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.
I get worked up about labeling a troubled surgical department as "a factory," but there are far more important issues of patient safety and hospital culture to be discussed related to a Seattle Times investigative piece.
Art Byrne's latest book, The Lean Turnaround Action Guide, has a lot of great tips that he's trying to share, CEO to CEO. How many CEOs are reading this book and heeding his advice, in manufacturing or in healthcare?
Mischelle McMillin, from Franciscan St. Francis Health, shares “dos and don’ts” for leaders going out to the “gemba” (the workplace). What is “the riddler” and why should you avoid being one in your efforts to create a culture of continuous improvement?
Domonique Foxworth, who earned an MBA from Harvard Business School after his NFL playing days, says, "... there are competitive advantages to be gained in the way that organizations are run.”
John W. Parks IV, pictured at left, is a Professor of Percussion at Florida State University. He was one of my favorite people during my time as an undergraduate student at Northwestern University. I played drums in the marching band there…
I was happy to see an engineer (Chemical Engineering) and a General Motors leader, Alicia Boler Davis, on the cover of the Northwestern University alumni magazine. See this profile and story: “DRIVING GM“ My wife is an engineer and a…
Following up on last week’s post where I shared KaiNexus webinars from the first half of the year…. Again, one of the things I do for KaiNexus is produce and host our monthly free webinar series. You can view all…
One of the things I do for KaiNexus is produce and host our monthly free webinar series. You can view all of the recordings from the past few years via our on-demand library. They are also available via YouTube and…
I recently wrote about my exploration of the collected papers of the late Don Ephlin, a UAW senior leader and a professor of mine at MIT. In that first post, I shared a few quotes scattered throughout the original NUMMI Team…
Were there Lean ideas to be found in a tour of AT&T Stadium and an AME Conference speech by NFL great Emmitt Smith?
Joining me for Episode #263 is another returning guest, Pascal Dennis (@AuthorPascal on Twitter). He was previously a guest on Episodes #96 and #239, talking about two of his previous books (see a full list here). Today, we’re talking about his…
A number of you emailed me about this report in the Detroit News. I grew up in Detroit and my first job was as a carrier for the News. Loved ones have received care from the Detroit Medical Center system……
