Football, Holistic Systems, and Challenging the
Today, I discuss two articles: The first article is: "The NFL's Best Practice: No Wasted Time." "If You Can't Hire Urban Meyer, Can You Clone Him?" http://leanblog.org/audio91
Sep 03, 2015•8 min
Lean Blog Audio
Lean Blog Audio features Mark Graban reading and expanding on LeanBlog.org posts. Explore real-world lessons on Lean thinking, psychological safety, continuous improvement, and performance metrics like Process Behavior Charts. Learn how leaders in healthcare, manufacturing, and beyond create cultures of learning, reduce fear, and drive better results.
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Episodes
Another Conversation About L.A.M.E. and Lean
http://leanblog.org/audio90 It's far too common to see somebody with just a little bit of understanding about Lean do things that really shouldn't be described as Lean at all... in terms of the decisions they are making or the approaches they are taking.I saw an article about Lean in physician practices: "Lean Practice Management for Physicians." I cringed a bit when the author said: "In lean management programs, there are levels of belts based upon the colors found in karate: white, yellow, gre...
Aug 31, 2015•11 min
Inc. Writes About Dr. Deming in 1987
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, was able to attend one of Deming's famed four-day seminars. Hearing about that was my first exposure to Deming or anything vaguely related to Lean thinking.
Aug 27, 2015•7 min
Updating "Lean Hospitals" and a New eBook, "Practicing Lean"
Mark Graban talks about the revised 3rd edition of "Lean Hospitals" and a new eBook project called "Practicing Lean."
Aug 24, 2015•7 min
So-Called "Just in Time" Retail Staff Scheduling is not #Lean
Stories like this have been in the news before, but this was circulating the past few days: "Why erratic schedules are one of the worst parts of low-wage work."The story refers to so-called "just-in-time" scheduling techniques that jerk employees around and disrupt lives. It happens to share a term, "JIT" with "Lean manufacturing" or just "Lean," but it's either a coincidence or it's a bastardization of what Lean is really about. And I can prove it quite easily.
Aug 22, 2015•6 min
Using Lean to Organize Hospital Closets...
http://leanblog.org/audio86 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 Medical Center:Hospitals Turn To Toyota To Make Care Safer And Swifter It's a generally positive story about a large hospital system working to improve... and turning to Toyota (directly to Toyota) for help. To be fair, they did far more than organize...
Aug 14, 2015•10 min
A Hospital Manager Makes Time for Kaizen
How do you MAKE time for continuous improvement?It's been a little while, but here's a new video about Kaizen and continuous improvement from our friends at Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis. In this video, Hollynn Lobsiger, the manager of the endoscopy unit, talks about what Kaizen means to her and her team and she also shares some thoughts about how to make time for Kaizen. Everybody (or nearly everybody) complains about not having enough time for improvement - that includes time f...
Aug 13, 2015•5 min
When Warnings Aren't Given or Heeded,
The Problem With Underreporting Problems, When Warnings Aren’t Heeded in Aerospace, When Warnings Aren’t Heeded in Aerospace, When Warnings or Concerns Aren’t Shared in Healthcare http://leanblog.org/audio84
Aug 12, 2015•13 min
"Practice? We're Talking About Practice?" Yes, Practicing Lean
Allen Iverson was a legendary NBA point guard and scorer who played from 1996 to 2011.In a 2002 news conference that still appears regularly on ESPN, Iverson responded to criticism that he missed practice (due to injury) and he somewhat indignantly asked (over and over) some variation of: "We're talking about practice?" Iverson wasn't complaining about having to practice, but more about the media's insistence on asking questions about practice, which is a topic he apparently didn't think was too...
Aug 08, 2015•8 min
Let's Play Match Game '15 - Suggestion Box Edition
I guess this counts as a "Flashback Friday," as I was reminded of an old game show that I loved as a kid: Match Game. I was too young to fully appreciate the show, I guess, but I remember it fondly and love watching old reruns (you can find episodes on YouTube).Last week, I read this article: "A happy workforce is a productive one." You'll certainly get no argument from me on that! Well, I think "engagement" is more important than happiness, as happiness might possibly be superficial. But I've l...
Aug 07, 2015•6 min
How My Blog Rant Helped Keep an Office 5S
http://leanblog.org/audio81 Lean is not about banning bananas from people's desks or banning sweaters hanging on chairs.We should be solving problems that matter, for customers and employees, through Lean. We should be engaging people rather than throwing silly top-down mandates at them. I tend to get on a soapbox and rant about the "bad office 5S" examples... but I got an email this week that made me smile, because it helped an organization avoid the L.A.M.E. office 5S trap. The email, shared w...
Aug 06, 2015•5 min
Moving from "Visuals" to "Visual Management"
http://leanblog.org/audio80 Here's the Key to Visual Management:To me, the core of visual management is captured in this statement from Fujio Cho, now the honorary chairman of Toyota: "Know normal from abnormal... right now!" If the "visual" isn't helping accomplish that goal, it's probably not visual management. Visual management has two parts - the visual(something you see) and the management (the action you take based on the visual). Why do we have to manage the visual abnormality? To get bet...
Aug 04, 2015•10 min
Why This Sushi Company Policy Letter
http://leanblog.org/audio79 I love the Texas-based grocery store chain "Central Market." It's like a local version of a Whole Foods, basically.One of their features is a sushi area that's run by a third-party company, Yummi Sushi. Posted prominently is a letter that outlines their stated approach to quality and safety. Click the photo for a larger view. Below, I'm going to basically transcribe the letter, but as if it were the policy of a hospital or health system.
Aug 03, 2015•7 min
How These Credit Card Websites Illustrate Lean Mistake Proofing
Here is my latest article for the LinkedIn“Influencers” series, written for a general audience that might not be as familiar with Lean: How These Credit Card Websites Illustrate Lean Mistake Proofing I hope you enjoy the article, even as a Lean thinker.
Aug 01, 2015•9 min
A Lean Guy Listens to NPR: NICU Waste,
http://leanblog.org/audio77 I did a similar post in 2012, but here's a post where I share some recent NPR stories that I've heard recently (through the NPR One app, which I absolutely love).This is similar to my "A Lean Guy Reads..." series, my "Cleaning Out the Backlog" series, and the "Stuff I'm Reading" posts. Not All NICU Babies Should Get the Same Treatments Shrinking and Cutting Isn't the Only Path for Hospitals More Expensive Cancer Drugs Aren't Always Better Getting Patients Involved in ...
Jul 31, 2015•8 min
Key Points About Kaizen from Japanese Hospitals,
http://leanblog.org/audio76 The Kaizen approach to continuous improvement is important to me, of course. The Japanese hospitals we've visited have a strong tradition of practicing Total Quality Management. Some are now embracing Kaizen as "daily continuous improvement" in addition to their six month long TQM projects.We're again organizing a Lean Healthcare Study Trip to Japan, which will take place September 13 to 19 in Nagoya and Tokyo. Learn more via http://www.japanleantrip.com.
Jul 30, 2015•8 min
Model Lines and Model Cells as a Lean Transformation Strategy
There's another approach that goes underappreciated, I think -- the "model line" or "model cell" approach. It has nothing to do with fashion models. I don't like the term "cell" because it might make people think of a prison or a gulag. Then again, the word "line" might make people think of "assembly line medicine" in a negative way. Maybe "model area" is a better term? I'll think about that as I work on the updated 3rd edition of my book Lean Hospitals.
Jul 28, 2015•10 min
Parody: Keith Olber-Lean and the
http://leanblog.org/audio74 In this post, I'll be presenting a parody video of Keith Olbermann's "worst persons in the sports world" videos.I don't know how much overlap there is in people who read my blog and people who are fans of Olbermann. I've always been a big fan of Olbermann the sports guy... Olbermann the political commentator not so much. But, "the worst persons in the world" is a bit that he's done on MSNBC and ESPN. In this video, I'm playing a character... a parody you might call Ke...
Jul 27, 2015•8 min
"Lean Won't Work Here... We're Different"
I'm sure anybody who has done any work with Lean has heard these words said in one form or another, often prefaced with a "You don't understand..."We're different.
Jul 24, 2015•10 min
The Kaizen Approach to Getting Others Comfortable with Sushi
What did I learn about learning to eat sushi and incremental Kaizen (change for the better) during my 2014 Lean Healthcare Study Trip to Japan? Listen to find out... and learn more about our upcoming Japan trip at http://www.japanleantrip.com.
Jul 23, 2015•8 min
"This American Life" on NUMMI Lessons,
http://leanblog.org/audio71 Episode #403 of the public radio program "This American Life" originally aired in 2010, telling the story of the NUMMI plant that was a joint venture between GM and Toyota (it's now where they build Teslas). As a joint venture, that meant the closed-down GM Fremont plant was re-opened to be managed under the Toyota Production System.The This American Life story asks why GM didn't learn more of the lessons from NUMMI. Well, GM did learn many lessons, but it wasn't enou...
Jul 23, 2015•16 min
Fear, Lies, Failure, and Success (and Laughs)
http://leanblog.org/audio70 How did a few episodes of HBO's "Silicon Valley" make Mark Graban think about continuous improvement and the need to avoid a "culture of fear" in an organization?
Jul 20, 2015•8 min
Healthcare Headlines in the UK are Mostly Similar to the US
How can the NHS reduce waiting times without throwing money at the problem? Are they using Lean to increase capacity and throughput in a way that also improves quality? The recipe is "reduce waste."There's usually the need to improve three things in any industry: Quality Cost Speed Traditionally, people would say you can get it "good and cheap but not fast" or some combination of just two of those things. Lean healthcare helps show that we can improve in all three dimensions simultaneously. We n...
Jul 18, 2015•12 min
Reader Question from an MD:
http://leanblog.org/audio68 Before I head out on vacation, here is a reader question that I am sharing for your input.I'm sharing this with permission and I'm obscuring a few details at their request.Please read and leave a comment below the post. My approval of comments might be a bit slow after Tuesday evening as I start to travel. The Question: I thought I'd get in touch. I have genuinely listened to every podcast you have on your site. They're brilliant, and I'm very grateful for the time yo...
Jun 30, 2015•5 min
Visual Management for an International Flight,
http://leanblog.org/audio67 My wife and I are getting ready to leave tomorrow night for a two week vacation, so it jogged my memory about this story I saw back in December in the WSJ: Airlines Try to Make Coach Classier. Anything that makes long flights more bearable is good news to me.One detail that caught my attention in the WSJ article was this: "Etihad is rolling out new economy features taken from business and first class. There's nighttime turndown service--flight attendants put the windo...
Jun 29, 2015•8 min
Kaizen Hints from Heloise, or, If Kaizen is Common Sense,
http://leanblog.org/audio66 I'm a big nerd in that I love reading newspapers basically cover to cover. I'm a nerd in many ways, I guess. You don't have to be a survey nerd to take my short reader survey (and you might win a book!).I was a pretty unusual child, reading the entire Detroit Free Press every morning before school. I was a news nerd then. I wanted to be a sportswriter, since the father of one of my best friends from elementary school got to travel with the Detroit Tigers as a "beat wr...
Jun 26, 2015•6 min
Would the WSJ Blame "Just in Time" for the Stanley Cup
http://leanblog.org/audio65 The Wall St Journal loves writing about how "Just In Time" (JIT) is a risky inventory strategy. See my past posts about how the WSJ is so often wrong on this.The WSJ seem to only understand Lean as JIT, as opposed to seeing Lean as a broader methodology and management system. JIT is just one component of the Toyota Production System (built-in quality being the other). See Toyota's website for info straight from the source. Whenever there is a highly unusual event, lik...
Jun 25, 2015•9 min
How Would You Respond to This Kaizen Idea?
http://leanblog.org/audio64 When I teach about Kaizen and continuous improvement, I try to use scenarios and cases to help people think through how they would respond to, coach, and collaborate on employee ideas.One key point is that leaders have to thank employees for pointing out problems or opportunities for improvement. They need to do so even if they think the idea or proposed solution isn't ideal or might not work. Here is a "Kaizen card" that I usually show in my training and coaching ses...
Jun 24, 2015•11 min
I'm Moderating a #LeanStartup Webcast Today:
http://leanblog.org/audio63 I've been intrigued by the "Lean Startup" movement since I first saw Eric Ries speak at MIT back in late 2009. I've read his book The Lean Startup, have attended a bunch of the conferences (speaking at two of them - see video of one). I've interviewed Eric on my podcast series (listen here and here).There's a lot to learn and apply in life and at KaiNexus. I'm by no means an expert in Lean Startup approaches... but at the core, Lean is Lean. Eric gives credit to Taiic...
Jun 19, 2015•9 min
Visiting MIT, Learning about "The Good Jobs Strategy"
http://leanblog.org/audio62 Last week was an amazing week of learning and networking. I was in Dallas for the Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit (as I wrote about). As I mentioned yesterday, it was also my wife's five year reunion from her MIT master's program. As I also mentioned, I nerded out and sat in on a number of lectures that were part of the weekend.I'll also blog later about Steve Spear's lecture (you likely know him from the Lean community), but I also really enjoyed a lecture by M...
Jun 19, 2015•13 min
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