Leadership isn’t about titles, charisma, or quick decisions—it’s about creating systems where people can do their best work and continuously improve. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on leadership through a Lean lens, drawing on ideas from Deming, Toyota, healthcare, and real-world management practice. The common theme: leaders shape culture, influence behavior, and own the systems that produce results—for better or worse.
Here is an article that caught my eye recently, from HBR: “How One Health System Overcame Resistance to a Surgical Checklist“ Seeing the word “resistance” always makes me wonder if the health system in the article was blaming surgeons (or…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Imagine a healthcare system that responds to each patient’s circumstances and preferences in real-time. Real-time measurement of a patient’s experience could be the holy grail of patient-centred design, and a group of physicians tested out…
Chick-fil-A is widely known for fast service, high quality, and a strong culture–but behind that reputation is a deliberate approach to Lean and Kaizen that engages every employee in continuous improvement. In this podcast episode, I’m joined by David B.…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Many healthcare providers are driven by a deep commitment to the mission of healthcare. Some refer to it as a calling. The New York Times suggests that the healthcare industry exploits the goodwill and commitment…
Hat tip to Stan Feingold from StoreSMART (a Lean Blog sponsor) for sending me this article: Bob Lutz Talks Panel Gaps, Tesla, and Why Every Detail Matters — Getting it right starts at the top. Bob Lutz is a legend…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Healthcare innovation is prone to continuous pilots of improvements that are already proven and a half-hearted embrace of meaningful change. Sachin Jain, CEO of CareMore Health provides us with a sense of urgency and duty to close…
I was invited to be a guest on a Detroit radio talk show that’s hosted by Dr. Paul Reeves, a show called “Dr. Paul’s Family Talk.” Dr. Paul is an educator (and a drummer, like me!) and he asked some…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Compelling people with evidence or demanding compliance does very little to drive adoption of new practices – handing out articles, making posters and Powerpoint presentations to ‘educate’, and conducting audits will continue to disappoint. …
My guest for Episode #342 of the podcast is Adam Ward, the author of Lean Design in Healthcare: A Journey to Improve Quality and Process of Care. Adam is an innovation process expert and independent advisor. He spent the first…
My guest for Episode #341 of the podcast is Dr. Rob Hackett, an anaesthesiologist in Sydney, Australia. Rob has become known around the world for his role in what’s now called the “Theatre Cap Challenge” — a method for improving…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients A group of Winnipeg physicians is opening a clinic designed to treat non-emergent patients in an effort to reduce Emergency Room overcrowding. Tom Brodbeck of the Winnipeg Sun is skeptical that it addresses any underlying causes…
Here’s an interesting column from Becker’s Hospital Review, written by Michael Dowling, President and CEO, Northwell Health. I’m guessing he created the headline, since the phrase “give a damn” doesn’t appear in the article: Michael Dowling: CEOs — Give a…
