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’m happy to announce a live-streamed recording of my Lean podcast with my guest Jarvis Gray. You can join us Live on Linkedin on Wednesday, October 30 at 1 pm ET. EVENT LINK The episode will also be released as…
Listen: In Episode 48 of the Lean Whiskey podcast, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by comparing two whiskeys from the same distillery. Mark selected Woodford Reserve, and had a pour of both the Double Oaked (which we both agree…
“I am never, ever wrong.” That’s a statement that should disqualify an applicant from ANY leadership position. True leadership isn’t about projecting infallibility–it’s about fostering a culture where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning and growth. Leaders who claim…
Thanks, as always, to Ryan McCormack for this. He always shares so much good reading, listening, and viewing here! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #516 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jenn Christison, founder and principal consultant at Seven Ways Consulting. Jenn has spent more than 15 years leading continuous…
It’s inspiring to hear a CEO talk about Lean and continuous improvement concepts, as Larry Culp, Chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace, did recently on CNBC. “We just need to get a little bit better every day.” In Japanese (and…
Thanks, as always, to Ryan McCormack for this. He always shares so much good reading, listening, and viewing here! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #514 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Hugh Alley, an author and consultant. He divides his time between coaching senior operational leaders in continuous improvement, training…
In the Lean methodology, we often talk about the importance of “going to the gemba” (or “genba“– the place where the real work happens. But it’s not enough to simply show up; the way leaders engage with employees on the…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are two of three co-authors of the upcoming book “Leading Excellence: 5 Hats of the Adaptive Leader” – Brad Jeavons…
In many organizations, moving away from a culture of punishment when mistakes are made is a significant leap forward. It signals a shift toward understanding, systems thinking, and improvement. But once you’ve made that change, what’s next? Do we need…
Learning from mistakes is not optional in healthcare–it’s essential for patient safety, staff engagement, and long-term performance. For years, I’ve written and spoken about how Lean leadership and Kaizen cultures treat mistakes not as failures to hide, but as signals…
