Lean Blog Audio

The blog post

I'm honored to share that my workshop, "The Deming Red Bead Game & Process Behavior Charts: Practical Applications for Lean Management," has been accepted for the 41st Annual International AME Conference, taking place this October in St. Louis.

The conference theme--Gateway to the Future: AI and Beyond--is both timely and forward-looking, and I'm grateful to contribute a workshop that brings us back to foundational thinking: systems, variation, and learning.

While AI is the shiny new thing, timeless management principles still matter--perhaps now more than ever.

The Mistake-Smart Leader's Checklist
[Download it here]

The blog post

Thanks to NPR for their recent story about how today, April 23, 2025, marks the 40th anniversary of what is considered one of the biggest business or product marketing failures of my lifetime — the failed introduction of “New Coke.”

The blog post

Are your improvement efforts falling flat, or are you constantly chasing red dots? Are you interested in improving the way we improve?

I've had to re-tool my Cincinnati workshop (June 17th) since my collaboration partner is now, unfortunately, unable to make it.

Join me for a practical and thought-provoking day exploring two essential foundations for sustainable performance: psychological safety and modern leadership metrics.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

In the morning, we'll explore how psychological safety fuels continuous improvement–not just as a “nice to have” but as a must-have.

In the afternoon, we'll untangle data confusion and overreaction by learning to apply Process Behavior Charts and other concepts from my book Measures of Success.

The blog post

There's a phrase I've been thinking about a lot lately:

"You get your say, not always your way."

It's a short sentence, but it says a lot. It's about voice, it's about respect, and it's about the kind of culture we're building--especially when we aim for continuous improvement.

In The Mistakes That Make Us, I wrote about the characteristics of learning organizations. One of the most important is encouraging people to speak up--not just about mistakes, but also about ideas, concerns, and potential risks.

But here's the nuance:

Psychological safety doesn't mean consensus. It doesn't mean you'll get your way every time.

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Since 2012, I've had the opportunity to visit Japan six times, each trip a deep learning experience–rich with lessons about Lean, Kaizen, leadership, culture, and continuous improvement.

This June, I'm heading back for my seventh visit–and what makes this one especially exciting is that it will be my fifth trip focused on Lean in healthcare… and the first that I've helped design from the ground up.

It's my first trip in this format, but I was invited to partner up with two amazing individuals who have a great deal of experience in organizing and facilitating such tours — Dave Fitzpatrick, a Canadian who has lived and worked in Japan for a long time, and Reiko Kano, who I know as a translator on my earliest trips — and she's highly experienced with Lean and TPS implementations in healthcare in both the U.S. and Japan.

And I want to personally invite you to consider joining us. If not from June 23 to 29, in a later trip. We're also planning on the week of October 26, 2025 along with trips in April and October of 2026.

The blog post

Nearly 30 years ago, I had my first real encounter with what not to do as a leader. I was working in a General Motors factory where the culture was one of daily disrespect. Leaders--if you could call them that--were quick to belittle, yell, scream (with spittle flying) at employees on the floor. The lesson I learned wasn't the one they thought they were teaching.

This behavior wasn't "tough love" or "just how things are done in manufacturing." It was toxic. And it didn't lead to improved results. It didn't drive engagement. It didn't foster continuous improvement. It certainly didn't build trust. At best, that type of leadership creates short-term compliance. At worst, it drives costly mistakes, disengagement, and deep cultural scars.

It was management by intimidation--and it failed. Repeatedly.

Fast forward to today, and the evidence is no longer just anecdotal. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant recently wrote in The New York Times:

"The evidence is clear: Leadership by intimidation and insult is a bad strategy. Belittling people doesn't boost their productivity; it diminishes it. Disrespect doesn't just demotivate. It also disrupts focus, causing costly mistakes [including in operating rooms]."

Read the full article (free link)

The blog post

Before I departed for my recent workshop tour of Australia and New Zealand, I knew that I would learn things in the process of teaching and facilitating on my favorite topics. I didn't expect to learn about flying koalas, though!

I did expect to learn something when I had the opportunity to meet up for lunch with a friend, former Toyota Australia leader Barry McCarthy. Barry's also the chair of this year's AME International Conference in St. Louis. I first met Barry back in 2018 when I went on a Japan Study trip with Barry and the Honsha Consulting team, and I learned a lot from him on that trip (check out my podcast with him about these topics).

Toyota and Psychological Safety–A New Book

In recent years, I've come to believe that Psychological Safety is the oft-unheralded foundation of the Toyota Production System and Lean Management. Former Toyota Kentucky leader Mike Hoseus agrees, as we discussed in this Lean Blog Interviews episode — and as mentioned in the book Toyota Culture, that Mike co-authored with Jeff Liker.

I've learned a lot from Barry about Toyota as a “human development company,” as we discussed in his episode.

He agrees with me about the direct importance of Psychological Safety at Toyota — and that it's something they intentionally nurture.

One new piece of direct evidence of this is a book that was published, in Japanese, back in late 2023. The title can be translated to English as:

Two kata that realize psychological safety and speed up work that supports Toyota-style DX: “How to speak” and “How to proceed with work” that resonate with young people

Barry shared his summary of the book (as translated by him via Google) and I ordered it from Amazon Japan based on his recommendation. When I got home, the book was waiting for me.

“DX” is jargon (an abbreviation) for “digital transformation,” something that's increasingly important to Toyota.

Back to the title — I suspect that “make work flow better” might be a better translation since we don't normally try to “speed up work” directly through the Lean methodology. Lean is more about reducing and eliminating barriers to flow and not a matter of pressuring people to work faster.

The ChatGPT translation of the title says:

“Supporting Toyota-Style DX: Two Kata That Achieve Psychological Safety and Speed in Work”
“A way of speaking that resonates with young workers” and
“A way to move work forward”

I've been running pages through ChatGPT as a translation tool. It's incredibly fast. You take a photo of a page (or pages) and out comes the translation. I've been uploading photos in a batch size of “chapter” so ChatGPT can perhaps look at the full context of the chapter instead of only seeing page by page.

Before jumping into what Psychological Safety is, the book poses a problem statement:

“A diagnostic list for managers–if you mark 3 or more “yes,” you should seriously reconsider your current management style. Examples include:

• “I've never said ‘thank you' to a team member today.”
• “I find the word ‘challenge' cringeworthy.”
• “I haven't talked to anyone outside my own department.”
• “I tend to suppress my real opinions at work.”

I think a good question for leaders is: “Do you remember the last time an employee disagreed with you?” If the answer is “no,” then you have a problem.

(1) What is Psychological Safety?

“Being able to express honest opinions, candid doubts, and even disagree with others for the sake of organizational or team results–without fear.”
— Atsusuke Ishii, 2020, Japanese Management Skills Association

Blog post

I'm very excited to announce that my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, has been officially selected as a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award by the Shingo Institute (the home of the Shingo Prize for organizations).

The blog post

I'm excited to be presenting this webinar on February 12th at 1 pm ET as part of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar series:

The webinar description:

“Are you looking for practical ways to eliminate errors and enhance efficiency in your organization? Join us for “Mistake-Proofing in Action: Real-World Examples Across Industries,” an insightful webinar showcasing how organizations across healthcare, manufacturing, and service sectors have successfully implemented mistake-proofing techniques.

Discover innovative solutions that prevent errors before they occur, improve safety and quality, and save valuable time and resources. Through inspiring case studies and actionable takeaways, you'll learn how to adapt these proven approaches to your unique challenges. Don't miss this chance to gain practical tools and insights to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Register today and see mistake-proofing in action!”

You can also register to win a signed copy of my book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, which has a chapter about preventing mistakes.

Mistake-Proofing in Action: Real-World Examples Across IndustriesEnter to Win!

The blog post

Last Sunday, in Frankfurt, Germany, I took part in a guided walking tour of the city.

Our group included a young professional from Australia in his early 20s. He has taken leave from work to travel, backpacking across Europe.

We had an opportunity to chat over lunch and a local “apfelwein” (hard cider). He lamented his frustrations at work.

He said, “My boss thinks he is giving clear direction to us. Then we do the work our best way… only to be criticized for not understanding the direction.”

Episode page

At its core, Lean is about people–respecting them, empowering them, and ensuring their well-being while driving continuous improvement. Recently, GE Aerospace's Lynn, MA, facility provided an inspiring example of what it means to put these principles into action, even under challenging circumstances.

Read more about this and/or watch a video at this link:

Keep the Line Moving: GE Aerospace's Lynn Facility Is Using FLIGHT DECK to Put Safety First

Episode blog post

A sad but true leadership tale:

“Unlike most CEOs who rely on their executive team to keep them informed, [redacted] relies on his team to keep him feeling good about himself.

And so whenever somebody would tell him something that he didn't know and make it very clear that he wasn't the smartest person in the room on each and every topic, he generally fired them.”

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During Katie Anderson‘s #JapanStudyTrip this past November, a participant shared an observation with me that resonated deeply:

“The biggest challenge is our blame culture. It's easier for people to do nothing because they don't get in trouble.

But if they make a mistake, they get punished.

And our company is successful enough that there's not a compelling reason for top leaders to change the culture.”

This isn't a story from the U.S., but the feeling is universal.

A workplace culture where individuals are punished for mistakes–especially when those mistakes have systemic causes–is a significant barrier to progress.

It's a global challenge, and addressing it requires rethinking how we approach leadership and learning.

Read the blog post: https://www.leanblog.org/2024/11/lost-iphone-japan-taxi-tokyo-kindness-culture/

I'm thrilled to be back in Japan for the first time in five years. Today is the start of Katie Anderson's Japan Study Trip (learn more about joining her in May 2025). It's great to be here for another week of learning and great experiences.

Little did I know, I'd kick off the trip by nearly losing my iPhone on the streets of Tokyo–a mistake that ended up teaching me a valuable lesson about Japan's culture of trust.

The blog post

Just over a week ago, I got back from Katie Anderson's Japan Study Trip. It was amazing! I have so much to write about and share.

But first, Facebook reminded me of something from exactly ten years ago–the second time I visited Japan with the Kaizen Institute.

I asked 2024 ChatGPT to translate this 2014 news story that's pictured below (with me sitting there and taking notes in the front row of the meeting room). See the English text below the image:

The blog post: https://www.leanblog.org/2024/11/surveying-the-lean-global-connection-audience-on-barriers-to-speaking-up/

At yesterday's Lean Global Connection event, I posed a straightforward yet revealing question to the audience:

“What keeps you from speaking up at work?”

The responses illustrated two of the common barriers. I posed the survey options based on the research of Prof. Ethan Burris, from the University of Texas at Austin, who has found that fear and futility are the top two reasons why people choose to stay quiet.

For some, fear stood in the way–the fear of reprisal, being judged, or being seen as a troublemaker.

For others, the obstacle wasn't fear but futility–the belief that speaking up wouldn't make a difference. Four people, sadly, said BOTH were barriers.

And yet, amidst these challenges, eight people shared that they felt no barriers at all, a testament to the environments they work in. That is the ideal we should all strive for.

The survey results line up with the Burris research that shows futility is actually the biggest reason, not fear.

Blog post

My whole career, I have worked with the Lean methodology (aka the Toyota Production System).

I've just really never done much with Six Sigma. I've read about Six Sigma. I took a Green Belt course when I worked at Dell in the late 90s. I've studied and used statistical methods (especially what I learned in my Industrial Engineering studies and at MIT), but I've never done anything I would call Six Sigma in my career.

I have respect for Six Sigma as a discipline, just as if I were a chef, I would have respect for pastry chefs. They can co-exist in the kitchen. You might both use whisks, but you have slightly different training to do different things. These roles aren't interchangeable, and neither are Lean and Six Sigma. That's one reason I get riled up about so-called “Lean Sigma” or “Lean Six Sigma.”

Most of the “L.A.M.E.” (Lean As Mistakenly Explained) examples that I see on the interwebs come from “Lean Sigma” discussions, especially on LinkedIn.

What are the fallacies that are thrown around? They include, but are not limited to:

• Lean is about the average, Six Sigma is about the variation
• Lean is about internal processes, Six Sigma is customer-focused
• Lean is for efficiency; you need Six Sigma for quality (this one is the fault of Mike George and his books, many say)
• Lean and Six Sigma are just toolboxes, and you use whichever is appropriate for the problem at hand

These are all incorrect, as somebody with good Lean training or Lean experience would realize.

Read the blog post

It's a story I've heard too many times. An organization spends years, even decades, entrenched in a top-down, command-and-control culture. In this environment, employees are micromanaged, decision-making is reserved for those at the top, and when things go wrong, the finger-pointing begins. “Blame and shame” becomes the norm.

Then, someone decides,

“We're going to get Lean.”

On the surface, this should be great news. Lean offers proven strategies to improve safety, quality, and employee engagement. But here's the catch: the organization doesn't change how it leads. It still clings to the same top-down mentality that has suffocated the workforce for years.

What follows might be described as a superficial Lean transformation. It's probably more of a “Lean effort” (or “Lean hope”) than any sort of transformation.

I've played around with ChatGPT before (including in a few blog posts), but the advancements in A.I. technologies are pretty breathtaking.

Check out the blog post

I recently tried out the new “Notebook LM” tool from Google.

I uploaded a PDF of my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, and it was able to generate a realistic-sounding podcast episode about the book. It's like an NPR podcast in tone and style. There's a male A.I. host and a female A.I. host bantering about the book as they recap some of the key points and themes.

It's not perfect — they pronounce my name wrong in a few different ways — but it's a fascinating experiment in how to take a really long document and summarize it in a consumable way.

They definitely didn't say everything exactly the way I would have stated it. However, the podcast seems to perfectly simulate the discussion that two people might have after both reading and enjoying the book.

Read the blog post

When discussing mistakes, it's common to hear terms like “stupid mistake” or “dumb mistake” thrown around, especially when reflecting on our own errors.

However, labeling mistakes in this way is unproductive.

In The Mistakes That Make Us, one of the key ideas is that we shouldn't label mistakes as “stupid” or “dumb.” Mistakes are a natural part of the human experience, and even the smartest, most capable people make them.

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“I am never, ever wrong.”

That's a statement that should disqualify an applicant from ANY leadership position.
True leadership isn't about projecting infallibility–it's about fostering a culture where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning and growth.
Leaders who claim they're never wrong create an environment where fear of failure stifles innovation, and team members are less likely to speak up or challenge ideas. This is the opposite of what effective leadership requires.

The blog post

Today, I want to share a section from my book, The Mistakes That Make Us. I'm sharing an excerpt here in this post, and I'm also making it available as a podcast episode using an excerpt from the audiobook version.

In this book, I explore how mistakes can actually be one of the best ways we learn and grow—whether it’s in business or life in general.

The excerpt I’m about to share is from Chapter Three, where I talk about the importance of kindness. Often, we think that being "nice" is enough, but real kindness goes deeper. It’s not just about being pleasant or avoiding conflict; it’s about helping others—and ourselves—grow and improve through constructive action.

In this chapter, I also touch on self-kindness, especially after making mistakes. We tend to be our own harshest critics, but kindness towards ourselves is crucial if we want to learn and move forward.

If you find this excerpt helpful, I encourage you to check out the rest of the book, The Mistakes That Make Us (including this free sample offer). It’s packed with stories and lessons on how embracing mistakes can lead to greater success. So, let’s get into the reading.

I've blogged about this before, but I'm going back to the problems at Starbucks again with today's post.

Starbucks has a new CEO who is talking about how the coffee shop experience is broken. Many aspects of the Starbucks mobile ordering process are broken. Well, the ordering process is fine... it's the fulfillment process that needs improving.

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In many organizations, moving away from a culture of punishment when mistakes are made is a significant leap forward. It signals a shift toward understanding, systems thinking, and improvement.

But once you've made that change, what's next? Do we need to replace punitive approaches with something better? If so, what? How do you ensure that your new approach leads to meaningful learning and continuous improvement?

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A friend of mine–with a long history of Lean and Toyota Production System knowledge practice–recently shared a troubling story about a relative who works at a manufacturing plant. I'll call this factory team member “Guy.”

Call me cynical, if you must, but I totally believe this story, so I'm sharing it here. And my friend has zero reason to make this up.

Guy's factory has a bonus system in place that's supposed to reward employees for hitting key performance targets each month. That might sound like a good idea on the surface, but here's where it gets dysfunctional:

If there are any reported injuries, the entire bonus goes unpaid for the month.

I've shared this story verbally with a few people, and they always start smirking or chuckling. They know the answer to this question:

What could possibly go wrong?

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I've been writing about learning from mistakes for a long time, including my previous books before my latest, The Mistakes That Make Us. This idea isn't new, but it's essential–especially in fields like healthcare, where the stakes are incredibly high.

From Lean Hospitals:

“Mistakes are a reality in healthcare, and while we strive to prevent them, it's crucial to create an environment where they are identified quickly, addressed effectively, and used as opportunities for learning and improvement.”

From The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen:

“Leadership in a Kaizen culture means creating an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn, not as failures.”

Read the full blog post

In writing The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, I wanted to challenge the way we think about mistakes, leadership, and organizational culture.

Throughout my career, I've seen firsthand how the traditional responses to mistakes–punishment, fear, and blame–can stifle growth and innovation. The ideas I present in the book are meant to provoke thought and, in some cases, to stir debate.

Here in this post, I'd like to share and dig into five of the most controversial quotes and concepts from the book, explaining why they're important and how they can transform the way we work.

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 field, is expected to be the sole “transformational leader” and bring winning tactics and a winning culture to the struggling team. All. By. Himself.

Would you expect that to work?

I would not.

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 one I've ever considered.

During my career, one of the most helpful concepts I've learned about is "motivational interviewing." See more blog posts about this approach. This approach has roots in addiction counseling, developed by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick in the 1980s to help individuals struggling with substance abuse find their own motivations for change. Its principles can be applied far beyond addiction, proving invaluable in leadership and coaching.

Lessons from Motivational Interviewing

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 belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.”

Hear my podcast with Amy on these topics.

Prof. Amy Edmondson

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 lack thereof) over time. Otherwise, we're just celebrating (or bemoaning) every little up and now.

23% sounds like a big change. But that doesn't mean it's statistically meaningful. Was it down 27% the previous month? Possibly. Some metrics simply fluctuate around a stable average.

On NPR recently, the hourly news update covered economic indicators, including the truth and data points that say:

• Gas prices are UP 5 cents from a week ago
• Gas prices are DOWN 10 cents from a month ago

So, gas prices are both going UP and DOWN. It depends on which data point you use as a starting comparison -- and what point you might be trying to prove. What are those two facts "indicators" of?? What's the longer term trend??

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...

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...

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

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 transformation is about rethinking reinventing the way we do things with digital tools. From the beginning, more than 13 years ago, KaiNexus has never been an electronic suggestion box because suggestion boxes don't work, whether it's in paper form or an online digital form. Why is that? Suggestion boxes in the paper model have a locked box.

Ideas sit. Some special person with a key opens up box maybe once a month, maybe once a quarter. Some far off team talks about those suggestions without coming back to talk to the person who filled out that suggestion box slip. People give up on suggestion boxes, and it's understandable. So we don't want an electronic or a digital version of that.

What we do want is a digital process with proven, continuous improvement methods. We often refer to this as Kaizen, engaging people in opportunity identification, not just jumping to solutions but bringing forward a problem so we can talk about it locally and then escalate it to management by exception. Don't digitize the old, broken way of doing things.

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 peer… and they have the safety to disagree in return.

Psychological Safety doesn't mean shutting down a discussion because you feel uncomfortable.

What practices and behaviors have you seen in a workplace that cultivate Psychological Safety? What are some examples of rewarding people for speaking up candidly?

To me, it comes down to three high-level countermeasures for leaders:

• Modeling candor, vulnerability, and the behaviors you want to see
• Encouraging candor
• Rewarding candor

In summary, Psychological Safety is the foundation of a healthy and productive workplace. It ensures that everyone has the opportunity to voice their thoughts and concerns without fear of retribution, even if it doesn't always mean getting their way.

Again, Psychological Safety means everybody gets their say, but it doesn't mean you get your way.

When leaders model, encourage, and reward candor, it fosters an environment where rigorous debate leads to better decision-making and continuous improvement. By adopting practices that promote Psychological Safety, such as open communication, constructive feedback, and a growth mindset, organizations can unlock the full potential of their teams.

If you're looking to cultivate Psychological Safety within your organization and drive better outcomes through open and candid dialogue, I can help. With extensive experience in fostering cultures of learning and innovation, I offer consulting, workshops, and coaching tailored to your specific needs.

Contact me today to learn how we can work together to build a safer, more effective workplace. I'm happy to do a free discovery call with you.

Or check out my book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. Or do both :-)

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 this page and click “Attend” to be reminded of this when it starts. A recording will also be available on LinkedIn and my YouTube channel.

Mistakes are a universal experience, and what truly matters is how we learn from them. Together, we will explore ways to improve our ability to learn from mistakes, both as individuals and as organizations. My goal is to uncover practical strategies that can be applied in various contexts to foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

We also have a special reason to celebrate. The Mistakes That Make Us is marking its first anniversary/birthday on June 30th. However, since that falls on a Sunday, and let's face it, who wants to be on LinkedIn on a Sunday? I've decided to move the celebration to Friday, June 28th. This will give us the perfect opportunity to not only discuss the themes of the book but also to celebrate its impact over the past year.

The Blog Post

I'm excited to share my breakout session at the Michigan Lean Consortium Annual Conference!

In this session, I dive into the critical role of Psychological Safety as a Foundation for Continuous Improvement.

We explore how fostering an environment where team members feel safe to share ideas, take risks, and learn from mistakes can drive remarkable progress and innovation.

Oh, and did I mention that Traverse City is usually gorgeous in August?

Blog post link

When writing or speaking, I use the words “mistake” and “error” interchangeably. The definitions in some dictionaries are comically circular.

Dictionary.com defines an error as:

“a deviation from accuracy or correctness; a MISTAKE, as in action or speech.”

It also defines a mistake as:

“an ERROR in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.”

So, a mistake is an error, and an error is a mistake.

Blog post link

I'm excited that the Shingo Institute asked me to present a webinar on June 18th.

Click here to register for the webinar

They've also published an article that I wrote:

Psychological Safety: The Key to Effective Andon Cord Pulls and Continuous Improvement

The webinar description:

Join us for an engaging webinar as we explore the transformative power of cultivating a culture that learns from mistakes, ultimately driving continuous improvement and innovation, leading to greater success! Renowned author Mark Graban will draw upon examples from a diverse array of companies, including industry titans like Toyota and agile software startups such as KaiNexus.

During this session, participants will gain valuable insights into the experiences of CEOs and other leaders, regardless of company size, who have adeptly turned mistakes into opportunities for growth and advancement. While these leaders remain vigilant in error prevention, they recognize the profound value of embracing mistakes as pivotal learning moments, particularly within environments fostering psychological safety and robust problem-solving capabilities.

Through compelling narratives, attendees will discover lessons that both educate and inspire, recognizing that in the dynamic landscape of business, mistakes are inevitable — yet it is the process of learning from them that propels us forward!

Blog post

I was talking recently with a trusted friend in the Lean community. He told me a story. It's certainly believable, even if it's second or third-hand to me.

He had no reason to make up a story like this.

A relative of his works in a U.S. factory. Yes, we still have factories here.

I'll call this relative of my friend “Guy,” which is pronounced the American way, not the French way.

Guy's factory would claim to use Lean methods and might even claim a “Toyota Production System” label as its inspiration.

Blog post link

The Big Picture: In the Lean community and beyond, some people mistakenly equate “psychological safety” with being comfortable all the time. This misconception can undermine the true essence of psychological safety in the workplace.

Psychological safety is not about constant comfort or shielding managers from discomfort. Synthesizing a few definitions of psychological safety, I say it's a person's belief, feeling, or perception that it's safe enough to speak candidly about things including:

• Mistakes
• Problems
• Ideas
• Differing views

without fearing marginalization or punishment.

What Psychological Safety Really Means

The blog post

IMAGE: A sign that reads "CAUTION: DON'T OPERATE ON THE WRONG SIDE"

It's silly, right? I've never seen a sign like this in an operating room. And I'm not advocating for them. It's not the right approach for quality and patient safety.

If warning signs actually prevented mistakes, and given that a vast majority of mistakes are caused by human factors (like fatigue) and systemic factors (like being behind schedule because instruments were delivered late to the O.R.)…
1) A sign like this would be posted in every operating room

and
2) Wrong-site, wrong-side, and wrong-patient surgeries would never occur
But, of course, it's not that simple.
What works?
Mistake-proofing works.

The blog post

TODAY marks the centennial of one of the most significant innovations in quality management: the control chart. 🎂 🎉 🎆

In the early 1920s, Walter A. Shewhart, working at Bell Labs, recognized the need for a statistical method to monitor and control manufacturing processes.

On May 16, 1924, Shewhart created the first “control chart,” a tool that distinguished between common cause variation (inherent in the process) and special cause variation (due to specific, identifiable factors). This simple yet powerful distinction laid the foundation for modern statistical process control (SPC). Control charts were dubbed “Process Behavior Charts” by Donald J. Wheeler Ph.D.)

The latest and greatest of the control charts is the “XmR Chart” — as Wheeler wrote about in Understanding Variation and I wrote about in Measures of Success (a book that has a foreword written by Wheeler).

The blog post

Research by Ethan Burris shows that the top two reasons employees choose to keep quiet in the workplace are:
1️⃣ Futility
2️⃣ Fear
Fear of getting in trouble is a big problem. But there are also many workplaces where people say, quite literally, “I'm not afraid to speak up, it just isn't worth the effort.”
That's the Futility Factor.
Please answer this poll question via LinkedIn. And I'd love to hear your thoughts in a comment here on the blog post or LinkedIn. Please check out people's comments and stories that they shared on Linkedin.

Episode page with links and more info

I'm very happy to announce the release of my new Mistake-Proofing course, available NOW through Karen Martin and TKMG Academy.

You can buy the course individually at TKMGAcademy.com for $129. Volume discounts are available for large teams or your entire workforce (for more information, email info@tkmgacademy.com).

The course is also part of the wonderful collection of courses in the all-access annual subscription. The annual price of $529 goes up significantly at 11:59 pm CDT on May 31st, so act now for the best value pricing.

Other TKMG Academy instructors in the series include Karen Martin, Elisabeth Swan, Mike Osterling, Tracy O'Rourke, Brent Loescher... and more.

And if you subscribe to TKMG Academy, you can participate in Karen's "Community of Practice" meeting with me on Wednesday, June 26th.

Blog post

I love Steve Spear‘s emphasis on a Toyota-based Lean model of:

“See, Solve, Share”

See problems, solve problems, and share what worked as countermeasures. That's the ideal, and it's powerful where it exists.

At Toyota, and companies like it, there's an understanding that speaking up about problems leads to a constructive response from leaders. 

That's not always true at other companies that are starting or attempting their “Lean Journey.”

The Psychological Safety that might be taken for granted at Toyota must be actively cultivated in a company before continuous improvement can really take root, let alone take off.

I think the model could also be stated as:

“See, Share, Solve, Share”

Blog post

Research by Ethan Burris shows that the top two reasons employees choose to keep quiet in the workplace are:
1️⃣ Futility
2️⃣ Fear
Fear of getting in trouble is a big problem. But there are also many workplaces where people say, quite literally, “I'm not afraid to speak up, it just isn't worth the effort.”
That's the Futility Factor.
Please answer this poll question via LinkedIn. And I'd love to hear your thoughts in a comment here on the blog post or on LinkedIn.

The blog post

You don't find the root cause of a problem in a conference room.

OK, so we've gotten away from the whiteboard. Now what?

You might not even KNOW the root cause by thinking and talking out where the work is actually being done.

That's one of the most powerful lessons I've learned from former Toyota people I've been able to work with.