W. Edwards Deming’s ideas about leadership, systems, variation, and psychology continue to shape how organizations pursue quality and improvement. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections exploring Deming’s teachings—and how they apply to Lean, healthcare, management, and continuous improvement today. Many of these posts challenge common misinterpretations of Deming’s work, emphasizing that quality cannot be delegated and that improvement starts with leadership.
TL;DR: In the 1980s and ’90s, GM spent roughly $90 billion trying to automate its way to competitiveness. Toyota took a different path–focusing on management systems, culture, and engaging people to improve processes. The results weren’t accidental, and the lesson…
Some of you reading this might remember the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement of the late 1980s and 1990s. Many would look back and label it a “fad.” As I’ve said about Lean, it’s only a fad to those who are susceptible to fads. As I blogged about in 2006, management is often prone to...
I recently learned that a company called Anderson Continuing Education offers continuing education (CE) credits for nurses related to my book Lean Hospitals. See their page for my book. I am still trying to learn more, but they will sell the book…
We can probably all use a mid-week chuckle… I used to be a die hard fan of The Simpsons. I’ve drifted away from watching the show over time, but a friend recommended that I was the season finale. The full…
In my time working with hospitals, I’ve always been very sympathetic to front-line nurses (and other staff). They are far too often overburdened and undersupported. Work is often more difficult than it needs to be — too much hassle and…
As I’ve done before (and written about), I’ll be facilitating the famed “Deming Red Bead Experiment” on Thursday at the Society for Health Systems annual conference. See this pages with notes and slides. The intent of the exercise is to…
I’ve recently updated the eBook Practicing Lean to include a new ninth chapter, submitted by Samuel Selay. Other new chapters are by David Haigh, from Canada, and Joe Swartz (my Healthcare Kaizen co-author) . I love the diversity of perspectives in the book, as it’s…
Another question I get thrown at me very often is something along the lines of “How do we get more buy in for ______” with that space being filled with Lean, Kaizen, 5S, using the EMR system, improvement, or any number of terms. If you do a Google search for Lean “lack of buy in”...
My blog turned 11 years old last month. Thanks to everyone for reading! I looked back, as a Throwback Thursday, and found a number of really good posts that were published on this date...
Later today and tomorrow, I’ll be attending the annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit that’s produced by a non-profit called the Patient Safety Movement. If you’re also at the event, please say hi! Follow the event on the…
Back in November, I had a chance to meet Nate Hurle, from Cleveland Clinic, as he was giving a presentation about their work with Lean and continuous improvement. As we chatted, I mentioned that I’d be in Ohio in early…
In the article posted today, Pamela Hartzband, M.D., and Jerome Groopman, M.D. (the later the author of the popular book How Doctors Think), rant about all sorts of things… some of which have nothing to do with Lean...
