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.
As often happens, I have too many open browser tabs full of articles that I was going to potentially blog about. Too much WIP (a problem that Jim Benson will discuss in our upcoming Boston workshop). So, it’s time for…
This article caught my attention the other day, primarily because I like scotch, whisky (and whiskey and bourbon). The Japanese love scotch whisky and have long produced a product that’s a variation of scotch — Japanese whisky (the lack of…
Here’s another video in the series that Joe Swartz and I shot at Franciscan St. Francis Health back in October. See them all here or via a YouTube playlist. You might remember pharmacy manager (now director) Ronda Freije from two previous videos. Here,…
Our guest today is Alan G. Robinson, PhD, an award-winning author, educator, researcher and consultant. He has co-authored six books, including Modern Approaches to Manufacturing Improvement: The Shingo System, Ideas Are Free, and his latest, The Idea-Driven Organization. His specialties include managing…
I do my best to “practice what I preach” in terms of Lean and Kaizen principles and spirit. No, I don’t have tape outlines around the items on my home office desk (which would be, at best, a superficial copying…
Mark’s note: Today’s post is written by Michael Lombard — you can find him on Twitter or read his blog “Hospital Kaizen” here. This post introduces some topics that he’ll explore in a free webinar I’ll be hosting for KaiNexus on…
Valentine’s Day isn’t just about flowers and chocolate. It’s about flow.It’s about respect.It’s about asking “Why?” five times. If you’ve ever said “gemba,” “poka-yoke,” or “stop the line” with a straight face, this post is for you. Welcome to Lean…
Here’s my latest cartoon collaboration with a skilled artist (and medical assistant), Carrie Schurman. You can see the whole series via this link. A Common Workplace Message: “Leave Your Brain at the Door” How many organizations — explicitly or implicitly —…
Here’s the latest video in the series that Joe Swartz and I shot at Franciscan St. Francis Health back in October. See them all here or via a YouTube playlist. In this video, the endoscopy nurses who previously talked about…
I’ve been reading a preview copy of the upcoming book (due out in April) by Dr. Bob Wachter, The Digital Doctor. It’s fantastic and provides a real-world, even-handed take on healthcare IT, including EMR/EHR systems. What’s the promise, what works,…
Our team has been doing some cool stuff over on our KaiNexus website and I wanted to batch up the sharing of some of that content here. Should You Engage Your Employees In Continuous Improvement? [Quiz] I really loved this…
Here’s a fun video that I created for KaiNexus, based on this clever flow chart. The answer, most always, is YES! If your employees are human and you really want to improve, you should engage your employees in improving safety,…
