Let’s Play Match Game ’15 – Suggestion Box Edition
I guess this counts as a “Flashback Friday,” as I was reminded of an old game show that I loved as a kid: Match Game. I was too young to fully appreciate the show, I guess, but I remember it…
Tag Kaizen
Kaizen: Daily Improvement, Learning, and Leadership in Practice
Kaizen is often misunderstood as small ideas or isolated improvement events. In practice, Kaizen is a daily, people-centered approach to learning and improving work—supported by leadership, good systems, and psychological safety. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and real-world examples of Kaizen in action, across healthcare and other industries, with a consistent focus on leadership behaviors, respect for people, and learning from problems rather than hiding them.
Going to Gemba in Japan: Reflections on Two Lean Healthcare Study Tours
I’ve gone to Japan twice now with Kaizen Institute to study Lean with healthcare professionals from around the world. I first went in 2012, as a paid attendee, and I went back in 2014 as a partner and co-facilitator to…
Fear, Lies, Failure, and Success (and Laughs) on the Show “Silicon Valley”
I love the show “Silicon Valley” and I just “binge watched” all ten episodes of Season 2 while traveling home from vacation. A few scenes from two episodes made me think about continuous improvement (yeah, even while on vacation). When…
Back from Vacation – Digital Detox Tips & Webinar Tomorrow on “Kaizen Coaching”
I’m back from two weeks of vacation and I’m going to ease back into social media and the blog, which includes a free webinar tomorrow (see below). I hope you had a great two weeks. During my vacation, I had…
Kaizen Hints from Heloise, or, If Kaizen is Common Sense, Why Isn’t It More Common?
I’m a big nerd in that I love reading newspapers basically cover to cover. I’m a nerd in many ways, I guess. You don’t have to be a survey nerd to take my short reader survey (and you might win…
How Would You Respond to This Kaizen Idea? Which of These Two Ways?
When I teach about Kaizen and continuous improvement, I try to use scenarios and cases to help people think through how they would respond to, coach, and collaborate on employee ideas. One key point is that leaders have to thank…
A Lean Guy Reads the Boston Papers: Facts, Respect, and Baseball Fan Risks
My wife and I were in Boston over the weekend, as it was her fifth reunion from her MIT master’s program. I’m also an alum, but was considered a “guest” since I graduated 16 years ago from my program and…
Podcast #223 – Christian Wolcott, Lean Trips to Japan with Kaizen Institute
My guest for podcast episode #223 is Christian Wolcott, a senior advisor and director of Kaizen Institute North America and their director for Japan tours. Christian was an integral part of the team for the Japan Lean Healthcare Tour that…
Gemba in the NICU: More Insights from our “Kaizen Live” Experience at Franciscan
In my first post about the on-site Kaizen learning experience at Franciscan St. Francis Health, an event I came to call “Kaizen Live,” I wrote about some of the initial presentations and discussions from Franciscan leaders. You can also see…
Are There Any Hospitals That Should NOT Try Lean or Kaizen?
I was asked an interesting and thought-provoking question the other day: “Are there any hospitals where you’d suggest not trying to adopt Lean or situations where it might be counterproductive or harmful?”This question came from a PhD management professor who…
How this Kaizen Prevents New Moms From Feeling Like They’re Being “Stabbed in the Heart”
I wanted to share a recent Kaizen improvement story that I heard from a hospital. Great things can happen when we: Imagine you’re a new mother and you’re recovering in a room after your postpartum care. You’ve been cared for…
What Can a 10 Month Old Child Teach Us About Focus, Willpower… and Kaizen?
Mark’s note: Today’s guest post is by Gert Linthout, from Belgium. Gert and I were part of the same Lean healthcare study trip to Japan back in 2012. He was the co-creator of this creative video on Kaizen that I featured in this…
