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.
Toyota culture and kaizen depend on what happens when people reveal a problem. In Welcome Problems, Find Success: Creating Toyota Cultures Around the World, Kiyoshi “Nate” Furuta describes both hidden inventory and the trust built at NUMMI. Those examples helped…
This reflection marks the book’s fifth print anniversary in March 2024. Sales figures, ratings, and screenshots below are historical snapshots, not current totals. TL;DR: Five years after the print release of Measures of Success, the core lesson still holds: reacting…
I’ve done book giveaway contests before, but this is my first contest where the prize is a signed copy of each and every one of my books — six books with a combined value of $240! I’m happy to be…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #481 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is George Saiz. As a coach, writer, and speaker, George Saiz actively promotes enterprise excellence through a people-centric culture to…
Bottom Line Up Front: I wrote a book about mistakes. That book was published… with some mistakes. Since it’s a book about learning from mistakes, that’s the intent of this post. Initial Reflections: As I’ve hosted a podcast about learning…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more For Episode #480 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast turns the tables, as regular host Mark Graban is interviewed today by a guest host, his friend Paul Critchley. Paul was previously…
Thanks as always to Ryan McCormack for this… there’s always so much good reading, listening, and viewing shared here by him! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. Insights about improvement, innovation, and leadership… Operational Excellence, Improvement, and…
On Tuesday, May 2nd, I hosted a live event to reveal the full cover of my upcoming book The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. The Kindle version of the book is now available for…
Management by Emoji might sound like the logical next step in modern leadership–or at least that’s what I’m announcing today, April 1st, as a bit of fun and satire inspired by the very real ways organizations misuse metrics and management…
I’ve mentioned before that I’m writing a book based on — inspired by — the interviews, stories, and insights from my guests on the My Favorite Mistake podcast. The book isn’t just a collection of transcripts of those stories. That…
There’s currently quite the discount available on Amazon at the moment for my book (co-authored with Joe Swartz) titled The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen: Leadership for a Continuously Learning and Improving Organization. The paperback is 50% off, available brand…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guests for Episode #438 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Shannon Karels and Kathy Miller, the authors of the recently released book Steel Toes and Stilettos: A True Story…
