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.
Update (1/7/10): Turns out the TSA agent walked away from his post. I’d certainly hold someone accountable for that, since it was a conscious choice, unless there were VERY extenuating circumstances. After seeing the news on CNN last night (video…
Language that undermines Lean, respect for people, and real improvement TL;DR: The words Lean leaders use matter–some common phrases quietly reinforce command-and-control thinking, fear, and misunderstanding rather than learning and improvement. If Lean is truly about respect for people and…
Many of you know I’m an alum of Northwestern University, graduating just prior to the Rose Bowl season of 1995. I’m a huge NU football fan and I was exhausted from watching the Outback Bowl on New Years Day, the…
Obama Awards Budget-Minded Federal Employee I saw this in the news yesterday about a federal employee from the VA, Nancy Fichtner, a clerk at the Grand Junction Veterans Medical Center. President Obama awarded her the “SAVE award,” which stands for…
U.S. industry going lean to compete with China | Reuters Yesterday, I recorded a podcast with Jim D’Addario, CEO of the namesake multi-generational family company that was featured recently on CNN. I’ll release that podcast in a few weeks. We…
Today was an exciting day at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement‘s 21st annual National Forum on Healthcare Quality Improvement. It’s my first time here, to learn and network. They have over 5,000 attendees who are committed to quality and patient…
In Pursuit of Elegance | My Own Tiger’s Tale What does Tiger Woods have to do with Lean Thinking and hospitals? Read on… Our good friend, Matthew May, met Tiger Woods at his health club in California back in 2001.…
I had a great opportunity a few weeks back, seeing former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich give a talk at the Ontario Hospital Association annual event in Toronto. I had a chance to meet him briefly and had a…
Some days, it seems the WSJ is a treasure trove of tangentially Lean-related articles. Similar to “blog carnivals,” this is sort of a WSJ carnival for 11 Some of the themes include real “value” versus the perception of it, leadership…
What Health Reform Can Learn From Cleveland Clinic | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com Although it’s not the primary focus of the article, Lean gets a mention early in the article: A century after Henry Ford began building cars on an…
TL;DR: Disruptive and disrespectful behavior in hospitals creates fear that undermines patient safety, quality, and continuous improvement. Lean healthcare depends on psychological safety and respectful leadership–without it, even the best tools and technologies fail. amednews: Disruptive behavior by doctors, nurses…
Expert’s Corner: Lean Enterprise Institute’s Mark Graban : Industry Market Trends Sorry, no real post today (just returned from three busy days with Lean Healthcare in Toronto, will blog soon about meeting Newt Gingrich, a real proponent of Lean and…
