Books shape how we think about leadership, improvement, and learning—but only if we reflect on them and apply their lessons thoughtfully. This archive includes blog posts and podcast episodes about Lean, healthcare, leadership, mistakes, psychological safety, and continuous improvement, including reflections on my own books and conversations with authors whose work has influenced how organizations build better systems and cultures.
Hat tip to the WSJ for their review of the new book Get Rid of the Performance Review!: How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing–and Focus on What Really Matters. Dr. Deming criticized the annual performance review decades ago and…
As Amazon’s Kindle has gotten more popular, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about when my book, Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction, would be available on Kindle. I’m happy to say that, as of last week,…
Today’s post is a few Friday odds and ends about a new thing I’ve been involved, events I’m attending, and a new book I’m anxious to read (after I’m done reading a favorite old one).
For a number of reasons, I’ve decided to re-read my copy of one of the most influential books I’ve ever read: Out of the Crisis by the late, great Dr. W. Edwards Deming. In the light of Toyota’s recent quality…
I just finished Dr. Atul Gawande’s latest book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. I believe that this book is the single most important book of the year for ANY Lean leader, not just people working in healthcare.…
Dan Pink’s new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, has been getting a lot of press recently, and deservedly so. He demonstrates persuasively not only that people are self-motivated by the desire for autonomy, mastery, and purpose, but…
Episode #78 brings a very special guest, Sorrel King, to talk about systems, communication, and patient safety. Sorrel’s 18-month old daughter, Josie, was the victim of a series of preventable medical errors at a world-renowned hospital, passing away in the…
A returning guest (episodes #30, #38, and #48), Bob Emiliani is again featured in episode #77 of the LeanBlog Podcast. MP3 File Today, we talk about his most recent work – the re-publication (with additional material and commentary from Bob)…
I’ve been fortunate and grateful that my book, Lean Hospitals, has received good reviews on Amazon: 5 Star Reviews = 11 4 Star Reviews = 1 This week, I got my first “3 Star” review. That’s fine, I’m not too…
Books – One Injury, 10 Countries – A Journey in Health Care – Review – NYTimes.com I think this book,The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, will go into the “to read” queue.…
Episode #74 is a discussion with Roy Vasher, President of RPV Consulting, LLC and is co-author the book Toyota’s Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach to Toyota’s Renowned System. Roy works closely with a network of consultants to provide lean…
I recently invited questions for Michael Balle, the author of the Shingo Prize winning book The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean Turnaround. He has a new book (published by LEI, my employer), recently published, called “The Lean Manager.” Here…