Lean Blog Audio Mark Graban Podcasts

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?


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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.


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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!


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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.






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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


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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

and2) Wrong-site, wrong-side, and wrong-patient surgeries would never occurBut, of course, it's not that simple.What works?Mistake-proofing works.






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