How is it that we have two realities out there in healthcare... in parallel, Lean is awesome and Lean is horrible. It depends on where you are, unfortunately. I had an amazing day yesterday with a major health system...
It’s far too common to see somebody with just a little bit of understanding about Lean do things that really shouldn’t be described as Lean at all… in terms of the decisions they are making or the approaches they are…
TL;DR (2026 update): So-called “just-in-time” retail scheduling that relies on on-call shifts, last-minute cutbacks, or sending people home early is not Lean–it’s cost cutting disguised as efficiency. Real Lean, as practiced by Toyota, is built on Respect for People: stable…
It’s time for another Throwback Thursday where I revisit a blog post from the past. To the left, that’s a baby Mark Graban… probably not actually thinking about Lean. I referenced this post in my recent Keith Olber-Lean parody video……
Today’s post is a throwback to an essay that I originally wrote for the excellent book Lean-Led Hospital Design: Creating the Efficient Hospital of the Future, where it appears in an appendix with some other contributed essays. You can listen to…
TL;DR: Lean is often misunderstood. It’s not about rushing patients, cutting staff, or blindly installing tools. When practiced properly, Lean is fundamentally patient-centered, focused on safety, quality, and respect for people. When organizations have bad experiences, that usually reflects poor…
I learned about this the other today via Twitter (hat tip to @agile_memes), but today is “World No Resources Day” (see hashtag #WorldNoResourcesDay). See the small website at and their thoughts on “why should I join in?” I’m not sure who is behind…
tl;dr: The blog examines the pitfalls of poorly executed Lean methodologies, using an analogy of a cheeseburger to discuss unhealthy implementations. It argues for a nuanced approach to Lean, acknowledging its limitations and ‘horror stories’ in order to effectively achieve…
Last weekend, at a patient safety conference, I heard a physician talk about “robust process improvement” and this, thankfully, included an endorsement of Lean methods. That’s the good news. The bad news was that the physician who was presenting trotted…
Today’s post is published over on LinkedIn, as part of the “Influencers’ program that I’m a part of. Kermit the Frog & Lean Management: How Could Something So Right Feel So Wrong? It’s a silly piece (in honor of “Muppets…
My blog will turn 10 years old in February 2015. You’re probably either thinking, “Wow, that’s awesome!” or “Get a life, dude.” :-) Here’s a look back at some of the posts from August 6 in past years… what was…
Long-time readers might remember this post of mine from February 2007: Bad Lean/5S Hits the UK Media Please check out that post. It’s a classic example of what I shortly thereafter started (in March 2007) calling “L.A.M.E.” or Lean As Misguidedly…
