In this early Lean Blog Podcast episode, John Toussaint reflects on how culture change and collaborative care shaped ThedaCare’s healthcare transformation. Our guest for Episode #54 is John S. Toussaint, MD, the CEO emeritus of ThedaCare, and CEO of the…
Appleton Post-Crescent: Your Fox Cities News Source – ThedaCare CEO takes new job ThedaCare is one of the recognized leaders in the use of Lean and the Toyota Production System in hospitals. He has resigned as CEO of the health…
Why does Lean fail to stick so often? Thomas Cox and Andre DeMerchant join me on Episode 547 to make the case that the missing precondition is psychological safety, and that it has to exist at the top before any…
Back in 2009, I pointed an early iPhone at my TV and recorded a Fox News segment about ThedaCare’s collaborative care model. The footage is grainy. You can see the glare on the screen and hear the room around me.…
In March 2007, Jim Womack told me about his biggest disappointment. The Machine That Changed the World had been out for more than sixteen years, sold around a million copies, and was about to be reissued with an updated subtitle:…
I was saddened to learn that Kim Barnas passed away on January 3, 2026. She was 69. My deepest condolences go out to her family and the many colleagues and friends she influenced over the course of a remarkable career.…
I ran an experiment recently. I gave ChatGPT and the Lean Coach AI I built the exact same opening statement about a real problem. Then I asked each one for help with creating an A3. The difference in how they…
The Problem Nobody Talks About Here is a scenario that plays out in hospitals and factories every day. An organization decides to “do Lean.” They hire one person — or reassign someone from operations — to lead the effort. That…
TL;DR: After three editions of Lean Hospitals, I am not planning further updates to the book. This post reflects on how the opening of Chapter 1 has evolved since 2008, including John Toussaint’s second-edition foreword, and shares a revised “Need…
In this episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, John Rizzo explains how organizations create lasting value by empowering people instead of relying on command-and-control leadership. The conversation explores continuous improvement, people development, and leadership behaviors that drive sustainable results…
TL;DR Twenty years later, Jeffrey Liker’s message still applies: Lean fails when it’s treated as a set of tools instead of a leadership system. Toyota’s results come from developing people, creating stability, and fostering psychological safety–not from dashboards or templates.…
In this episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, Carlos Scholz discusses Lean healthcare leadership, psychological safety, and humility–why improvement depends on leadership behaviors, not just tools or events. Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest…