Yesterday was an exciting day for me, professionally and personally, as I received my first copies of the 3rd edition of my book Lean Hospitals (I'll stop blogging about the book so much, I promise).
This is the fifth time I've had this exciting day… for the first two editions of the book (in 2008 and 2011) and for Healthcare Kaizen (2012) and the Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen (2013).
I always get a little giddy, sort of like Steve Martin's character in “The Jerk” (not the first time I've referenced that movie here). Forgive the moment of Friday jocularity:
Some of you might say, “I wish I could get that excited about nuthin'” ala Jackie Mason's character.
“I'm somebody now!” isn't exactly what I'm thinking :-) “I'm in print… things are going to start happening to me now.” Navin R. Johnson gets shot at… so I'm not expecting that to happen.
My excitement would have come two days earlier. On Tuesday, FedEx said they delivered the boxes to my front porch at 3:02 PM, but no boxes were there. I complained to FedEx, my publisher was looking into it. It turns out FedEx left the boxes at a similar (not identical) street number on a DIFFERENT street.
Isn't it ironic (doncha think?) that a book that focuses on quality would be delayed by a rare quality problem? Or at least I think it's a rare problem. I called FedEx yesterday to let them know the boxes had turned up (the neighbor finally saw them) and the FedEx rep thanked me and assured me the information I gave would be used to improve their operations. That what I'd want to hear.
Of course, it seems most every book has defects, including typos. That happened on PAGE ONE of my first edition and there was also a typo on the first page of a Jeff Liker book on Toyota.
There are far too many people to thank along the way… many of them are mentioned in the front of the book. Dean Bliss (who often comments on this blog and has been featured before) made the initial introduction to Productivity Press. My former colleagues at J&J ValuMetrix Services (and their clients and mine) were a huge help with the first two editions. Many healthcare organizations have shared their examples, pictures, and insights from their own Lean journeys for the book, including:
- ThedaCare (many people, including the team at one of their critical access hospitals)
- Virginia Mason Medical Center (Dr. Gary Kaplan, their CEO)
- Baylor Scott & White (including Steve Hoeft, who has a fantastic book of his own)
- Avera Health (many people there)
- Children's Health (Dallas)
- Franciscan St. Francis Health (including my Healthcare Kaizen co-author Joe Swartz)
- East Tennessee Children's Hospital & Akron Children's Hospital (material for the new section on Lean Design)
I also greatly appreciate the input and insights of Jamie Bonini from Toyota and the TSSC organization that does so much great work with manufacturers, healthcare organizations, and non-profits. Jamie contributed material that helps us try to keep things grounded in what's really Lean (and not L.A.M.E.).
Some brief excerpts of new material in the 3rd edition with insights from Jamie (click either for a larger view):
That's all applicable to healthcare.
And:
Lean is about “learn by doing” — with a good coach. A book alone won't make someone a Lean thinker until they try… and start practicing (Practicing Lean, eh?). You can now buy “Practicing Lean” through the Amazon Kindle store, by the way.
Thanks to Cheryl Fenske, who I've always hired as an outside editor, and to the team at Productivity Press, including my acquisitions editor Kris Mednansky. It “takes a village” to bring a book to press, to turn a manuscript into a book. No author does it alone, especially not me.
OK, if you haven't heard enough about me and the book, Ron Pereira and the good folks at Gemba Academy released their latest podcast with me (the 4th time they've had me as a guest).
If I'm ever their first five-time guest, that also makes me think of Steve Martin and the Saturday Night Live 5-timers' club (I want a jacket, Ron):
Oh… I also just learned “The Kindle Books Are Here!” The Kindle version of Lean Hospitals became available earlier than promised.
And don't forget my two promotions:
First, today is the last day to “Tweet to Win” a copy of the book.
And, I'd like to send a free copy to your healthcare CEO… learn more here.
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Congrats to you, Mark. Hope the new edition is a big seller. And thanks for the shout-out. Keep up the good work.