Visiting Japan to study Lean is not about copying tools, rituals, or cultural stereotypes—it’s about seeing how leadership behaviors, management systems, and daily problem-solving come together in practice. These posts reflect lessons learned from multiple Japan study tours, hospital visits, factory gemba walks, and conversations with Toyota leaders and practitioners.
Rather than portraying Japan as “different” or “mysterious,” this archive focuses on what leaders everywhere can learn about respect for people, psychological safety, humility, and continuous improvement. The emphasis is on intent and system design—not nationality—and on translating insights from Japan into practical leadership lessons in healthcare, manufacturing, and beyond.
Come to Japan with Mark Graban
The kaizen board held a couple dozen sheets. Each one numbered, each one stamped “jisshi-zumi” — already done. A board full of carried-out improvements is a strong sign in any factory, in any country. But that wasn’t the part that…
On a factory table in Japan, in December 2019, there was a binder. White cover, the word KAIZEN in big orange letters, a photo of cherry blossoms underneath. Inside the front cover, someone had printed a word cloud — IMPROVEMENT,…
The target printed on the chart was zero percent. The red line had never been near zero. Not in the nine months posted on the wall, and probably not in any month before them. It sat between 6.43% and 6.98%.…
There are things about Lean you cannot learn from a book, a conference, or a consultant. I say that as someone who writes the books and gives the talks. You learn them by standing in a place where the work…
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…
tl;dr: Kaiteki is a Japanese management philosophy focused on comfort, purpose, and respect for people–and it helps explain why motivated employees and Lean success go hand in hand. During my most recent visit to Japan (as part of a tour…
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…
Why Lean Thinking Succeeds in Japan–Not Because of Culture, But Because of Intentional Leadership and Systems One of the most persistent myths I’ve encountered over the years goes something like this: “Well, of course they can do Lean… they’re Japanese.”…
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…
A former Toyota leader shares firsthand insights on the mindset shifts, leadership behaviors, and management systems that transformed NUMMI from a failed GM plant into a global Toyota culture case study. The NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.) experiment remains…
tl;dr: A visit to Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo offers a vivid Lean lesson: extraordinary quality and efficiency, but at a pace that raises questions about flow, pull, and the customer experience. Before Katie Anderson’s Japan Study Trip in November, I…
