Last year, my friend (and long-time fellow blogger) Tim McMahon from the A Lean Journey blog sent me a set of questions he’s asked various Lean practitioners over the years. His goal is simple but valuable: create reflection, encourage dialogue,…
TL;DR: While some Japanese hospitals excel at Lean, many face the same cultural and systemic barriers seen elsewhere. Visiting Japan isn’t about finding a Lean utopia–it’s about sharpening your thinking by seeing what’s possible and how leadership, not geography, drives…
Thanks to my book coach Cathy Fyock for the “Ask Me About My Book” coffee mug and for the coaching she’s provided along the way for The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. She’s also provided me…
I try not to use the word “Lean” as an adjective that means “better.” We see this a lot online, the so-called “Lean boarding pass” or other such things. If “Lean” becomes a synonym for “good” then it doesn’t really…
Today, I’m sharing a question from a reader who started their career at Toyota and now works at another company. See previous posts with reader questions. The reader has given me permission to share this — to get your input…
Here is an international reader question from somebody working in healthcare in the Middle East. The reader writes: I would like to thank you for your guidance. I have current and future state Value Stream Maps for a process, but I…
I received another reader question (submit yours here) and it’s about statistics, “daily Lean management,” and visualizing performance data. Hey Mark: I like your posts about control charts and data. Our health system is rolling out a “Daily Lean Management” system…
A reader asks why I got involved with Lean in healthcare. In this post, I share what I wrote about this in the preface to "Lean Hospitals" and I share some additional thoughts and reflections.
Here are three audience questions we didn't have time to address after a recent talk that I gave... questions about engaging people in improvement and about how to share and spread improvement ideas broadly.
Today's reader question comes from somebody who has been put in the position of what I call "the lone wolf" in a health system. This happens a lot. A health system hires or designates one person to be "the Lean change agent." It doesn't matter how amazing and/or experienced this individual is... I'd very skeptical about the organization's Lean journey.
A Lean-thinking physician from Canada asks how many people an organization or department should have in a dedicated Lean or continuous improvement function. How much time is needed from staff and managers?
Last week, I received a few questions from somebody at a hospital system and I thought I'd address one of them here: "Can you suggest any "quick wins" to get staff engaged in a Lean culture?"
