Search Results for don wheeler

Blog, Interviews

Skip Steward on Deming’s Lessons, Don Wheeler, Process Behavior Charts, and Respect for People

Skip Steward, the Chief Improvement Officer at Baptist Memorial Health Care in Tennessee, was a guest on Episode #314 of the podcast talking about TWI and Toyota Kata in healthcare (he was joined by Brandon Brown).

Today, I've asked Skip to come back and chat 1x1, in Episode #320, about his experience with Don Wheeler, learning from W. Edwards Deming, and more. I hope you enjoy his reflections, our discussions about healthcare, and connections to my book Measures of Success (Skip undoubtedly has a book in him too).

Mark Graban
October 9, 2018

Blog

Attend With Me: Come Learn Statistical Process Control From Don Wheeler

For a long time, I've wanted to attend a "Statistical Process Control" (SPC) class taught by Donald J. Wheeler, Ph.D.

I'm finally doing this in September and I'd like to invite you to join me.

Mark Graban
June 12, 2018
4 Comments

Blog

Meeting Donald J. Wheeler: Why “Understanding Variation” Still Shapes Better Decisions

I recently got to meet Prof. Donald J. Wheeler when he gave a keynote talk at the Society for Health Systems Conference. Check out his book Understanding Variation and learn more about him in this post.

Mark Graban
March 13, 2017
2 Comments

Blog

The Book That Changed Me: Understanding Variation by Donald J. Wheeler

TL;DR: Understanding Variation by Donald J. Wheeler is the most influential book in my Lean journey. It taught me how to distinguish signal from noise in data, avoid overreacting to normal variation, and focus leaders on improving systems instead of…

Mark Graban
November 20, 2013
3 Comments

Blog

Two Data Points Don’t Make a Trend: A Gas Price Lesson in Signal vs. Noise

Fuel price sign with a red upward arrow overlay, indicating rising fuel costs.

TL;DR: Two data points don’t make a trend — whether it’s gas prices, Oscars ratings, or your team’s monthly KPIs. Snapshot comparisons (“up from last week, down from last year”) give the illusion of insight without the reality of understanding.…

Mark Graban
December 2, 2025
1 Comment

Blog

Don’t Overexplain College Football Playoff TV Ratings Being at “An All-Time Low”

college football tv ratings chart leanblog

TL;DR: Headlines calling College Football Playoff ratings “all-time lows” are technically true but misleading. When viewed with Process Behavior Charts, the ratings show routine variation, not a meaningful decline. Overexplaining year-to-year changes wastes time and distracts leaders from improving the…

Mark Graban
January 10, 2019
3 Comments

Blog, Webinars

Metrics & Statistics Don’t Have to Be Scary: A Practical Webinar on Better Data Decisions

I'll be presenting a free webinar on Wednesday, October 31st at 1 pm ET... as you might notice, that's Halloween day!

Here's the description from the KaiNexus website:

Metrics & Statistics Don't Have to be Scary

Mark Graban
October 31, 2018

Blog, Interviews

Skip Steward & Brandon Brown on TWI, Toyota Kata, and Building the Baptist Management System

Today I have two guests joining me for Episode #314 of the podcast. They are Skip Steward, the Chief Improvement Officer at Baptist Memorial Health Care in Tennessee and Brandon Brown, the owner and "Master Kata Coach" of his firm, Continuous Coaching Commitment, LLC.

In this episode, we discuss their use of methods such as "Training Within Industry" and "Toyota Kata" in the important work of healthcare improvement. Skip and Brandon both have backgrounds in manufacturing, but they have been able to translate Lean skills and mindsets into healthcare. We'll also talk about their dynamic as consultant / client and how the roles of "coach" and "learner" are often very situational and how we can be both at different times.

Mark Graban
August 15, 2018

Blog, Check it Out

“Measures of Success” is Done! Now Available in the Amazon Kindle Store (and Apple Books)

I’m happy to announce that my latest book, Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, is completed! That means I was able to release it in the Amazon Kindle Store, which is probably the easiest way for most people…

Mark Graban
August 6, 2018
6 Comments

Blog

Two Data Points Don’t Make a Trend: Why Headlines Mislead Us

Gun pointed downward, hidden behind a tape measure, with a large grey downward arrow overlay.

When looking at data, whether it's the number of homicides in San Antonio or some of our workplace metrics, it's tempting to overreact to a "headline" that says a measure went down in 2017 compared to 2016. But do two data points really help us understand what the real trend is? This blog post explores an approach we can use to make better decisions about our data.

Mark Graban
January 8, 2018
13 Comments

Blog

Don’t Turn Your Performance Metrics into Success Theater

TL;DR: Cherry-picked metrics can make performance look better without actually improving it. Process Behavior Charts help leaders distinguish real improvement from noise, stop overreacting, and focus on improving the system instead of explaining fluctuations. One of the phrases and concepts…

Mark Graban
September 29, 2017

Best, Blog

Why Red-Green Charts Mislead Leaders: Understanding Variation the Deming and Wheeler Way

A table displaying performance metrics for four sites over a year, with each month color-coded to indicate performance relative to targets. Green cells indicate meeting or exceeding targets, while red cells indicate underperformance. The table includes columns for trend and target values for each site.

tl;dr: Red-green charts push leaders to react to every up and down, turning normal variation into false drama. Process Behavior Charts provide the context needed to see signal vs. noise–so leaders improve the system instead of chasing each data point.…

Mark Graban
September 2, 2014
17 Comments

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