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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

A vintage “Suggestion Plan” booklet sits between a dark, top-down factory culture and a bright, collaborative improvement team, illustrating how the same formal system can produce very different results.

Toyota Copied Ford’s Suggestion System–and Got Far Better Results

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 12, 2026 578
I've been reading The Birth of Lean, a collection of talks and interviews with the people who helped build the Toyota Production System. One passage stood out because it explains something I had never...
nursing error medication syringe

“Most People Wouldn’t”: Fear, Gratitude, and Reporting Medical Errors

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 11, 2026 284
GE Aerospace employees review a cell daily management board displaying safety, quality, delivery, inventory, and productivity measures on the factory floor.

GE Aerospace’s Greenville Plant Proves Larry Culp’s “Safety First” Wasn’t Just Talk

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 10, 2026 338
Illustration of a cassette tape whose tape unspools into a line of light running along an abstract production line and branching into connected nodes.

Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape:  August 7, 2026

Ryan McCormackByRyan McCormack August 7, 2026 3956
Alt text: A yellow pull cord hangs untouched above an automotive assembly line while workers continue building vehicles in the background.

Thirty Years Later, “Keep the Line Running” Is Still the Message

Mark GrabanByMark Graban August 6, 2026 565

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

Why Process Behavior Charts Beat Red-Green Metrics in Lean Management

Why Process Behavior Charts Beat Red-Green Metrics in Lean Management

ByMark Graban May 10, 2021 Comments (6) 11956
tl;dr: Red/green metrics encourage snap judgments and overreaction. Process Behavior Charts provide...
Recording: Billy Taylor & Me Doing a LinkedIn Live “Watch Party”

Recording: Billy Taylor & Me Doing a LinkedIn Live “Watch Party”

ByMark Graban January 15, 2021 Comment (0) 1156
Of the 32 episodes of the “My Favorite Mistake” podcast that I've released so far, the...
“Mistakes Make Us Grow” (Interview)

“Mistakes Make Us Grow” (Interview)

ByMark Graban October 1, 2020 Comment (0) 1070
Thanks to my friend Brian Buck (and his co-host Catalina Park) for having me as the first guest in...

Mark Graban on YouTube

"Great idea. Why don't you run with it?" Leaders mean it as trust. To the employee, it often means a second job on top of the first. At a fireside chat in Cleveland, Tennessee, someone asked me about the employee who keeps an idea to themselves because they figure they'll be stuck doing the work. It looks like fear. I think it's futility: they've learned what usually happens next. 🔵 Why "run with it" can turn an idea into unpaid extra work 🔵 When handing someone their own idea is a real opportunity, and when it isn't 🔵 The late Kim Barnas's rule: don't assign the follow-up to the person who raised the concern 🔵 Two questions to ask before you hand an idea back My upcoming book, The Silence Tax, is about the fear and futility that keep people quiet at work. Early chapters are on Leanpub: https://leanpub.com/silence-tax #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #ContinuousImprovement #Lean #Shorts
Why Your Employees Stop Sharing Ideas (It's Not Fear)
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
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