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.
Language that undermines Lean, respect for people, and real improvement TL;DR: The words Lean leaders use matter–some common phrases quietly reinforce command-and-control thinking, fear, and misunderstanding rather than learning and improvement. If Lean is truly about respect for people and…
TL;DR: Sending nurses and other hospital staff home early when census dips may reduce short-term labor costs, but it undermines continuous improvement, morale, and patient flow. Lean organizations invest downtime in learning and improvement–because respect for people and better systems…
‘It’s all about process’: Saint Mary’s Steve Palmreuter targets waste Here is an article that might serve as an inspiration for those of you who are looking to make a career transition from manufacturing to healthcare. The linked news article…
TL;DR: Hospitals that actively engage frontline staff through Lean suggestion systems are saving millions while improving patient care, morale, and safety–without layoffs. Staff-driven kaizen works because the people closest to the work are best positioned to improve it, every day.…
CNN Programs – Anchors/Reporters – Sanjay Gupta I had a very full, interesting week – giving a well-received talk about Lean Healthcare at the Ontario Hospital Association convention, spending a day with a hospital east of Toronto, and hearing some…
If Health Care Is Going to Change, Dr. Brent James’s Ideas Will Change It – NYTimes.com About 10 people sent me this article via the blog or Twitter, so thanks for that. Don’t worry about duplication if you see stuff…
I recently ran into David Meier, co-author of the outstanding books The Toyota Way Fieldbook and Toyota Talent. He was talking about kaizen events and he made a few interesting points from his time at Toyota: 1) He was only…
Many thanks to the staff of Barnes-Jewish Hospital for providing this for publication. You might also be interested in my podcast with Dr. David Jaques from the same hospital. By: Rebekah Johnson, BS, David Jaques, MD, and Colleen Becker, MSN,…
Article: How Toyota Defies Gravity While researching an upcoming presentation, I found this FORTUNE article from 1997. I was looking for a reference to Toyota letting its competitors (yes, Ford, GM, and Chrysler) tour its factories. Why Would Toyota Let…
Episode #76 is a discussion with Dr. David Jaques, VP of Surgical Services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO. In this podcast, Dr. Jaques talks about how he has led Lean efforts that involve physicians in a unique “6/3”…
Dispatches from the Frontier: Innovation as Outcome This story also seems like it couldn’t be true, from the Harga-Blog: I once asked a class full of senior executives whether they wanted innovation. They all said yes. When I then asked…
I saw this van in Boston the other day. I can’t find a listing in the Yellow Pages for who they are or what they do, but I like the name of the company. Do they really practice continuous improvement,…