Effective problem solving is not about quick decisions, templates, or expert opinions—it’s about shared understanding, scientific thinking, and learning at the system level. These posts explore how leaders and teams approach real problems in complex environments, from executive decision-making to daily improvement work.
Drawing on Lean thinking, Toyota practices, healthcare, manufacturing, and knowledge work, this archive emphasizes problem-solving as a leadership capability: asking better questions, testing assumptions, and building systems that make problems visible instead of hidden.
Mark’s note: Today’s guest post is from Dr. Mark Jaben. I first met Mark in person at Cindy Jimmerson’s Lean Healthcare West conference in Montana last year. I’m happy to publish this new guest post to follow up his previous…
It’s alphabet soup Saturday, as this IHI PDSA video comes from a PhD, Robert Lloyd. A great basic overview (or refresher course) for anyone involved in improvement or problem solving. From the IHI Open School’s online course: QI102 Lesson 4…
I really enjoyed having the chance to be in Cincinnati yesterday to participate in a Lean Healthcare workshop put on by TechSolve, a non-profit consultancy that teaches process improvement methodologies, including Lean, across multiple industries. We had well over 100…
Jeffrey Liker explains why Toyota’s recalls were not a failure of the Toyota Way, but a breakdown in listening, speed, and customer understanding. The episode explores how Toyota used rigorous problem-solving to learn from crisis and emerge stronger. Episode #111…
Here is a new reader question from Steve Palmreuter in Michigan. He raises a topic that I’ve been thinking about lately, so I’m happy to share it with you (with his permission). You might remember Steve as I blogged about…
I received an email from a reader that I’m sharing and commenting on with permission. “Dear Mark: I am a lean coordinator for a manufacturing company and it was a real shock to see some of the waste during a…
I’ve had the pleasure to work with Dr. John Toussaint, CEO of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value, over the past year. John’s no “ivory tower” guy, he speaks from his practical and hard-fought experience as the CEO and Lean…
Mark’s note: Today’s post is from a relatively new friend of my blog, introduced initially through our mutual friend, Jamie Flinchbaugh. Ankit Patel, today’s guest blogger, also shares with me former employment at Dell Computer Inc. I worked there so…
Mark’s note: I consider myself very fortunate to have met Patrick Anderson during my journeys in the Lean world. Patrick is the executive director of Chugachmiut, a non-profit corporation to advance the overall economic, social and cultural development of the…
I was able to have a chat with Eric Ries yesterday as we were recording some video of him answering some follow up questions from the LEI webinar he did for us last week on Lean Startups (that will be…
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…
A phrase I keep hearing more of in the Lean world, even at a few hospitals is that leaders want “everyone to be a problem solver?” Is this uniquely Lean? Depends on what you mean by “problem solving.”
