Healthcare improvement isn’t about working harder—it’s about better systems, better leadership, and a culture that supports learning and speaking up. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on Lean healthcare, patient safety, quality improvement, leadership, and continuous improvement. Many of these posts draw on real hospital experiences and lessons from Deming, Toyota, and frontline healthcare teams, with a consistent emphasis on respect for people and learning from mistakes.
tl;dr: Seventeen years after Lean Hospitals, the core lessons still hold: Lean healthcare isn’t about tools–it’s about systems thinking, respect for people, psychological safety, and daily improvement. It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost 17 years since the first…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape reflects on the systems, leadership, and mindsets required for lasting improvement. From honoring Dr. Lucian Leape’s foundational work on patient safety and system-based thinking, to lessons from GE Aerospace’s Lean transformation, productivity…
I recently had an annual wellness exam through a hospital system’s primary care group. Everything went well and I had a good experience. Even though I can’t help thinking about opportunities for improvement, I wasn’t itching to provide any feedback.…
In Episode #530 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, I’m joined by Ken Segel of Value Capture to discuss what it really takes to build a comprehensive Lean healthcare operating system, starting with safety. Scroll down for how to subscribe,…
TL;DR: Medical mistakes are usually system failures–not individual failures. By asking “why did this happen?” instead of “who caused it?”, healthcare organizations can strengthen psychological safety, fix broken processes, and prevent harm before it happens again. Why Medical Mistakes Are…
This October, I’ll be returning to Japan for another Lean healthcare study trip–my seventh time overall and my fifth healthcare-focused visit. With each visit, I find new layers of learning. While my earlier trips were filled with curiosity about Lean…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape explores why real improvement depends on disciplined thinking, leadership habits, and cultural integrity–not slogans or shortcuts. From reflections on problem solving, Leader Standard Work, and the limits of healthcare “systems,” to lessons…
TL;DR: While some Japanese hospitals excel at Lean, many face the same cultural and systemic barriers seen elsewhere. Visiting Japan isn’t about finding a Lean utopia–it’s about sharpening your thinking by seeing what’s possible and how leadership, not geography, drives…
One of the most important, and most misunderstood, principles in Lean thinking is this: Lean is not a cost-cutting strategy. Lean is a people-development strategy. If your organization is using Lean as a tool to justify layoffs, you’re not practicing…
Years ago (going back to 2009), I was fortunate to play a role in something special: the healthcare site visit program run by Catalysis. These weren’t casual hospital tours or leadership junkets. They were immersive, intentional learning experiences–designed to bring…
Learning Lean from Japan isn’t about copying tools or culture–it’s about seeing what’s possible when organizations commit to respect for people, continuous improvement, and long-term thinking. In this episode, Dave Fitzpatrick and I discuss the Lean Healthcare Accelerator Experience: an…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape examines the shifting balance between people, systems, and strategy in the pursuit of better performance. From Toyota’s hospital and vineyard-to-glass winemaking to the limits of automation at Starbucks, the selections highlight how…
