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Executive Egress: Why Many Healthcare CEOs Distance Themselves from Lean Transformations. An Interview with Jack Bowhan
A troubling issue in lean healthcare that Jack Bowhan has seen too many times is a lack of CEO engagement…
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The Role of Strategic Design Events in Lean Healthcare: An Interview with Mindy Hangsleben
Faced with a new incoming healthcare policy, Mindy Hangsleben and her team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services…
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Any step forward in a lean transformation is a good step — right?
Dear Gemba Coach: Surely a step forward in a lean transformation is a good thing, even if it’s not completely…
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5 Common Signs of a Novice Kata Practice
An example of an Improvement and Coaching Kata practice illustrates five common themes found in novice-level practice.
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Ask Art: What Lean Books Should I Start With?
Art Byrne shares with us his book recommendations to newcomers on insights into the philosophy and general approach behind lean.
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Your Value Stream Map Looks a Little Different…
If you think there’s a different way of applying a tool, ask, “Are we changing the tool to prevent us…
Read article View from the Hospital Floor: How to Build a Culture of Improvement One Unit at a Time
In this follow-up to our earlier case study "Transforming Healthcare: What Matters Most?", we examine how the Cleveland Clinic is…
Read article What do you think about a new boss who wants us to use A3s to solve problems rigorously?
Dear Gemba Coach: My new boss wants us to use A3s to “teach us how to solve problems rigorously” –…
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Kaizen Means You Care
"Lean leaders, and lean consultants (like me), often talk about the organizational benefits of kaizen: lower costs, bigger profits, shorter…
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Focus: Process or Results?
"We cannot improve results “directly," writes LEI faculty member Orry Fiume. "It can only be achieved by improving those processes…
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Seeing and Understanding the Work in Product and Process Development
"The role of most lean tools is to enable problems to be identified or to enable problems to be solved,"…
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Why won’t operators use andons?
Dear Gemba Coach: We’re struggling with andons. We’ve set up a button for operators to press and call for help,…
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