Is “Kaizen” a Slogan or a Methodology for the Seattle Mariners? Mark Graban Apr 18, 2019 2 Blog Here is an interesting article that a few people pointed me toward the other day about the Seattle Mariners team: !-->!-->…
“So why are you here in Japan?” Kaizen, Popularity, Fads, and… Mark Graban Mar 14, 2018 0 Blog Monday, I blogged about the sushi-making class I took on my last Sunday in Japan. Later that same Sunday, I did a…
Lean as Redesign and Continuous Improvement, for Organizations or a Blog Mark Graban Jan 30, 2017 0 Blog Lean sometimes gets, I think, an unfair rap that it’s only a method for incremental improvement. See this article,…
#KaizenLive – Our Optional Kaizen Intro Class & Lessons Learned Mark Graban Apr 5, 2016 0 Blog This week, Joe Swartz (pictured at left) and I are running a "Kaizen Live" workshop at his main hospital,…
My Visit to the Toyota Tsutsumi Plant, Part 1 Mark Graban Jan 20, 2015 4 Audio I've been overdue in writing more posts about our Japan tour that took place two months ago now. See previous posts…
Putting Up Signs and Shooting Down Ideas Mark Graban Jan 20, 2015 12 Audio A friend sent me a link to this article, "7 cultural concepts we don't have in the U.S.," and he told me to…
Good Ideas, Lean Ideas, Keep Crossing the Pacific Mark Graban Dec 8, 2014 6 Blog The ideas, principles, and methods that we'd recognize as "Lean" aren't exclusively of Japanese origin. Many of us,…
The Kaizen Approach to Getting Others Comfortable with Sushi Mark Graban Dec 1, 2014 1 Audio I'll be blogging a lot more about my recent trip to Japan with Kaizen Institute, including the site visits and our…
Follow our Japan Lean Healthcare Tour via Twitter Mark Graban Nov 16, 2014 0 Blog Konichiwa from Nagoya! Starting today, we have a group of 18 people here in Japan, including 13 doctors, some…
A Visit to Franciscan St. Francis Health: A Workforce “Unleashed” by… Mark Graban Oct 7, 2014 10 Blog Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a day with my Healthcare Kaizen co-author Joe Swartz and his colleagues…
The Truth About Data and PDSA/PDCA from a Toyota Publication Mark Graban Feb 20, 2014 5 Blog Out there in the Lean and quality improvement communities, you sometimes hear some silly things. Sometimes, I!-->…
How Do You Share & Spread Ideas? Plus a @KaiNexus Update Mark Graban Feb 17, 2014 0 Blog It has been right about three years since I was introduced to Dr. Greg Jacobson via a reader of this blog. It was…
Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson on Continuous Improvement Mark Graban Jul 11, 2013 5 Blog There's a great piece, currently available for free on the HBR website, about continuous improvement: The…
Japan Trip: Going to Gemba and Seeing 5S at a Japanese Hospital Mark Graban Feb 25, 2013 11 Blog I've been going back through my notes and pictures from my first trip to Japan in November... my goal is!-->!-->!-->…
Guest Post – Words Matter: Why I Prefer PDSA over PDCA Mark Graban Jan 22, 2013 42 Blog Mark's note -- today's guest post is by my friend Karen Martin, my guest for Podcast #151 where we talked about…
Start 2013 with “The Spirit of Kaizen” Mark Graban Dec 31, 2012 7 Blog As we enter the new year, it's a great time to reflect back on 2012 - what worked and what didn't work... what do…
Guest Post: Kaizen and Passion Mark Graban Oct 9, 2012 1 Blog Mark's note: Today's guest post is from a friend of mine from The Netherlands. I had a chance to visit Marc and his…
Guest Post: Reports of Kaizen’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated Dan Markovitz Oct 1, 2012 1 Blog Mark's note: Today's vacation post is from my good friend Dan Markovitz, who normally blogs here. Listen to my…