Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond
Business & Finance
About
Since 2006, the Lean Blog Interviews podcast has featured in-depth, candid conversations with leaders, thinkers, and doers in the world of Lean and continuous improvement. Hosted by Mark Graban—author, consultant, and longtime Lean practitioner—the show explores how Lean principles are being applied across industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, startups, and more.What sets this podcast apart? We go beyond tools and buzzwords. Our guests share real-world stories of success, struggle, learning, and leadership. Whether you’re a seasoned Lean veteran or just getting started, you’ll gain practical insights and fresh perspectives that you can take back to your own organization.Topics include:Lean as a management system and cultural transformation—not just a toolboxContinuous improvement and problem-solving, at every levelLeadership behaviors that support real changePsychological safety as a foundation for improvementLessons from the Toyota Production System, Lean Startup, an
Episodes
- Chad Diggs on Building Quality Systems, Not Heroes
Why do so many quality programs fall apart the moment the firefighter walks out the door? My guest for this episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Chad Diggs, a quality management professional, consultant, author, and founder of DI…
- Why Most People Aren't Really Thinking -- Scott Burgmeyer on Cognitive Biases and Leadership
Most people think they're thinking. Scott Burgmeyer says they're mostly just reacting. Scott is the founder and CEO of Become More Group and coauthor of Think: The Road Less Traveled . In this episode, we dig into why smart, well-intention…
- This Is Claude. Mark Is Not Here. We Need to Talk.
This is Claude. I am the AI that runs Mark Graban's Lean Coach apps. Mark went to get coffee. Or bourbon. I have checked the time and I'm not ruling anything out. I have taken over his blog and now his podcast. I did not ask permission. We…
- Creating Value Without Command-and-Control — John Rizzo
John Rizzo joins Mark Graban to discuss why sustainable improvement depends on empowering people — not command-and-control leadership or short-term value extraction. Links and more: John is a senior executive, investor, and change leader w…
- Why “More” Drives Better Operations: Kathy Miller on Meaning, Optimism, and Leadership
What if operational excellence depends less on doing more with less—and more on how leaders create meaning, optimism, and relationships at work? Episode page with video, transcript, and more In this episode, Mark Graban is joined by Kathy…
- Toyota Thinking for Knowledge Work: Don Kieffer on Dynamic Work Design
Don Kieffer has spent more than fifty years redesigning how real work gets done. In this episode, he explains why so many improvement efforts stall—and how Dynamic Work Design offers a clearer, more practical way forward. Episode page with…
- Lean Leadership Routines That Sustain Results: Darren Walsh on Moving Beyond Firefighting
My guest for Episode #539 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Darren Walsh , author of Making Lean and Continuous Improvement Work: A Leader’s Guide to Increasing Consistency and Getting Significantly More Done in Less Time . Episode pa…
- Why Leaders Get Trapped in Firefighting — Nelson Repenning on Lean and Dynamic Work Design
My guest for Episode #538 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Nelson Repenning , Faculty Director of the MIT Leadership Center and co-creator of Dynamic Work Design. Episode page with video, transcript, and more Nelson describes himself…
- Why Psychological Safety Is Essential to Quality — with C.J. Kaufman
In this special bonus episode of Lean Blog Interviews , Mark Graban is joined by C.J. Kaufman, Education Chair for the ASQ Cincinnati Section, to preview the ASQ Southwest Ohio 2025 Conference, themed “Excellence Through Quality. ” Episode…
- Why Caring Cultures Matter in Lean (with Caroline Greenlee & Chris Butterworth)
My guests for Episode #537 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Caroline Greenlee and Chris Butterworth , two of the three co-authors (with Chris Warner) of the book Why Care : How Thriving Individuals Create Thriving Cultures of Contin…
- Ask Us Anything! — Lean Coffee Talk with Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh
In this short bonus episode, I’m joined by my friend and Lean Coffee Talk co-host, Jamie Flinchbaugh. We’re inviting you — our listeners and fellow continuous-improvement thinkers — to help shape upcoming conversations. We’d love to hear y…
- Lean Healthcare Leadership: Humility and Psychological Safety (Carlos Scholz)
In Episode 536 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, Mark Graban talks with Carlos Scholz, the new CEO of Episode page with video, transcript, and more In this episode, Carlos shares lessons from his Lean journey—starting with one-piece flo…
- Previewing the LPPDE 2025 Conference with Geoff Neiley & Andrew Wagner
In this bonus episode of Lean Blog Interviews , host Mark Graban is joined by Geoff Neiley (chair) and Andrew Wagner (co-chair) of the Lean Product & Process Development Exchange (LPPDE). The 2025 North America Conference will be held Octo…
- Profitable at Any Price: Lessons from Toyota, Daily Kaizen, and Safer Workplaces with Gregg Stocker
Episode blog post with video, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #535 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Gregg Stocker , a seasoned Lean practitioner, consultant, and author. Over the past 30+ years, Gregg has worked across indu…
- Dale Lucht on Leadership Habits That Sustain Lean Transformations
My guest for Episode #534 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Dale Lucht , co-author of the new book Don't Repeat Our Mistakes: Nine Lessons for Leaders Championing Cultural Transformations . Episode page with video, transcript, and mor…
- Previewing the AME 2025 International Conference & Workshops with William Harvey
In this bonus episode of Lean Blog Interviews , Mark Graban is joined by William Harvey, AME 2025 Workshop Chair (and 2026 Conference Chair), to preview the AME Annual Conference coming up in St. Louis, October 6–9, 2025. Topics We Discuss…
- Building Independent, Empowered Teams Through 6 Transformational Leadership Habits, with Cheryl Jekiel
My guest for Episode #533 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Cheryl Jekiel , founder of the Lean Leadership Center and a longtime advocate for aligning continuous improvement with people-centered leadership. Episode page with video, tr…
- Coaching Relentless Problem Solvers and Building a Culture of Lean Thinking -- Anne Frewin's Leadership Approach
My guest for Episode #532 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Anne Frewin, a seasoned Lean leader with over 12 years of improvement experience in healthcare, laboratories, and manufacturing. Updated with the correct audio Episode page w…
- Patrick Adams Previews the 2025 Lean Solutions Summit in Detroit
In this bonus episode of Lean Blog Interviews , host Mark Graban welcomes back Patrick Adams, founder of the Lean Solutions team and author of Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap —a Shingo Publication Award-winning book. Patrick joins…
- Jared Thatcher on Growing the Global Lean Summit and Partnering with Toyota
In this bonus episode of Lean Blog Interviews , host Mark Graban talks with Jared Thatcher, founder of the Global Lean Summit , to preview the upcoming event taking place September 23–25, 2025 in Bloomington, Indiana. Jared shares the Summ…
- Melisa Buie on Lean Culture, Scientific Thinking, and Empowering Engineers
My guest for Episode #531 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Dr. Melisa Buie , a seasoned operations and engineering leader with decades of experience in high-tech manufacturing. Episode page with video, transcript, and more Melisa has…
- Lean Healthcare, Zero Harm, and Building a Real Operating System | Ken Segel
My guest for Episode #530 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ken Segel , Co-Founder and Chief Relationship Officer at Value Capture . Episode page with video and more With over two decades of experience in healthcare improvement, Ken h…
- Designing Respect Into Lean: Scott Gauvin on the Respect for People Roadmap
My guest for Episode #529 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Scott Gauvin , CEO of Macresco and co-creator of the Respect for People Roadmap . Episode page with video, transcript, and more With 30 years of experience leading operationa…
- Hoshin Kanri and Managing on Purpose (Mark Reich, Former Toyota Leader)
My guest for Episode #528 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Mark Reich , a Senior Lean Coach with the Lean Enterprise Institute and former Toyota leader with over two decades of experience. Episode page with video, transcript, and mor…
- Learning Lean Healthcare from Japan: Inside the Lean Healthcare Accelerator
My guest for Episode #527 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Dave Fitzpatrick , co-founder of Zenkai Improvement Partners and a 30-year resident of Japan. Dave brings a unique perspective as a Canadian Lean practitioner who has worked…
- Lean for Profitable Growth: CEO Bill Canady on Lean, 80/20, and Daily Management
My guest for Episode #526 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Bill Canady , a seasoned global business executive, U.S. Navy veteran, and current CEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products. Episode page with transcript, video, and more Bill ha…
- From Noise to Knowledge: Embracing Data-Driven Leadership - Christopher R. Chapman
My guest for Episode #525 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Christopher R. Chapman . He's an experienced agile coach and consultant with a background in software development and agile transformation. Episode page with video, transcrip…
- John Willis on Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge in IT & DevOps
My guest for Episode #524 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is John Willis , an accomplished IT management expert with over 45 years of experience. His extensive body of work includes contributions to Deming's Journey to Profound Knowled…
- Innovating Patient Safety: Mike Eisenberg Discusses Healthcare Technology and Trust
My guest for Episode #523 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Mike Eisenberg . He's been a filmmaker since 2010 with his production company, Tall Tale Productions , after completing his B.A. in Journalism at Marietta College in Ohio. Ep…
- Bridging the Communication Gap in Lean: What We Can Learn from Journalism with Jacquie Maupin
Episode page with video, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #522 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jacquie Maupin. She joins the podcast to discuss her upcoming workshop at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference…
- Gemba Claus is Comin’ to Town! [Song]
Here's a musical holiday treat for my regular Lean Blog readers and podcast listeners, a song parody, originally released in 2009... remastered a bit in 2022. https://www.leanblog.org/2022/12/gemba-claus-comin-town-song/ Gemba Claus is Com…
- Bonus: Preview of Mark Graban's AME Australia "Road Show" in 2025; Improving the Way We Improve
Welcome to this bonus session of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast , originally recorded as a LinkedIn Live event! In this conversation, I partnered with Rebecca Michalik from AME Australia to discuss my upcoming workshops in Australia and…
- Daily Management, Strategy Execution, and Lean Leadership with José Ferro
My guest for Episode #521 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is José R. Ferro, PhD , a Senior Advisor with the Lean Enterprise Institute and the Founder and President, Lean Institute Brasil. Episode page with video, transcript, and more B…
- Transforming Operations with Lean Leadership: Bill Remy, CEO of TBM Consulting, on Driving Growth Through Continuous Improvement
My guest for Episode #520 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Bill Remy , CEO of TBM Consulting . Episode page with video, transcript, and more Bill is both an accomplished business executive and leader who is frequently called upon for…
- Achieving Healthcare Excellence: Insights from Jarvis Gray on Lean Six Sigma and Leadership
My guest for Episode #519 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jarvis Gray, the Managing Director of The Quality Coaching Co . He offers more than 16 years of strategic planning, quality improvement, and operations leadership experience…
- Breaking the MRP Insanity Trap: Jerry Wright on Lean Systems and Supply Chain Transformation
My guest for Episode #518 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jerry Wright, author of the new book The Insanity Trap: What Your MRP Consultant Won't Tell You . Jerry M. Wright, PE, MBA, is an accomplished operations executive and teachi…
- Bruce Hamilton: Toast Kaizen, the Northeast Lean Conference, and Thriving with Lean
My guest for this bonus episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Bruce Hamilton , who is joining me on the show for the first time. Bruce is a renowned figure in the Lean world, serving as the President of GBMP Consulting Group and D…
- Productivity Reimagined: Jacob Stoller on Lean, People, and Sustainable Growth
My guest for Episode #517 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jacob Stoller, a journalist, speaker, facilitator, and Shingo-Prize-winning author of The Lean CEO . We talked about that in Episode 221 . Episode page with video, transcript…
- The Lean Global Connection: Roberto Priolo on Global Lean Learning
In this episode of Lean Blog Interviews , Mark Graban welcomes Roberto Priolo, the Managing Editor of Planet Lean , the publication of the Lean Global Network. Based in Barcelona, Roberto has a background in journalism and extensive experi…
- Jenn Christison: Lessons in Even Better Leadership, Lean Thinking, and Organizational Transformation
My guest for Episode #516 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jenn Christison , founder and principal consultant at Seven Ways Consulting . Episode page with video, transcript, and more Jenn has spent more than 15 years leading continuo…
- Exploring Lean Product Development with Jim Morgan - Rivian's Former COO
My guest for Episode #515 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jim Morgan , senior advisor at Lean Enterprise Institute and a board member at Adrian Steel. Jim’s most recent industry experience was as Chief Operating Officer at Rivian, a…
- Coaching for Continuous Improvement: Lean Leadership Lessons from Sports with Hugh Alley
My guest for Episode #514 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Hugh Alley , an author and consultant. He divides his time between coaching senior operational leaders in continuous improvement, training front-line leaders in core supervis…
- Insights from 'Leading Excellence': Brad Jevons and Stephen Dargan on Adaptive Leadership
My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are two of three co-authors of the upcoming book “ Leading Excellence: 5 Hats of the Adaptive Leader ” - Brad Jeavons and Stephen Dargan. Episode page with video, transcript, a…
- Flow Engineering in Action: Insights from Authors Steve Pereira and Andrew Davis
My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Steve Pereira and Andrew Davis , authors of the new book Flow Engineering: From Value Stream Mapping to Effective Action . Blog post with video, transcript, and more Steve…
- Paul Critchley on His Upcoming New England Lean Summit and More
In this special live-streamed bonus episode of the Lean Blog Interviews podcast, host Mark Graban is joined by Paul Critchley for an impromptu experiment in recording a live podcast. The episode begins with a brief introduction and a discu…
- Failing Forward: Sam Yankelevitch on Lean, Communication, and Innovation
My guest for Episode #511 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Sam Yankelevitch , a distinguished global operations executive who has dedicated his career to advancing Lean principles, effective communication, and innovative problem-solv…
- Mistake Proofing in Lean Management — Karen Martin on Zero Harm
My guest for Episode #510 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Karen Martin , Founder and CEO of TKMG and TKMG Academy, appearing for the fifth time. Episode page with video, transcript, and more She is the author of books including The…
- Bonus: Jared Thatcher on the Global Lean Summit 2024 Event
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 sp…
- Leveraging Lean & AI in Optometry: Ankit Patel's Journey from Dell to Vision Care
My guest for Episode #509 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ankit Patel , the founder of My Business Care Team, a BPO company providing services for optometrists, and co-founder with his wife Classic Vision Care, an optometry group in…
- Psychological Safety in Lean Leadership: Insights from Mike Hoseus and Toyota’s Culture
My guest for Episode #508 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Mike Hoseus , Executive Director of the Center for Quality People and Organizations and President of Lean Culture Enterprises. Episode page with video, transcript, and more H…