Toyota is often cited as the inspiration for Lean, but its success is rooted in leadership behaviors, management systems, and a deep commitment to learning—not tools or slogans. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on Toyota’s approach to quality, continuous improvement, psychological safety, and respect for people. Many of these posts explore what leaders outside Toyota often misunderstand—and what truly matters if they hope to learn from Toyota rather than copy it.
I stumbled across an article from the Inc. magazine archives from 1987, so it’s today’s “Throwback Thursday.” In 1987, I was starting high school and that was probably right about the time when my dad, an engineer for General Motors,…
I saw this story when it originally appeared online as part of a local public radio station in California. It was now picked up nationally by NPR and a number of you emailed me about this Lean healthcare piece about UCLA…
I’ve been studying and working with Lean for 20 years now and I love Lean because I’m still learning and getting better at this craft. I love seeing other people get excited about Lean when it’s new to them, when…
My guests for episode #226 are Steve Hoeft and Dr. Robert (Bob) Pryor from Baylor Scott & White Health in Texas. Bob serves as President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer for the system and was formerly CEO of Scott &…
The title here doesn’t refer to LinkedIn’s technology, their website, solving or causing problems. I’m referring to a post I wrote there the other day that has a Lean and Toyota angle to it. Click on the image to read…
Jack Dorsey is well known among tech circles, as a co-founder of Twitter (he’s @Jack) and, now, as the CEO of Square. I’m a frequent Twitter user (I’m @MarkGraban) and I also utilize the Square reader occasionally to sell a book…
I hope you might have access to this interesting article from the Wall St. Journal: “Toyota Veteran Rises to Corporate Office From Factory Floor.” I was able to access it while logged out from my WSJ account. Mitsuru Kawai, pictured,…
When we introduce the idea of Lean to healthcare organizations, it’s very common for somebody (often a senior physician) to say something like, “But we don’t want assembly line medicine.” The implication is that assembly lines and factories are cold,…
Lean provides a philosophy and a management model that should be nothing but good for staff and patients. The idea of “respect for people” might sound nice in principle, but what does it mean in a practical sense...
It’s easy to point fingers at others who don’t do what they know they’re supposed to do. Why don’t those nurses and doctors properly clean their hands when they enter and leave every patient room? Why do some surgeons still…
Here’s my latest cartoon collaboration with a skilled artist (and medical assistant), Carrie Schurman. You can see the whole series via this link. A Common Workplace Message: “Leave Your Brain at the Door” How many organizations — explicitly or implicitly —…
Earlier this month, for the College Football Playoff championship game, I wrote about “Lessons from the Football Coaching and Leadership Styles of the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes.” I had found articles about both teams in the name of…