In case you missed it, see Saturday’s post: “Why Toyota is Eliminating the Andon Cord from its Factories.” As I occasionally do, today’s post is one where I’m going to close out some open browser tabs and post links to…
I recently saw a tweet that referenced a May 2014 that was sent to President Obama and his administration: “Report to the President – Better HealthCare and Lower Costs: Accelerating Improvement Through Systems Engineering.” The report was written by the “President’s Council…
=Following up on posts from Monday and Wednesday, we see this headline today: “Shinseki resigns after VA scandal.” As I wrote about on LinkedIn, instead of blaming “bad managers” or a “lack of integrity” at local VA sites, like Phoenix,…
TL;DR: Long VA wait times weren’t the result of “bad apples.” They were the predictable outcome of bad management systems that used unrealistic targets, bonuses, and fear-based accountability–creating incentives to game the numbers instead of improving care. Look at the…
Today is Memorial Day, a U.S. holiday. It’s a day to honor those who have given their lives in military service. Lately, the news has had many reminders about our need to provide better care to our living veterans through…
Listen Episode #198 is a discussion with Harry Kenworthy about his work bringing Lean into local and state governments. We had a great conversation that touches on the influence of Dr. W. Edwards Deming and many other concepts that might…
Some of you might have seen it, but I wrote a piece for the LinkedIn Influencers series about how the “Lean Manufacturing” principles are being used in various “knowledge work” settings – including healthcare, education, software, government, financial services, etc.…
Listen: My guest for Episode 188 has been a leading voice in the Lean community for 25 years, Daniel T. Jones, founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Academy, based in the UK. Dan collaborated with Jim Womack on the…
I grew up just outside of Detroit, so I’m always pulling for the city to turn things around. The newly-elected mayor, Mike Duggan, is the former CEO of Detroit Medical Center. Back in 2009, I blogged about a radio commercial…
Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. and it’s also Remembrance Day in Canada, the UK, and the Commonwealth countries. The poppy pin is worn as a symbol of Remembrance Day (as I wore, at left, last week while in…
Mark’s Note: I’m away on vacation through November 6… there will be some guest posts in this post during that time. Today’s post is by Dean Bliss, a good friend of mine who has worked in Lean healthcare for a…
One of the big arguments given for “Lean Government” efforts are the cost savings that are generated by various Lean projects at local, state, or federal levels. I’ve heard stories and rumors from people who have done Lean Government work……
