Leadership isn’t about titles, charisma, or quick decisions—it’s about creating systems where people can do their best work and continuously improve. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on leadership through a Lean lens, drawing on ideas from Deming, Toyota, healthcare, and real-world management practice. The common theme: leaders shape culture, influence behavior, and own the systems that produce results—for better or worse.
Some great thoughts for Thanksgiving Day from Quint Studer, ideas that could apply to any organization, not just in healthcare. Quint’s Blog: The Grateful Workplace: Six Ways to Create a Culture of Gratitude in Your Organization His post begins: Here’s…
TL;DR: Disruptive and disrespectful behavior in hospitals creates fear that undermines patient safety, quality, and continuous improvement. Lean healthcare depends on psychological safety and respectful leadership–without it, even the best tools and technologies fail. amednews: Disruptive behavior by doctors, nurses…
I saw this quote on Twitter from the pastor Rick Warren (happens to fit in the 140 characters): “Love isn’t letting people do whatever they want. That’s often cowardice or apathy. Love cares enough to tell the truth.” I’m not…
BioTechnology Supply Chain Conference – interview with speaker Adam Zak | LeanConnections I’m reposting parts of this with permission of Adam Zak, a regular contributor to the blog over the years. You can read the full Q&A on his blog,…
Wachter’s World : Physician Accountability for Violation of Safety Rules: The Time For Excuses Has Passed I think Bob Wachter has it completely right in his blog post. He also makes the same point in his book Understanding Patient Safety. While…
I recently have had the opportunity to review a wide range of sites and companies and provide feedback on their lean journey. One of the things that really surprised me was how many of them were still trying to follow…
Dispatches from the Frontier: Innovation as Outcome This story also seems like it couldn’t be true, from the Harga-Blog: I once asked a class full of senior executives whether they wanted innovation. They all said yes. When I then asked…
Corner Office – Bad News or Good, Continental’s Chief Wants to Know – Question – NYTimes.com This interview with Larry Keller, CEO of Continental Airlines, had elements of “Like Lean” — ideas that are similar to Toyota Production System or…
Michael Lewis on A.I.G. | vanityfair.com I’ve been a big fan of Michael Lewis and his writing since reading “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” years ago. Great book and my first introduction to the Red Sox’s great…
From Lehman’s Wreckage, New Lives – WSJ.com: Disgraced Lehman CEO Dick Fuld says in this WSJ piece: “‘I spent too much time out of the office with clients and trusted other people to manage the risk,’ he told employees of…
Checking In With Denver Health CEO Patricia Gabow On A “Model” Health Care System – Kaiser Health News Dr. Patty Gabow has been one of the leading CEO voices talking about Lean in Healthcare, as shown in the article linked…
Ill. hospital execs find savings in Lean methodologies – Modern Healthcare It’s nice to see Modern Healthcare is doing some podcasts, or at least I am just discovering them. I’ve linked to a 5-minute podcast with a CEO and CIO…
