Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups.
Mark's latest book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award.
He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean, previous Shingo recipients.
Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
Smiles, Sharpies, and Systems: What Do Starbucks Customers Really Value?
Starbucks has been in the headlines for a renewed push toward hospitality and "moments of connection." The Wall Street Journal recently reported on new...
Kickoff Returns, Lean Metrics, and System Change: What the 2025 NFL...
tl;dr: Headlines say kickoff returns are "dramatically up" in 2025, but process behavior charts show this isn't random fluctuation. The NFL's new dynamic kickoff...
From Know-It-All to Learn-It-All: Leadership Lessons from Mistakes
Lessons from my book The Mistakes That Make Us, plus conversations with Phillip Cantrell and Damon Lembi
One of the central themes in my book, The...
Lean Coffee Talk #5: From Miss Piggy to Spinal Tap, and...
Formerly known as "Lean Whiskey"
Listen:
In Season 2, Episode 5, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh are going back in time (apologies to Huey Lewis and...
Leveraging Psychology for Effective Behavioral Change, with Tracy O’Rourke [KaiNexus Webinar]
Change is hard. Even when a process is painful, people often seem more comfortable sticking with the status quo than embracing improvement.
So what can...
Previewing the LPPDE 2025 Conference with Geoff Neiley & Andrew Wagner
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My guests for this bonus episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Geoff Neiley and...
Plan, Do, Check, Act… or Plan, Do, Cover Your A**? Leadership...
TL;DR: PDCA is meant to be a learning cycle, but in fear-based cultures it becomes PDCYA--Plan, Do, Cover Your A**. When leaders punish mistakes,...
Profitable at Any Price: Lessons from Toyota, Daily Kaizen, and Safer...
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My guest for Episode #535 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Gregg Stocker, a seasoned...
Why Technical Solutions Fail Without People: Reflections from 30 Years in...
This summer marked 30 years since I started my first job out of college--working as an engineer at a General Motors engine plant in...
Gaming the System: What a USPS Smiley Face Reveals About Bad...
TL;DR: A USPS clerk tapping the green smiley face on a customer feedback screen is a small but telling example of gaming the system....
Remembering Bob Rush — Humble Champion, Relentless Improver & Helper
It is with deep sadness that I share the news of Bob Rush's passing. Here is his obituary.
Bob was a friend. He was quite...
The 10 Most Controversial Things Said on Lean Blog Interviews
After uploading the full archive of Lean Blog Interviews transcripts into ChatGPT, I asked it to identify the ten most controversial moments. Over nearly...
