Lean Blog Audio: Practical Lean Thinking, Psychological Safety, and Continuous Improvement
Episodes
On Podcast Server Downtime, Scars from General Motors, and Taking Ownership of My Situation
29 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #270 Ever since I started podcasting in 2006, I've been using a company called “Hipcast” to be the “hosting” company for the podcast a...
Is "Kaizen" a Slogan or a Methodology for the Seattle Marine
22 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is "Kaizen" a Slogan or a Methodology for the Seattle Mariners? Here is an interesting article that a few people pointed me toward the other day ab...
The CEO Leading the Culture Change at ZSFGH
16 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Today, I'm writing about another view, from an article co-authored by our friend Dr. John Toussaint and the CEO of ZSFGH, Dr. Susan Ehrlich: Changi...
A Lean Guy Reads "Health Leaders" on Nursing Retention
15 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Today, I'm reading the latest issue of Health Leaders magazine (March/April 2019) whose cover features a number of stories about nursing retention. ...
WSJ News Flash: Developing Better Leaders Makes a Difference
10 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Here's an interesting recent article from the Wall Street Journal (you might require a subscription to read it): The Economy's Last Best Hope: Supe...
Lean Should be Solution to Hospital Overwork or Understaffing
30 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Lean Should be the Solution to Hospital Overwork or Understaffing
Toyota as a "People Development Company"
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When I had the chance to go back to Japan last October with Honsha, there was a big focus on what the former Toyota people kept referring to as "a dev...
Value is Defined by the Customer...
09 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Value is Defined by the Customer (and not all Customers are the Same) http://www.leanblog.org/audio263 It's said in the Lean methodology that “...
For Big Leaps With New Year’s Resolutions, Start With
08 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For Big Leaps With New Year’s Resolutions, Start With Baby Steps Thanks to the Lean Enterprise Institute for publishing my article about Kaizen, ...
LinkedIn Post: The Carrot and The Stick “On Steroids”
16 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2013, I wrote a post that I published as part of the LinkedIn Influencer series: The Carrot and The Stick “On Steroids” Please check i...
React Less and Improve More by Using SPC More Effectively
14 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a while since I've contributed something to the Lean Enterprise Institute's online publication, The Lean Post (see past articles). Today,...
#Lean Shouldn't be a Reason for Nurses to Strike
13 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A retired labor leader from the automotive industry (who reads this blog) sent me a link to this article: #RedforMed: 1,800 Vermont Nurses Are On S...
“ER wait times down, but only slightly” ??
23 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
http://leanblog.org/audio258 “ER wait times down, but only slightly” or ER wait times are virtually the same? This article was sent by a fri...
The Catch-22 of #Lean & Kaizen: You Get More ROI by NOT...
19 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Catch-22 of #Lean & Kaizen: You Get More ROI by NOT Focusing Only on High-ROI Projects http://www.leanblog.org/audio257
Leaders & Lean: We Need to Better Support Doctors and
17 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Leaders & Lean: We Need to Better Support Doctors and Other Providers When surgeons have no better options than complaining about process problems ...
My Talk in Vegas: Leadership Lessons from Statistics and Psych
03 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
My Talk in Vegas: Leadership Lessons from Statistics and Psychology Today, I’m giving a keynote talk at the Lean & Six Sigma World Conference bei...
Elon Musk, Safety, and Leadership at Tesla
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What's Going on at Tesla? Is @ElonMusk Following up on Employee Injuries? There's a lot to admire about Elon Musk. I admire his risk taking and his...
What's Going on at Whole Foods? It Doesn't Sound Like Lean...
16 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The chain Whole Foods is reportedly having inventory shortages and morale problems. It sounds like a real mess, but thankfully nobody is calling it Le...
Tour Preview: The Japanese Health Care System at a High Level
13 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Tour Preview: The Japanese Health Care System at a High Level As I prepare to go back to Japan, I'm sharing some insights about the Japanese health...
The WSJ Overgeneralizes about The "Japanese Model," Not...
13 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The WSJ Overgeneralizes about The "Japanese Model," Not All Companies Are Toyota Not all Japanese companies are the same. "Lean isn't easy" if you'...
#Lean Can Be Very Fragile, Especially With Executive Changes
05 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
#Lean Can Be Very Fragile, Especially With Executive Changes Lean can be very fragile. History shows that Lean can fall apart even in an organizati...
Employee Complaints About Lean in Healthcare, Even at...
04 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Employee Complaints About Lean in Healthcare, Even at Some of the Best Organizations Last week, I blogged about some employee complaints related to...
Somebody *Did* Get Unjustly Fired in Hawaii, But System...
04 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Somebody *Did* Get Unjustly Fired in Hawaii, But System Problems Should be Blamed TL;DR Summary: "Employee 1" (the guy who pushed the "wrong" butto...
"What would you say... you do here?" -- 2018 Edition
22 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I often get asked a question along the lines of "So, what exactly do you do?" Today, I give some updates about my various projects and partnerships, i...
My Thoughts on Standardized Work and #Lean
18 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I've written about many of these ideas and themes before in various blog posts, but I wanted to consolidate my thoughts on the Lean concept of "standa...
What We're Looking Forward to Learning at Toyota
16 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What We're Looking Forward to Learning at the Toyota Plant Tour Tomorrow, with the entire KaiNexus team, I'm going to visit the Toyota truck plant ...
What the Book "Lean Thinking" Said About Healthcare...
15 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What the Book "Lean Thinking" Said About Healthcare in 1996 http://www.leanblog.org/audio244 When the book Lean Thinking (by Jim Womack and Dan...
The Response to the Hawaii False Alarm...
14 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Response to the Hawaii False Alarm Can't End With Firing Someone -- This and other nuclear threats due to bad systems http://www.leanblog.org/a...
Did Toyota's Mindset Really Leave the (Now) Tesla...
05 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Did Toyota's Mindset Really Leave the (Now) Tesla Building? Tesla builds cars in what used to be the NUMMI factory, a joint venture between Toyota ...
A Powerful Message from Toyota's President
04 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A Powerful Message from Toyota's President, Akio Toyoda: No Best, Only Better In today's post, I share and write about this message from Akio Toyod...
Should #Lean Conferences Add a "Code of Conduct" for S
07 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Should #Lean Conferences Add a "Code of Conduct" for Speakers and Attendees? In today's post, I pose a question: Should the major Lean conferences ...
#ChangeChampions at Franciscan St. Francis Health
06 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
#ChangeChampions at Franciscan St. Francis Health - in Supply Chain and Beyond Today, I'd like to share the second in my series of articles about "...
Highlights from a Great Book: "The Leader's Handbook"
30 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I've been going through the book by the late Peter Scholtes: The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done. His work builds upon t...
Looking for “Champions of Change” in Healthcare Supply
23 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Who are the "champions of change" in your organization? Is your CEO a champion of change? How many of your front-line managers and staff are champions...
Of Course Doctors Hate Being "Excluded" From Attempts
10 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Of Course Doctors Hate Being "Excluded" From Attempts to Improve Thanks to those of you who sent me this HBR article: Doctors Feel Excluded from...
Healthcare People: Study Lean and Kaizen in Japan
09 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Come Join Me to Study Lean & Kaizen for Healthcare: Japan 2018 In the past year or two, it seems like I have heard more about people and organizati...
Toyota Helps a Young Inventor; Look at His Dad's Toyota...
04 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
it's great to see an 11 year old thinking like an engineer and an entrepreneur. He's the son of a Toyota "operational excellence" consultant. For thos...
#Lean Enterprise Institute Announces New CEO
03 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Lean Enterprise Institute (a former employer of mine from 2009 to 2011) has announced a new CEO, the third in their history following founder Jame...
"Our Hospitals Are Killing Us“ (1966)
26 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Three or four months ago, in the midst of a discussion on LinkedIn about patient safety, somebody made reference to a 1966 cover story from the magazi...
Free Webinar Today on #Lean Collaboration Across Companies
21 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Free Webinar Today on #Lean Collaboration Across Companies and Industries I hope you'll join me today for a KaiNexus webinar that I'm hosting. The ...
Texas Hospital Saves Money Occasionally With Lean Six Sigma
20 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Texas Hospital Saves Money Occasionally With Lean Six Sigma... But Can Do More, More Often? I saw this headline the other day about University Medi...
This Organization Chose Not to "Deploy #Lean" Because...
12 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This Organization Chose Not to "Deploy #Lean" Because a Leader Thought it is Not Customer Focused? I posted an article on LinkedIn last week as a c...
Toyota Helps Children's Health Dallas Reduce Some CLABSIs
11 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I've long been appreciative of the work that Toyota does, through their non-profit TSSC subsidiary, to help non-profits and community organizations im...
Variation in Definitions of #Lean (The Good, the Bad...
30 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
One challenge with teaching Lean is that there isn't aways a consistent definition that's used by everybody. Some of the definitions are really bad. S...
"Practicing Lean" Audiobook is Released! And a New Essay
29 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I'm excited to announce that the audiobook version of our book Practicing Lean is complete! It's available for purchase via LeanPub.com and it migh...
How NOT to Improve Patient Flow: Laws, Targets, Blame,
29 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Let's start by stating the obvious: it sucks to wait 24 hours or more on a stretcher in an emergency department hallway waiting for a real hospital be...
Aim for "Effectiveness" in Your Gemba Walks, Not "Effi
24 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This is an elaboration on something I originally posted on LinkedIn. I saw somebody touting an approach that would guarantee "maximum efficiency fo...
Monday's #SolarEclipse: Supply Chain Challenges and Eye
23 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Any rare event creates a number of challenges when it comes to manufacturing and supply chains. We're seeing a pretty historic "spike" in demand for p...
Highlights of "Boss Level Podcast" - Gen. Stan McChrystal
17 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Highlights of "Boss Level Podcast" - Gen. Stan McChrystal and the Book "Team of Teams" I've read most of retired General Stanley McChrystal's excel...
My Webinar: Standardize What Makes Sense...
16 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today at 3 PM, I'm doing a webinar at the invitation of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, as part of their "Quality Café" series. Thanks for...
Does Being Giddy With Knowledge About Wine or Lean Cau
15 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I enjoy "gemba visits" (of sorts) to wineries and vacations often focus on this walking, tasting, and learning. I usually read the wine column that...
Dr. Don Berwick on Respect and Change at the Front Lines
26 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2012, I blogged twice about aspects of Dr. Donald M. Berwick's 1989 article in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Continuous Impro...
Change: Desire, Ability, Reason, Need, and Commitment
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I'm excited to be attending the annual Lean Coaching Summit today through Thursday in Austin. If you're there, please say hi! Today, I've registered t...
The Conundrum that is Dr. Deming on Metrics, Measures,
16 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There are Dr. W. Edwards Deming quotes that get thrown around... one that sounds incredibly "pro-data" and others that say data and measures are not t...
Lean Healthcare Featured in Sunday's NY Times Business
11 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
An article from this week in 2010... Today's New York Times has an outstanding article about Lean Healthcare and what Seattle Children's Hospital call...
Is This a 5S Problem or a Broader Healthcare Leadership Issue?
11 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A few of you sent me this sad article from the Wall St. Journal:Â "'People Are Dying Here': Federal Hospitals Fail Tribes."Â I feel like I...
The Power of "How Might We?"
20 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this post, I write about a phrase that I heard many times when visiting Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis. How can this phrase help us ...
Is it a "Lean Transformation" or a "Lean Metamorphosis"?
19 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Does the Phrase "Lean Transformation" Jump to a Solution? Another in the series of "do words matter?" posts... do phrases like "Lean Transformation...
Imitation as a Path to Innovation... If You Know What..
15 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Imitation as a Path to Innovation... If You Know What to Copy... At the recent Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit, there were thought provoking ...
Do Words Matter on a Kaizen Card?
04 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
If we're going to practice Kaizen (continuous improvement), do the words matter? Should we call it a Kaizen Card or something else? Do we start with a...
Easier, Better, Faster, Cheaper... What's Missing There?
04 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What if "easier" is less safe? Great question. It begs the question of why Safer isn't first in Shingo's list? Is it because safety is assumed to be s...
A Prototype For My "Two-Bin Hand Sanitizer" Concept
18 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Does your healthcare organization struggle with keeping hand sanitizer dispensers full? Let me know what you think of this "two-bin kanban" system pro...
A Lesson From Toyota: Thanking Employees for Pointing
16 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to Lean Frontiers for sharing a story from Mike Hoseus on LinkedIn. Mike is, of course, co-author of the excellent book Toyota Culture: The Hea...
3 Recent Audience Questions on Kaizen & Continuous Improvement
12 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Reader Question: A Lone Wolf in #Lean Facilitator's Clothing
11 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Thoughts on "Good" vs. "Better" from My College Marching Band
11 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What are the parallels between the mindsets and approach of a world-class university band director and our mindsets in Lean, Kaizen, and continuous im...
The Good and the Bad of the United CEO's Follow Up to
05 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's good that United's CEO has taken responsibility for system problems. It's great that they are changing some policies. But why does he say they do...
"Practicing Lean" as an Audio Book - First Half Now Available
04 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I'm excited to announce that Practicing Lean is now available as an audio book... or least the first half is, but you can buy today.
My LinkedIn Article: Supply Chain Matters - at the Oscars
04 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The mistakes at The Oscars were trivial and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. What are some lessons learned that apply to improving healthcar...
Don't Have Time for Meditation or Improvement? You Should...
30 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
If you don't have 20 minutes for meditation, you should.... do what? Does this classic Zen quote apply to Kaizen and continuous improvement?
Reader Question: How Many People & How Much Time for...
26 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A Lean-thinking physician from Canada asks how many people an organization or department should have in a dedicated Lean or continuous improvement fun...
Is Calling People "Concrete Heads" the Most Effective...
18 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When did the term "concrete head" start getting thrown around in Lean circles? Do people still use this label today? Is it helpful? Should we agree th...
What are the "Quick Wins?" Ask the People Doing the...
17 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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"...
The United Flight 3411 Mess, Holding Individuals Accountable
13 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I posted this on LinkedIn earlier today and am re-posting as a blog post to get your thoughts... and then, as I writing this, the news about the man b...
My Article on Changing How We Think About Change
13 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
As part of my partnership with Cardinal Health, they have published an article that I wrote on their "Essential Insights" blog: "Changing how we think...
The Patient Pays Less, Yet the Surgeon's Paid More
10 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Can physician-led surgical centers provide lower out-of-pocket prices for patients, along with lower infection rates, and higher compensation for the ...
Why You Shouldn't Call Yourself "Sensei" Or Make Other
06 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Six Sigma and Lean Sigma has "belts." Some people in Lean call themselves a "sensei." Is that really appropriate? The term is supposed to be situation...
Measures, Incentives, Heart Attack Mortality, Driving
05 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this post, I look at the impact (or lack thereof) of targets, rankings, and incentives, when it comes to safe driving or PCI (angioplasty) procedur...
Coming Soon– 4th Revised Ed. of “Lean Hospitals” (April Fool)
04 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's time for another new, revised edition of my book! It was originally published in 2008 as Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and E...
Sad Bloomberg BusinessWeek Article on Auto Supplier Safety
27 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A few of you sent me this article... and you were correct to think I would be interested:"Inside Alabama's Auto Jobs Boom: Cheap Wages, Little Trainin...
10 Years of "L.A.M.E."
21 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's been 10 years since I first wrote about my awkward acronym L.A.M.E. Is it helpful to distinguish between true Lean principles and "Lean As Misgui...
New Whitepaper: "#Lean for Doctors"
10 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today, I'm happy to share a link to a white paper that I co-authored for Catalysis (formerly the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value).The paper is t...
#TBT: Don't Blame the Kicker, Don't Blame...
09 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Post in&t;50 words: Lean thinkers don't blame individuals who in a bad system, whether that's a presenter at Oscars, a kicker in a footbal...
Personal Kaizen: How I Reduced Effort...
08 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In today's post, I write about how Kaizen starts with you. I share some examples of "personal Kaizen," including the way I've streamlined my call sche...
Learning & Emulating Without Copying Blindly from...
06 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
While I'm writing here about Northwestern men's basketball learning from Duke (without copying everything), the same ideas apply if you're Ford learni...
I Was Asked to Share "Pet Peeves" About Lean (and Lean Sigma)
23 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to GoLeanSixSigma.com for asking me some questions for a discussion that they've posted on their website.
If a Surgeon or Hospital Puts Quantity over Quality...
22 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Post in&t;50 Words: I get worked up about labeling a troubled surgical department as "a factory," but there are far more important issues ...
The Advice about #Lean That Your Hospital CEO Should Be Getting
20 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Art Byrne's latest book, The Lean Turnaround Action Guide, has a lot of great tips that he's trying to share, CEO to CEO. How many CEOs are reading th...
Registration is Open! "Kaizen Live!" at Franciscan
13 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Registration is now open for our "Kaizen Live!" event, where you can visit Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis to see what a "culture of con...
Lessons Ford & the UAW Learned in Japan in 1981 Still Apply
12 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Post in&t;50 Words: I continue sharing documents from the Don Ephlin library archive. What did Ford and the UAW learn when they visited Ja...
#TBT: My Reflections on Dr. Deming's Notes...
02 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today's post points to my guest blog post for the W. Edwards Deming Institute: Reflections on Dr. Deming's Hospital Notes - What Has Changed Since 199...
The Heroism of Incremental CarIe & Incremental Improvement
30 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This post in&t;50 words: Are there parallels between medicine and organizations when we look at the tension between heroism and the sometimes bori...
Lean as Redesign and Continuous Improvement,
29 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lean sometimes gets, I think, an unfair rap that it's only a method for incremental improvement. See this article, from the NEJM website, for example:...
Improving Safety & Quality Matters, but...
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
http://www.leanblog.org/audio176 I saw this article a few days ago in one of the larger healthcare industry trade publications:How One Woman Saved ...
You Don't Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement by...
19 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When I talk to organizations about Kaizen, or continuous improvement, there's far too much self-defeating talk, where people say things like:"We're no...
2nd Post for the Deming Institute Blog
17 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday, the W. Edwards Deming Institute published the second in my series of three posts for them: "The Failure of "The Livonia Philosophy" at my G...
Lean is Not Just Process Improvement
16 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In my travels, I often meet people or visit organizations that say something like:"We're doing Lean... we just call it Process Improvement." They h...
Contest: Win a Set of #Lean & Patient Safety Books
15 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
http://www.leanblog.org/audio172 StoreSMART is partnering with me on this contest where you can win one of four sets of books, along with a selecti...
Marie Osmond and The Excuses for Not Getting Lean
11 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's a weight loss program called "Lean 13." It's the everyday use of the word "lean," as in thinner, that has nothing to do with the Lean methodology...
Better Metrics & "Understanding Variation"
09 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
My favorite book, as I've written about before, is not a "Lean book" -- it's Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos by Donald J. Wheeler, ...