “feeling safe to speak up.” In Lean...

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...

Video Podcast Beta V 1.0 – Jamie Flinchbaugh on Coaching

ByMark Graban March 4, 2009 Comments (12) 1601

OK, so here is episode #1 of the “beta” (if you will) LeanBlog Video Podcast. Our guest...

Upcoming Video Podcast, Getting Buy In for Standard Work

ByMark Graban February 27, 2009 Comments (5) 715

Hi everyone — sorry there was no post this morning, my flight home landed at 1 am and I was...

MediaCard_BlackBerry_pictures_IMG00101-20090212-0702

Error Proofing To Ensure Hospital Staff Handwashing?

ByMark Graban February 18, 2009 Comments (7) 1260

Hand washing and proper hand hygiene is a big concern at most hospitals — thankfully so, since...

Mark Graban on YouTube

Getting the Deal Early Would Have Sunk Us | Tyler McBroom

Why don’t employees speak up? Fear is part of it. But most silence comes from futility - people have spoken up before and nothing changed.

That distinction is the subject of my keynote, “The Silence Tax: Why People Stay Quiet, and What Leaders Can Do About It.”

Fear and futility look identical from the outside. Someone sees a problem and says nothing. But they’re different problems with different fixes, and most organizations only address the first one. The cost shows up as problems leaders never hear about, improvement ideas that never arrive, and mistakes nobody learns from.

In this keynote, we look at what makes speaking up feel safer and what makes it feel worth the effort: how leaders respond in the moment, whether problems actually get worked on, and whether anyone hears what happened next. Telling people to speak up doesn’t do it.

Audiences include healthcare leaders, manufacturers, municipal and government teams, and continuous improvement professionals. The keynote works as an opening session, a closing session, or paired with a half-day workshop.

Interested in bringing this to your organization or event? Get in touch: [SPEAKING PAGE URL]

I’m Mark Graban - speaker, consultant, and author of The Mistakes That Make Us, Measures of Success, Lean Hospitals, and Healthcare Kaizen. I host the Lean Blog Interviews and My Favorite Mistake podcasts and write at LeanBlog.org. My next book, The Silence Tax, comes out in early 2027.

More: https://www.leanblog.org

#PsychologicalSafety #KeynoteSpeaker #Leadership #SpeakingUp #WorkplaceCulture #LeanLeadership #ContinuousImprovement #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment #TheSilenceTax

Why Employees Don’t Speak Up | Psychological Safety Keynote

CPA Tyler McBroom had a call booked to discuss partnering with Tony Robbins. It was set for 10:30 PM, so he asked to reschedule. Then came three years of silence.

Tyler, CEO of TRM CPA and author of Cash Flow and Grow, explains what that request taught him about how opportunity works and why he kept following up anyway. He also talks about whether his four-person firm was ready for what it wanted. Later in the conversation, he shares how changing when the firm got paid nearly eliminated its accounts receivable. He also describes how a remote team built a culture that ranked number one among small employers on America’s Best Workplaces.

What you’ll learn:

🔵 Why adapting to a rare opportunity’s terms can matter more than protecting your schedule
🔵 How monthly follow-ups that showed real progress kept Tyler on the partner’s radar
🔵 Why a delayed opportunity can arrive when you’re finally able to absorb it
🔵 How charging up front, without raising prices, cut accounts receivable to a week or two of sales
🔵 Why a big price increase loses fewer clients than most owners fear
🔵 The “grin test” for deductions, and the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion
🔵 How a daily huddle keeps a remote team from feeling like a set of islands

Chapters:

00:00 Meet Tyler McBroom, CPA and author
01:10 The meeting he rescheduled with Tony Robbins' team
05:14 Three years of follow-up
06:20 The callback and the partnership offer
08:12 Why the wait built the capacity to grow
09:26 Tax avoidance vs. tax evasion
13:00 Changing when you get paid, not what you charge
20:09 Nine months of social media with zero clients
26:29 Bad tax advice and the grin test
35:16 Building a best place to work

About Tyler McBroom: Tyler McBroom, CPA, MBA, is the CEO of TRM CPA, which helps business owners legally keep more of their profits, and the author of Cash Flow and Grow.

Episode page: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake371

The Tony Robbins Meeting He Rescheduled | Tyler McBroom