TL;DR: Masaaki Imai (1930-2023) was the Japanese consultant who, more than any single person, brought the word “kaizen” — and the practice of continuous improvement — to the global business community. His 1986 book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive…
What a great time on Thursday with Masaaki Imai! We were hosted by a non-profit organization, SightLife, that has used Lean to improve the way they collect, process, and ship corneas to transplant patients around the world. It’s a bit…
Today is an exciting day for me, as I’ll get to meet a famed Kaizen guru – Masaaki Imai. We are in Seattle for one leg of his tour to promote the release of the 2nd edition of his classic…
Here is a great video by Masaaki Imai, author of the classic books Kaizen: The Key To Japan’s Competitive Success and Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management. In the video, he emphasizes that kaizen means continuous improvement and…
TL;DR (2026): This interview with Masaaki Imai still matters because it captures an early, unvarnished view of how “respect for people” was practiced–not idealized–by Taiichi Ohno and Toyota. It reminds today’s Lean leaders that respect doesn’t mean being soft or…
Masaaki Imai interview! Masaaki Imai comments on the need to convert from batch to JIT and China ‘productivity’, among other topics. One highlight: “Kaizen is the means to achieve a corporate strategy, not the strategy. Every corporation needs to make…
Nearly two million improvement proposals in a single year. Ninety-seven percent implemented. That doesn’t sound like the suggestion-box model most organizations know. It sounds like something else. The number comes from Toyota’s April 1992 publication “The Toyota Production System.” It…
TL;DR: Kaizen means “change for the better.” Everyone improves their own work, one small change at a time, using the scientific method. It’s not a suggestion box — it’s collaborative, fast, and action-oriented. Success depends on leadership engagement and psychological…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape focuses on what real, sustainable improvement actually requires: leadership commitment, respect for people, and disciplined learning over time. From reframing “continuous improvement” as everyday improvement, to lessons from Larry Culp’s lived Lean…
Back in 2009, my friend and KaiNexus co-founder Dr. Greg Jacobson and his colleagues at Vanderbilt University Medical Center published an article that still feels as fresh and relevant as ever: “Kaizen: A Method of Process Improvement in the Emergency…
This episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast explores psychological safety in Lean leadership through the lens of Toyota’s culture, with insights from Mike Hoseus, former Toyota leader and co-author of Toyota Culture. We discuss how respect for people, andon…
Happy New Year! As advocates of Kaizen, the philosophy and practice of continuous improvement, we recognize the value of each new year. We value each employee and each improvement idea. As the late Masaaki Imai taught, Kaizen means everybody improving,…
