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.
Listen: Here is LeanBlog Podcast #40, an interview with a retired UAW/GM employee who wishes to remain anonymous, at this point. We have traded many emails over the past year, about Lean, and I’m impressed with this individual’s true passion…
Hamilton Beach HDC100B Pourover Pod Brewer Sorry for the blog downtime the past few days. I had a great weekend back in my old hometown, Phoenix. My wife and I stayed at a hotel in Scottsdale that had some room…
Are Rapid Improvement Events enough? | Lean Healthcare I don’t have anything against Kaizen Events (often called “RIE” or “Rapid Improvement Events” in healthcare). They have their proper place and can bring many benefits, but events are not enough. They…
Starbucks Gossip Blog – Open Thread Starbucks Replaces CEO with Chairman I’ve posted about Starbucks before – I believe they have people at headquarters learning about and starting with Lean, but I don’t know any details (any Starbucks employees reading…
“Use our minds first, not our money” | DailyKaizen I like the phrase, above, that Lee Fried used at the DailyKaizen blog. I think I like the phrase better than “creativity before capital.” Same idea, but a slightly different way…
There was a question on the NWLean email list about suggestions, in the context of The Idea Generator: Quick and Easy Kaizen, reading in part: “My question is this; is the 2 suggestions per month per employee forced? Meaning do…
My ears always perk up when I hear the word “suggestions.” Again, it was in a football context. But unlike the ASU Sun Devil example, it was the other way around. As my new team (the Cowboys) was still losing…
Article – New York Times Here’s a really interesting article that talks about our attitudes about mistakes. In the Toyota mindset, mistakes are something to learn from (and to prevent from reoccurring), an idea that can be traced all the…
My wife is an Arizona State alumna, so we’re watching the annual Arizona St / Arizona rivalry football game (well, I’m watching it, she just cares if ASU wins… sort of). The sideline announcer just told a quick story about…
I saw this in a workplace, posted by a union. But, you know, as a Lean practitioner, I couldn’t agree with this cartoon more. For one, in the Lean approach, real kaizen (continuous improvement) happens without suggestion boxes. Boxes cause…
The following is a message from Norman Bodek, printed with his permission. —————————– Dear Lean Blog readers, Dr. Shingo was the co-discover of TPS A NEW SHIGEO SHINGO BOOK November 9, 2007 Vancouver, Washington Announcing a new hardcover Shigeo Shingo…
Here is a question from a Lean Blog reader, posted with permission. Here’s something to chew on with your Monday morning coffee. I’ll post some thoughts later, but what do you think? —————— The company president recently commanded that we…