Read the blog post and more Imagine an NFL team that has been on a decades-long streak of winless seasons. The owner, who has been at the helm for most of that period, always believes that finding the right coach will solve the team's woes. But it doesn't. Every few years (or sometimes more often), the owner blames and fires the coach and hires a new one, but the team continues to lose. In a desperate attempt to turn things around, the owner signs a decent (but inexpensive) free-agent left guard away from the previous Super Bowl champion. This player, hailed for their leadership on and off the ..read more

The blog post Think about the last time you made a major career decision. I'm thinking of one of mine, in particular. Was it about leaving a job for a new one? Changing directions in your career altogether? Was it a debate about which of the job offers you would accept? How easy was that? How long did it take you? In hindsight, some of my career decisions took too long to play out. Afterward, my wife would ask, "Why didn't you do that sooner?" I'm also thinking of a major decision that was in the news today—it's been drawn out over the past few weeks, and it's a more important decision than on ..read more

The full blog post This post draws upon and summarizes content in my book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. Senior leaders must prioritize psychological safety and continuous improvement to foster an environment conducive to learning and innovation. Psychological safety is crucial for enabling employees to speak up about mistakes and ideas without fear of punishment. This executive summary outlines key strategies for cultivating psychological safety and leveraging it to drive continuous improvement. “Psychological safety is a beli ..read more

The full blog post Two data points are not a trend. Two-data-point comparisons can be mathematically correct but practically meaningless. This is true in workplaces and news articles like this one. Multiple two-data-point comparisons (comparing last month to the previous month AND comparing it to the year before) don't paint the full picture the way a simple run chart would. If a hospital's margin is "23% higher" than the year before, is that a difference between 1% and 1.23% or the difference between 10% and 12.3%? Give me more data points. Better yet, create a chart that shows trends (or the ..read more

Blog post with links I'm very happy to be participating in Jared Thatcher‘s “Global Lean Summit” event this September in Indiana. I'll be there to network and learn, which includes time visiting a Toyota Material Handling factory (an entire day!) I'll be speaking and facilitating: A workshop on Psychological Safety as a Foundation for continuous improvement A learning session featuring Dr. Deming's “Red Bead Game“ A fun keynote talk on warning signs and mistake-proofing Learn more and register --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blo ..read more

The blog post with webinar link As a Throwback Thursday, I'm sharing this webinar that I did back in 2012, as hosted by Karen Martin... On this theme of “The Suggestion Box is Dead,” I thought to prompt ChatGPT to create an image of a burial scene and mournful employees... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support ..read more

Episode blog post There's a common misconception about Toyota's “Andon” system, often expressed as: “When a team member pulls the cord, the line stops.” But that's not entirely accurate, as this enlightening Toyota video demonstrates... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lean-blog-audio/support ..read more

The blog post Digital transformation is about rethinking and reinventing with digital tools. For over 13 years, KaiNexus has moved beyond the outdated suggestion box model. Traditional suggestion boxes, whether paper or digital, often fail (or usually fail!–ideas get locked away, reviewed by a select few, and lead to frustration. We believe in dynamic platforms that foster real-time communication and collaboration. Don't digitize the old, broken way of doing things! Mark Graban: Don't digitize the old broken process. Whether that's a suggestion box or anything else, digital transform ..read more

Blog post Psychological Safety means everybody gets their say, but it doesn't mean you get your way. Psychological Safety is an individual's belief, feeling, or perception that it's safe for them to speak up in a situation. When people are rewarded for speaking candidly, that leads to rigorous debate and better decisions. Psychological Safety doesn't mean freedom from being challenged or disagreed with. It doesn't turn the workplace into a democracy and it doesn't mean you need 100% agreement to move forward on anything. Psychological Safety means you can disagree with your manager or a p ..read more

The blog post The LinkedIn event My latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, is turning one year old! Join me, along with my co-host Elisabeth Swan, for what we hope will be an engaging, insightful, and fun discussion about learning from mistakes. We'll be joined by special surprise guests who will share their unique perspectives and experiences. This isn't just a one-way broadcast–it's an interactive session where we'll conduct live polls and open the virtual floor to your questions, ensuring a dynamic and participative environment. View t ..read more