Lean Blog by Mark Graban | Lean Management and Healthcare
Practical insights from Mark Graban on Lean management and continuous improvement, leadership, psychological safety, healthcare, and manufacturing.
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The Taiichi Ohno 1981 Story Keeps Getting Reposted. It Can’t Be True.
It came across my LinkedIn feed again last week, and then a day later, a friend sent me the same thing from Instagram. Same story, a few words moved around, or copied word-for-word. If you spend any time in Lean…
When Standard Work Isn’t Followed, Your Reaction Is the Real Standard
The Sign on the Wall Was a Confession Two staff members are repositioning a patient by hand. The lift assist that’s supposed to be used for this — the equipment the hospital bought specifically so nobody does it this way…
Why Most People Don’t Think — and What to Do About It, with Scott Burgmeyer
Scott Burgmeyer, founder and CEO of Become More Group, has spent more than 30 years watching smart people make avoidable decisions — not because they lack intelligence, but because they stopped thinking. In this episode of Lean Blog Interviews, we…
Lean Daily Management: What It Is and How to Get Started
TL;DR: Lean daily management is the system that makes improvement happen between the projects — visual boards, huddles, gemba walks, leader standard work, and strategy alignment working together. The boards don’t do the work. The leadership behaviors do. Most Lean…
Why “Speak-Up Culture” Might Be Better Language Than Psychological Safety
TL;DR: People speak up at work only when it feels safe and worth it. Psychological safety reduces fear–but without effective problem solving, speaking up quickly feels futile. A true speak-up culture requires both. Psychological safety has become a familiar leadership…
Start 2026 with Learning – The Mistakes That Make Us Giveaway
Want to start 2026 with a better mindset around leadership, culture, and continuous improvement? As we begin the year, it’s a natural time to reflect–not just on what went well last year, but also on what didn’t, and what we…
Psychological Safety in Lean Organizations: A Practical, Evidence-Based Guide
TL;DR: Psychological safety in Lean organizations means people can surface problems, admit mistakes, and challenge assumptions without fear. It is not about comfort or lowering standards–it is the foundation that makes Respect for People, learning, and continuous improvement possible. In…
How Don Kieffer Applies Toyota Thinking to Modern Knowledge Work
Why do so many Lean efforts fail in offices, engineering, and executive work? In this episode, Don Kieffer explains why copying Toyota’s rituals misses the point–and how Dynamic Work Design applies Toyota thinking to intellectual work, leadership systems, and real…
Why Leaders Get Trapped in Firefighting: Nelson Repenning on Lean, Flow, and Work Design
Why do capable leaders spend their days firefighting instead of improving the system? In this episode, MIT professor Nelson Repenning explains how poorly designed work systems trap organizations in chaos–and how Lean thinking and Dynamic Work Design help leaders restore…
How Great Leaders Prevent Mistakes and Learn from the Ones That Happen
I recently gave a virtual keynote for a global manufacturing company that’s a customer of KaiNexus. Their leaders wanted to explore how to strengthen a culture of improvement — not just by preventing mistakes, but by learning from the ones…
Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: October 17, 2025
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape emphasizes that real improvement depends more on mindset, leadership, and system design than on tools alone. From lessons on problem-solving behaviors and the persistent challenge of patient harm in healthcare to examples…