Mark Graban

Constancy, Inc.

Constancy, Inc. provides advisory and consulting services to organizations across healthcare, manufacturing, technology, and service sectors, with a focus on Lean management, daily improvement systems, and leadership development. The firm also publishes the award-winning blog LeanBlog.org.

Through Constancy, I serve as an active trainer, keynote speaker, and facilitator—helping leaders and teams cultivate cultures of continuous improvement and psychological safety.

Representative Work Includes:

Healthcare Kaizen & Daily Improvement Coaching
Ongoing training and facilitation for hospitals and other industries to develop sustainable continuous improvement systems grounded in daily Kaizen.

Water Utility Company
Strategic advising and facilitation to reinvent the organization's continuous improvement program, including staff training and a successful pilot launch.

Children’s Hospital (Midwestern U.S.)
Trained clinicians and staff in Lean principles; collaborated with architects on Lean-informed process and space design for a new patient care tower.

New York Health System
Strategic facilitation with senior leaders on Lean transformation; partnered with surgical and emergency departments on process improvement and facility planning.

Ontario Hospital
Led Lean education and design coaching for teams involved in building a new hospital facility.

Washington Health System
Delivered Lean training and coaching as part of the Lean Pathways Inc. team.

Oregon Health System
Provided problem-solving training and early-stage Lean coaching to staff and managers.

National Lab Services Provider
Delivered Kaizen training for pathology teams and advised senior leaders on Lean leadership behaviors.

Canadian Hospital
Conducted a deep-dive analysis of patient flow challenges; facilitated improvement workshops to address systemic issues.

Management Consultant, Author, Professional Speaker - Lean and Continuous Improvement

Working as creator, producer, and host of multiple podcast series for my own company and others, including, as of 1/1/21:

-- Lean Blog Interviews (500+ episodes since 2006)
-- My Favorite Mistake (300+ episodes since September 2020)
-- Lean Coffee Talk, a collaboration with Jamie Flinchbaugh (50+ episodes since May 2019)
-- Habitual Excellence, presented by Value Capture (25+ episodes since April 2020)
-- KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast 

Roles include guest acquisition, advertiser relations, hosting and interviewing guests, post-production editing, release, and promotion via websites and social media channels.

"Mark is a thoughtful, skilled interviewer, who brings out the best in his guests."

Podcast Producer and Host

KaiNexus

Manages the KaiNexus webinar series and podcast. Advise the company and customers on Lean and continuous improvement topics. 

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Founded in 2009, KaiNexus is a continuous improvement software company passionate about spreading continuous improvement. The intuitive platform facilitates improvement initiatives by reinventing the way businesses capture, implement, measure, share, and organize improvement. With consistent product enhancements, additions, and configurability, KaiNexus is the solution for any business looking to optimize the impact of their continuous improvement programs.

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I worked with the two co-founders on go-to-market and growth strategies for a startup software company that initially served hospitals and health systems, but then expanded into other industries and verticals.

Initially led the development of KaiNexus’ sales and implementation processes when going to market in 2011 and helped close the first sales. Representing KaiNexus in the "lean healthcare" community. Provides services and consulting for KaiNexus customers. Managed Twitter and social media. Creates white papers and thought leadership pieces, including webinars. It's a maturing startup with a growing team and a lot of change, so I get to do a little bit of everything, which is great fun.

Roles/titles have evolved, including Chief Improvement Officer, VP of Improvement & Innovation Services, and VP of Customer Success. Currently serving as a Senior Advisor to the company and customers.

Senior Advisor and Investor

Parrish Partners Leadership & Management Consulting in Orange County

Parrish Partners is a leadership and management consulting company. Since 2003, we have served as a catalyst for our clients to grow, change, and achieve unprecedented results. With trusted relationships as a foundation, our services have grown from executive coaching to executive search, leadership training, technology services, M&A advisory, and more. We are honored to serve a broad range of industries across all stages of development, from start-ups to elite private companies and Fortune 50. Based in Orange County, California, our partnerships extend nationally and internationally, enabling us to make a difference across the globe.

Consultant

Empact Global

Empact Global is a consultancy that is solving problems and advancing humanity by addressing “wicked” problems that some might deem unsolvable. It is working with organizations to ensure that everyone is being served in an equitable way and tackling the problems that others wouldn’t dare touch. 

Whether it’s health, education, racism, housing, or environmental issues – Empact Global is shining the light on blind spots and doing so through a diversity, equity and inclusion lens. What is the ultimate goal? Improving and impacting the world through empathy and inclusion, and making the world a better place.

Consulting Collaborator

Operations Science Institute

The Operations Science Institute provides clear, practical education for workers, managers, and executives in any industry to establish predictability and control over their business. Operations Science describes the performance of all business processes, using no buzzwords, and enables improved decision-making for better customer service and financial results. OSI enables companies to establish a science-based, common language for addressing operations challenges. It's a practical approach to overcoming a company's challenges without hiring expensive consultants or buying new software.

Advisory Board Member

LeanBlog.org

Founder of www.leanblog.org and the Lean Blog Podcast (www.leanpodcast.org)  Lean Blog is a site dedicated to news, commentary, and discussion about lean manufacturing, the Toyota Production System, lean enterprise, and lean healthcare. Became part of Constancy, Inc. in June 2010.

Founder and Contributor

Value Capture LLC

Worked with Value Capture clients -- Value Capture supports chief executives who seek to transform the performance of their healthcare organization in safety, quality, and profitability.

Senior Advisor

Managed strategic marketing projects including the launch of the “Habitual Excellence” podcast and a book of collected speeches by Paul H. O’Neill, Sr. one of the founders of the firm. 

Led transition from WordPress-based website to the HubSpot platform.

Director of Strategic Marketing

Taylor & Francis Group

I authored three influential books on Lean in healthcare, published by Productivity Press, a division of Taylor & Francis:

Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement
First published in 2008, now in its third edition and translated into eight languages. Winner of the 2009 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award.
➤ leanhospitalsbook.com

Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements
Co-authored with Joe Swartz, released in 2012. Recognized with the 2013 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award.
➤ HCkaizen.com

The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen
A concise, leadership-focused companion to Healthcare Kaizen, published in 2013.

These books continue to serve as foundational texts for organizations pursuing cultural transformation and continuous improvement in healthcare settings.

Author, "Lean Hospitals," "Healthcare Kaizen," & "The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen"

Lean Pathways Inc

Worked as a subcontractor and team member of Lean Pathways with two healthcare clients. Efforts included training staff and leaders on Lean concepts and problem solving skills. Led and assisted with improvement efforts focused on reducing incidences of patient harm, leading to a reduction in patient falls and hospital-acquired pressure ulcers.

Senior Consultant

Lean Enterprise Institute

Focused on advancing Lean Healthcare education and promotion through program development, content delivery, and digital innovation at the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI).

Key contributions included:

Co-led the Healthcare Value Network partnership with the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value, supporting collaboration and shared learning across member organizations.

Developed and delivered Lean Healthcare curricula, including the widely attended “Key Concepts of Lean in Healthcare” workshop.

Designed and executed LEI’s early social media strategies, expanding digital reach and engagement.

Pioneered experiments with streaming video and emerging technologies to enhance the accessibility and impact of LEI’s mission-driven content.

Senior Fellow

🟢 Is your team hesitant to speak up about problems or improvement ideas?
🟢 Do your improvement efforts fail to deliver lasting change?
🟢 Are mistakes seen as setbacks instead of opportunities for innovation?

I help businesses and leaders solve these challenges by leveraging Lean management, fostering psychological safety, and cultivating a culture where learning from mistakes drives continuous improvement and innovation.

As a consultant, author, speaker, coach, and podcaster, I’ve partnered with executives and frontline teams across healthcare, manufacturing, and tech startups, implementing sustainable changes that lead to real results. 

My latest book, "The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation," explores how embracing mistakes can spark growth. My earlier books, including "Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More" and "Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement," reflect my dedication to practical, people-centered leadership.

Since 2010, I’ve been working independently and in collaboration with consulting groups to help organizations continuously improve. 

I’m also a Senior Advisor to KaiNexus, a software company that enables continuous improvement through technology.

I’ve had the privilege of speaking to and coaching organizations globally—from the U.S. and Canada to Europe and Asia—helping them build cultures that are resilient, adaptive, and driven by problem-solving.

With a background in engineering and management, I bring practical insights to every organization I work with. As the founder of LeanBlog.org and host of several podcasts, including "Lean Blog Interviews" and "My Favorite Mistake," I continue to explore new ways for organizations to improve through better problem-solving, leadership, and learning from mistakes.

If you're ready to create lasting improvement in your organization, let's connect.

(And for search purposes: Often misspelled as “Mark Graben” or “Mark Grayban”)

Constancy, Inc. provides advisory and consulting services to organizations in industries including healthcare, manufacturing, services, and technology companies, focusing on the "lean" methodology and management system. Constancy, Inc. is also the publisher of websites including www.LeanBlog.org. Mark also is an active trainer, facilitator, and keynote speaker for organizations and events.

Work includes:

- Teaching and coaching multiple hospitals (and organizations in other industries) about "Kaizen" and daily continuous improvement practices, implementing sustainable change methodologies
- Delivering the "ExperienceChange" change management simulation and workshop at multiple clients
- Water utility services company: advise and consulting on reinventing their continuous improvement program, helping with training and a successful pilot effort
- Non-profit organization: coaching and consulting support on starting a new staff-driven continuous improvement methodology and management approach
- Midwestern children’s hospital: training clinicians and staff, participating in “Lean design” for build-out of new patient care tower, process and space design collaboration with architects and design team.
- New York health system: strategic advisory sessions on Lean strategy, working with surgical and emergency departments on process improvements and future space design.
- Ontario hospital: lean healthcare education and coaching for design of a new hospital
- Washington health system: providing training workshops and coaching as part of the Lean Pathways Inc. team.
- Oregon health system: problem solving training and introductory coaching as part of Lean Pathways
- National laboratory medicine services provider: Kaizen training for pathology staff and Lean advisory services for senior leaders
- Canadian hospital: analyzing systemic patient flow problems, working with staff and leaders to find opportunities for improvement

🧭 Leader Standard Work isn’t about your calendar. It’s about your behavior.

Too often, LSW gets reduced to time blocks and checklists. But showing up at the Gemba without curiosity, humility, or follow-through? 

That’s not leadership. That’s theater.

In my latest post, I share:
 ✔️ A behavior-based LSW checklist
 ✔️ Why psychological safety starts with how you lead
 ✔️ How to move beyond “I showed up” to “I made it safe to improve”

📌 Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gr_nUVvU

What would you add to the checklist?

#LeanLeadership #LeaderStandardWork #Gemba #PsychologicalSafety #LeanThinking #ContinuousImprovement

Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, professional speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur. He builds upon a deep education in engineering and management with practical experience working with executives and frontline employees in multiple industries to synthesize and practice methods including Lean management, continuous improvement, statistical methods, and people-centered leadership approaches.

He has learned, practiced, and taught these methodologies in settings including manufacturing, healthcare, and technology startups. Working independently since 2010, and in partnership with other consulting groups, Mark enjoys working with organizations that are looking for better ways to improve, with leaders who are willing to lead that charge. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the software company KaiNexus. 

He is the author of "Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement "(Productivity Press) and co-authored “Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements. Both books received the prestigious Shingo Research Award. He was the editor of the anthology "Practicing Lean." Mark's latest book is titled "Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More."

He is the founder and lead blogger and podcaster at LeanBlog.org, started in January 2005.

Mark is a popular speaker at conferences and private healthcare meetings. He has spoken and coached organizations across the U.S., in multiple provinces across Canada, and other countries including Finland, Holland, Sweden, Japan, Thailand, and China.

More information can be found at his website, markgraban.com.

Often misspelled as “Mark Graben” or “Mark Grayban” (putting this in here for the sake of search results).

Is your culture holding back continuous improvement? I help leaders unlock innovation through Lean thinking, mistake-driven learning, and psychological safety | 3× Shingo Award Author | Speaker | Coach | Consultant

💡 Would your CEO shave their head for continuous improvement?

 At IU Health Goshen Hospital, that actually happened.

Back in 2009, CEO James Dague made a bold promise: If staff generated $3.5M in savings through improvement ideas, he’d shave his head.

They more than doubled that goal.

True to his word, Dague stood in front of his colleagues—and the clippers—and followed through. Not as a gimmick, but as a statement of respect.

From 1998 to 2012, Goshen’s Lean-based improvement efforts have saved over $30 million.

But the numbers aren’t the story. The real success? 
🏥 17+ years without layoffs
🏥 A culture where every staff member is empowered to improve their work
🏥 National recognition as a top workplace
🏥Small ideas made a big difference:

💰 $4K saved by switching napkins
💰 $22K saved by replacing disposable gowns with cloth

Goshen’s “Uncommon Leader” program didn’t just create better outcomes. It created better leadership—by distributing it.

🔍 Is your organization building this kind of culture? Or are staff still waiting for permission to improve?

Let’s talk about how to turn everyday people into uncommon leaders.
 
👇 What’s the boldest thing a leader at your organization has done to support improvement?

#Lean #Kaizen #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #ContinuousImprovement #Healthcare #RespectForPeople #LearningCulture

Arni  Villanueva Carullo, MPA, MBA-HM

🚫 “Check your brain at the door.”

That was an actual phrase I heard working at General Motors in the mid-90s.
Back then, workers were told they were hired for their backs and arms, not their brains. Improvement wasn’t expected — and certainly not welcomed.

Unfortunately, I still see versions of this mindset today.

They’re not always spoken aloud, but the message is clear:
😟 Don’t speak up
😟 Don’t challenge the way things are
😟 Just do your job and stay in your lane

That’s why I created this cartoon with Caroline Schurman — to poke fun at the idea while making a serious point:

🧠 When employees feel like they can’t think, contribute, or question… improvement dies.

Lean thinking requires brains, not just bodies. It requires:

😊 Leaders who ask, listen, and learn
😊 Cultures where psychological safety is the norm
😊 Systems that invite people to participate in change — not fear it

Check out the cartoon below — and the blog post for more reflection:
 👉 https://lnkd.in/gAqVTZkn

Have you ever worked in a “brain check” culture? What helped change it?

#Lean #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #ContinuousImprovement #Kaizen #MistakesThatMakeUs #RespectForPeople

Coaching vs. Berating — Lessons from Football and Leadership

🏈 Brian Kelly was fired as LSU’s head coach.

For years, I’ve cringed watching him yell and curse at players on the sideline. Back in 2011, I wrote about this when he was at Notre Dame — and just last year, there was video of him calling a player “_____-ing uncoachable.”

A good coach—or leader—helps people learn from mistakes instead of making them afraid to make any. When leaders lose their cool, performance and trust go with it.

Pat Fitzgerald, when Head Coach at Northwestern, once responded to a young player’s mistake by saying, “Welcome to college football. You can be the goat one play and the hero the next.” That’s coaching. That’s leadership.

The best leaders in sports—or business—don’t turn purple and shout. They teach, guide, and build confidence under pressure.

Berating people doesn’t make them better. It makes them scared.

What’s the best example you’ve seen of a leader who coaches instead of criticizing?

The image is AI generated and is meant to be representative of the way Kelly is seen yelling at players. 

My blog post from 2011: https://lnkd.in/gie5ch82

A bourbon distillery shouldn’t be doing safety better than a hospital.

During a tour of a world-famous Kentucky distillery, one detail stood out — a simple, visual Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) board.

Every lock had a name. Every tag had a clear process. Everyone knew how to keep each other safe. That's pretty standard practice in manufacturing. It's required by OSHA.

Now, compare that to some hospitals I’ve worked with.

There’s incredible technology, lifesaving work — and yet, when it comes to physical safety around equipment, LOTO practices aren’t always visible or standardized. Sometimes there’s just a sign: 

“Do not start machine when people are inside.”

In both environments, pressure builds: production quotas, patient backlogs, throughput targets. That’s when shortcuts happen. And when safety becomes optional, it’s not Lean anymore.

As I wrote in my latest post:

“There is no such thing as Lean without safety.

There is no such thing as Respect for People if people are dying to keep up with production.”

Leaders set the tone. A culture that prizes productivity over protection is gambling with lives — in a distillery, a factory, or a hospital.

Have you seen lockout / tagout used in hospital settings?

🔗 Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/g7Y2F3Qj

#Lean #Leadership #Safety #Healthcare #RespectForPeople #ContinuousImprovement #PsychologicalSafety #Bourbon

🍎 Looking Back: The “Applesauce Kaizen” at Franciscan Health — Still a Favorite Example of Lean in Action 💵

Back in 2014, I visited Franciscan St. Francis Health, where a team of nurses proudly called themselves the "Kaizen Queens."

One of their many improvements has stuck with me: replacing an unpleasant, expensive medical lubricant used during endoscopy procedures with… applesauce.

It started with a simple question from a nurse: “Would applesauce work just as well?”

They didn’t just assume — they discussed, tested, and confirmed that it was safe, effective, and preferred by patients. The results:
 ✅ Better patient experience
 ✅ Less frustration for staff
 ✅ $30,000 saved per year
 ✅ No negative impact on clinical outcomes

In Lean terms, that’s a classic win–win–win–win.

This story captures the essence of continuous improvement: when people closest to the work are trusted and supported to solve problems, the results go beyond efficiency. They improve care, morale, and financial performance — all at once.

When leaders say “yes” to testing ideas instead of defaulting to “no,” they reinforce trust and psychological safety. That’s where the real transformation happens — one small improvement at a time.

Here’s to every “Kaizeneer” who keeps asking, experimenting, and learning.

#Lean #HealthcareKaizen #ContinuousImprovement #PsychologicalSafety #RespectForPeople #LeanHealthcare

✈️ A Delta flight attendant recently triggered an emergency slide—by mistake—costing around $70,000 and delaying passengers for hours. ‼️

Before we label it “just human error,” remember: this kind of mistake happens about three times a day across airlines worldwide.

So yes—it is human error. But it’s primarily a system design failure when the system doesn’t anticipate and mitigate the likelihood of human error.

Even with checklists and cross-checks, procedures are imperfect forms of mistake-proofing. Humans get tired, distracted, or rushed. The system should expect that and make it hard (or impossible) to do the wrong thing.

In Lean thinking, the question isn’t “Who messed up?” It’s “How did the system allow this to happen—and how can we redesign it?”

Good systems don’t rely on perfect people. They assume mistakes will happen and are built to prevent those mistakes from becoming disasters.

If it happens three times a day, the problem isn’t who. It’s what and why.

Where in your organization do we still treat human error as a personal flaw instead of a system opportunity?

In the news: https://lnkd.in/g7t7JjY4

🔍 Building Excellence Through Quality and Psychological Safety

I recently had the chance to talk with CJ Kaufman, M.B.A., Education Chair for ASQ Cincinnati, about the upcoming ASQ Southwest Ohio 2025 Conference — “Excellence Through Quality.”

📅 Saturday, November 8, 2025
 📍 Mason, Ohio
 ☕️ Breakfast + lunch included, with an optional hands-on Lean workshop in the afternoon

The morning program features a fantastic lineup of speakers — Deb Coviello, Susan Marshall, and Colleen Soppelsa — each bringing practical, real-world insights into leadership, FDA perspectives, and group problem-solving.

I’ll be giving the keynote on psychological safety — why it’s the foundation for sustainable quality and continuous improvement. When people feel safe to speak up about problems, ideas, and risks, quality gets better — not by fear or slogans, but by systems that make it easier to do the right thing the first time.

In the optional afternoon session, I’ll facilitate Deming’s Red Bead Experiment — an engaging, experiential way to explore variation, process behavior charts, and what leaders can do (and stop doing) to improve quality.

🎧 You can listen to my conversation with C.J. on Lean Blog Interviews to learn more about the event, the speakers, and what attendees will take away:
 👉 https://lnkd.in/gw6Gz34M

And if you’re in the Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern Kentucky region — I hope you’ll join us in Mason for a morning of learning, connection, and improvement.

#Lean #Quality #ASQ #PsychologicalSafety #ContinuousImprovement #Leadership #Deming #ProcessBehaviorCharts #Cincinnati #Dayton

🔔 Mistakes Happen. What Matters Is What Happens Next.

Every organization tries to prevent mistakes. That’s good — necessary, even.
But the mark of excellence isn’t that mistakes never happen. It’s that we learn every time they do.
 
Preventing mistakes and learning from them.

They’re not opposites. They’re partners. Each one makes the other stronger.
Take Toyota’s innovation back in 1924 — a loom that could stop itself when a thread broke. That’s Jidoka: quality built into the process, not inspected in at the end.

But when that loom stopped, it didn’t just prevent defects. It freed people. One operator could now oversee 30 looms — responding only when needed.

That’s mistake-proofing with respect at its core.
 
It’s not about blaming people. It’s about designing systems where success is the default. And when mistakes do happen, we face a choice:
🚫 Blame?
🚫 Excuse?
✅  Or learn?

Respect for people isn’t a slogan. It’s a practice — shown in how leaders react when something goes wrong.

That’s where improvement begins.

#Lean #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #MistakeProofing #ContinuousImprovement #Culture #RespectForPeople #LeanHealthcare

For a limited time, the third edition of my book Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement is available on Amazon for just $29.99 — that’s 52% off the list price of $61.99.

This book has helped hospitals and healthcare systems around the world build cultures of continuous improvement, reduce waste, and deliver better care with more engaged staff.

If you've been thinking about diving into Lean in healthcare—or sharing this resource with colleagues or your leadership team—this is a great opportunity.

🔗 https://amzn.to/4oStGy4

As always, I’m grateful for your support and for the work you do to improve healthcare. Let’s keep learning, improving, and respecting people along the way.

Mark records an episode of Lean Blog Audio: "Leader Standard Work Is About Behavior, Not Just Your Calendar."

Struggling to sustain improvement? Leading change can be hard—especially when:

🟢 Teams are quiet instead of engaged
🟢 Metrics are noisy or misleading
🟢 Mistakes are hidden, not learned from
🟢 Culture change feels like a mystery

I have limited availability this fall for 1:1 virtual coaching. I help leaders navigate challenges like these by focusing on Lean thinking, psychological safety, and small tests of change.

✅ Free intro call
✅ Hourly or package options
✅ Practical, tailored support

If this sounds helpful, let’s connect.

🔗 https://lnkd.in/ggRWiJXz

#Lean #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #Coaching #PsychologicalSafety #ProblemSolving #MistakeLearning

👻 Ghosts, Zombies, and Frankenstein Processes — they’re not just for 🎃𝙷𝚊𝙻𝙻𝚘𝚠𝙴𝙴𝚗🎃.

🎃 They haunt our workplaces year-round:
🎃 Ghosts of outdated processes that no one questions
🎃 Zombie routines that eat time and morale
🎃 Frankenstein systems stitched together from mismatched parts

The scariest organizations aren’t haunted by monsters — they’re haunted by fear: fear of speaking up, fear of change, fear of mistakes.

🧟 This Lean Halloween reflection explores how to spot the spooky stuff in your systems — and how Lean thinking and psychological safety can drive the fear out of improvement.

Read the full post: 👉 https://lnkd.in/gWkv-89S

#Lean #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #PsychologicalSafety #Culture #Halloween

📈 Operational Excellence Mixtape – October 31, 2025 Edition

Curated by Ryan McCormack — always a must-read for anyone serious about leadership, Lean, and improvement.

Three highlights this week:

🔹 Larry Culp at GE Aerospace
 Culp credits GE’s strong Q3 results to compounding daily progress through its FLIGHTDECK lean management system — proof that Lean thinking, when practiced with discipline and intent, drives real outcomes, not “tool theater.”

🔹 Toyota Applies Lean to Data Architecture
 Toyota eliminated 240 hours of waste by improving data flow — a reminder that Lean principles aren’t limited to shop floors. Information flow is work.

🔹 Microsoft’s Kaizen Mindset for AI
 COO Carolina Dybeck Happe (formerly at GE) is leading Microsoft’s AI transformation with a Kaizen mindset — focusing on people and process, not just technology.

Read the full mixtape and subscribe to Ryan’s excellent weekly roundup here:

 👉 https://lnkd.in/gwdDS-KE

#Lean #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #LarryCulp #GEAerospace #Toyota #Microsoft #Kaizen

As we head into fall, I have space to take on a few new coaching and advisory clients.

If you're leading change and facing challenges like:
🔴 A Lean journey that feels stalled or superficial
🔴 Teams that hesitate to speak up
🔴 Metrics that confuse more than clarify
🔴 Improvement work that doesn’t stick
🔴 A culture that talks about learning—but doesn’t act on it

…you’re not alone.

Through virtual coaching, I work with leaders in multiple industries to build cultures of continuous improvement, strengthen psychological safety, and lead with clarity—even in the face of uncertainty.

✅ One-hour virtual sessions
✅ 10-session packages available
✅ Free intro call to explore fit

If a thinking partner would be helpful right now, let’s talk: https://lnkd.in/ggRWiJXz

When a leader makes a mistake, the best move is to acknowledge it—openly and quickly.

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn did just that this week after quarterback Jayden Daniels was injured late in a blowout loss. When asked why his starting QB was still in the game, Quinn didn’t dodge the question. He said simply:

“Honestly, man, that’s where I missed it… That’s 100% on me.”

He didn’t deflect, rationalize, or blame an assistant. He owned it.

That’s not weakness—it’s leadership.

In "The Mistakes That Make Us," I wrote that psychological safety starts when leaders model what it looks like to learn from mistakes rather than hide them. When a leader says, “That’s on me,” they make it safer for everyone else to say, “Here’s something I wish I’d done differently.”

Admitting a mistake doesn’t undo the harm, but it opens the door to learning—and to preventing the next one. Pretending mistakes didn’t happen closes that door and locks everyone inside the status quo.

Whether you’re coaching an NFL team, leading a hospital, or managing a small business, the principle is the same: accountability without blame is how teams improve.

Dan Quinn’s public humility might not change the scoreboard, but it builds something much more important—a culture of trust and continuous improvement.

How do you respond when you realize you’ve made a mistake as a leader—and how do your teams tend to react when you do?

The paperback version of The Mistakes That Make Us is now just $22.73 – that’s 43% off the cover price!

📘 The book shares practical, battle-tested methods – including Process Behavior Charts, a simple yet powerful tool for separating signal from noise in business data.

🔍 Example: A team was reacting weekly to changes in customer support call volume, tweaking scripts and retraining staff constantly. After applying a Process Behavior Chart, they realized the variation was entirely routine – no special cause. That insight stopped the overcorrection cycle, saved time, and stabilized performance.

That’s the kind of clarity this book delivers.

👉 If you want to lead with less stress and more insight, grab your copy while it’s on sale!

📚 Buy it now: https://amzn.to/4qfjAc2

#Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #LeanThinking #LearningCulture #MistakesThatMakeUs

🛑 An idea was rejected. But no one shut down.

 Why? The team turned it into a learning moment.

A nurse suggested using fans to ease patient discomfort.
An infection preventionist explained why that was risky.
👉 The idea wasn’t adopted—but the person wasn’t dismissed.

✅ The “why” was explained
✅ The lesson was shared publicly
✅ The suggester felt respected
✅ The system learned

That’s what psychological safety looks like in continuous improvement—and why it’s the pre-condition, not a nice-to-have.

📌 I unpack this story—and more—in my new post: https://lnkd.in/gRemxxHq

#PsychologicalSafety #Kaizen #LeanLeadership #ContinuousImprovement 
#LearningCulture #HealthcareKaizen

How Great Leaders Prevent Mistakes — and Learn from the Ones That Still Happen

Even in the best-run organizations, mistakes happen.

Not because people don’t care — but because people are human, systems are complex, and reality refuses to follow our flowcharts.

In my latest post on LeanBlog.org, I share lessons from two Toyota leaders — Isao Yoshino and David Meier — whose stories show how Toyota leaders respond when things go wrong.

Instead of asking “Who did this?”, they ask “What did we learn?”

That mindset shift — from blame to curiosity, from fear to learning — is the foundation of psychological safety and continuous improvement. It’s also at the heart of what I explore in "The Mistakes That Make Us."

Read the full post here:
 👉 https://lnkd.in/gdH_smv7

When someone brings you bad news, your first question defines your culture.

What’s yours?

#Lean #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #ContinuousImprovement #LearningCulture #MistakesThatMakeUs

Can Lean thrive in a culture of fear?

When leaders commit to no layoffs due to Lean, they unlock something powerful: trust. And trust is what fuels sustainable improvement.

In my latest post, I reflect on healthcare leaders who publicly pledged to protect people—not just jobs—as Lean transformed their organizations.

✅ No layoffs
✅ More improvement
✅ Stronger morale
✅ Better outcomes

It’s not just possible—it’s proven.

📖 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gunaqR7H

Have you seen this kind of commitment in action? What difference did it make?

#Lean #Leadership #ContinuousImprovement #PsychologicalSafety #RespectForPeople

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