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.
What really motivates people to improve their work–especially in healthcare and other complex environments? Drawing on Daniel Pink’s Drive, Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s teachings, and Lean principles, this post explores why intrinsic motivation consistently outperforms incentives, rewards, and punishment in…
Here’s a thought starter for a Monday morning – I’m looking forward to hearing your perspectives. A few weeks ago, I heard a leader from a healthcare organization (one that will remain unnamed) say this: “In healthcare, we get results…
The final keynote talk at the recent Society for Health Systems / ASQ Healthcare conference was given by Dr. Barry Silbaugh, a former hospital executive and the current CEO of the ACPE – The American College of Physician Executives. Silbaugh…
Last Friday at SHS/ASQ, I heard a talk by Michael Riordan, the CEO of the Greenville Hospital System in South Carolina. He is one of what must be a very small number of Industrial Engineers who made it to the…
Earlier this morning, I attended a presentation at SHS/ASQ about Lean implementation in multiple emergency rooms in a large health system. There were a lot of positives and one red flag that I heard that might be worth discussion.
I only watched a few minutes of Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda’s live testimony (thanks to online cable news streaming), but the first things I heard prompted me to Tweet about it and I’m following up with a quick post. You…
Today, I’m sharing a few links featuring the thoughts of John Toussaint, M.D., the CEO Emeritus of the ThedaCare health system in Wisconsin and current CEO of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value. John is a partner with the Lean…
What is your role at work? Your purpose? Those questions might make you really stop and think. I sat in yesterday on a class, taught by an ex-Toyota leader, that raised a number of thought-provoking questions about Lean and the…
Hat tips to the blogs Lean is Good and Curious Cat… tonight is the debut of the new CBS reality show “Undercover Boss” a show where CEOs go to the front lines to work as their employees do. Will you…
Podcast #83 is an in-depth conversation with Jim D’Addario, the CEO of D’Addario, Inc., a manufacturer of guitar strings, drum heads, and other musical accessories. Jim and his family company were featured on CNN late last year, highlighting how lean…
Mark’s note: I’ve known Bruce Baker for a few years as a thoughtful commenter here on the Lean Blog. I was thrilled when he started his own blog, Lean Is Good, as it’s quickly become one of my favorites in…
One of my goals for the next few weeks is to catch up on blogging about some great speakers I’ve seen recently. Coming soon, a post about seeing Dr. Atul Gawande (The Checklist Manifesto) and Daniel Pink (Drive) in the…
