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Artwork for Lean Blog Audio: Practical Lean Thinking, Psychological Safety, and Continuous Improvement

Lean Blog Audio: Practical Lean Thinking, Psychological Safety, and Continuous Improvement

Mark Graban
Psychological Safety
Continuous Improvement
Leadership
Kaizen
Toyota Production System
Lean Principles
Toyota
Lean
Lean Management
Mistakes
Lean Thinking
Healthcare
Employee Engagement
Workplace Culture
W. Edwards Deming
Lean Six Sigma
Lean Manufacturing
Organizational Culture
Innovation
Motivational Interviewing

Lean Blog Audio is a short-form podcast featuring audio versions of articles from LeanBlog.org, written, read, and expanded by Mark Graban. Each episode explores practical Lean thinking, psychological safety, continuous improvement, and leadership—through real-world examples from healthcare, manufacturing, startups, and other complex work environments. Topics include learning from mistakes, reduci... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes520Founded11 years ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Business

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Artwork for Lean Blog Audio: Practical Lean Thinking, Psychological Safety, and Continuous Improvement

Latest Episodes

A title change is not a culture change. In this episode, Mark Graban draws on his early experience at GM in the mid-1990s — where "foreman" became "team coordinator" overnight without anything else changing — to explore why renaming supervisors with ... more

YouTube

Blog post with links

Three years ago, The Mistakes That Make Us came out. Around the same time, Elisabeth Swan published Picture Yourself a Leader. Both books' third birthdays felt like a decent reason to get together and talk.

On Thursday, May 7, ... more

Most AI tools answer your question with a 500-word essay full of numbered steps. You nod, close the tab, and carry on doing what you were already doing. The Lean Hospitals Coach is built around the opposite instinct -- asking questions before giving ... more

Read the blog post

TL;DR: A sound check, live song requests, and a naming regret — what watching Brandi Carlile perform taught me about specific problem-solving, vulnerability, and continuous improvement.

My wife and I got to see the amazing Brandi... more

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Number of Listeners
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Recent Guests

Larry Culp
CEO of GE Aerospace
GE Aerospace
Episode: GE’s Larry Culp: Why Lean Thinking Starts with Safety and Respect for People
Barry McCarthy
Former leader at Toyota Australia, chair of AME International Conference
Toyota Australia
Episode: How Psychological Safety Drives Digital Transformation and the Toyota Production System (or Lean)
Katie Anderson
She is leading a upcoming Lean Study Trip in May 2025.
Katie Anderson Consulting
Episode: Lost My iPhone in Tokyo: A Lesson in Japanese Kindness and Culture on My Japan Study Trip
Karen Ross
Founder of the Love and Kindness Project Foundation and co-author of 'The Toyota Way to Service Excellence'
Love and Kindness Project Foundation
Episode: Why Kindness in Leadership Matters: Lessons from 'The Mistakes That Make Us'
Jared Thatcher
Organizer of the Global Lean Summit
Global Lean Summit
Episode: I’ll Be Speaking, Learning, and Facilitating at the Global Lean Summit

Host

Mark Graban
Host of Lean Blog Audio; author and practitioner focused on Lean, continuous improvement, and leadership.

Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars from 25 ratings
  • Lean Blog Audio hosted by Mark Graban is a standout podcast for business enthusiasts. Mark's insightful interviews and deep understanding of the topic make each episode educational and engaging. He has a knack for making the topic easily digestible and turning it into actionable advice that listeners can apply to their situations. I highly recommend it - this is time well spent!

    Podchaser
    5
    Aly_Zenrabbit
    2 years ago
  • I've become a fast fan of your podcast!

    Podchaser
    5
    Kris Ward
    2 years ago
  • Strong Show

    I also find that the WSJ is often wrong on Lean. Thank you for covering this topic in your latest episode.

    Highly recommend anyone in lean or manufacturing listening to this podcast.

    If you have the time, I’m also a host of a podcast in manufacturing. Please check out, “The Right Direction Podcast” from Compass Precision.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    dmholcomb
    United States4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Guests and examples are relevant to manufacturing and healthcare operations.
Thoughtful links between mistakes, learning, and improvement that stay grounded in real work.
Listeners appreciate the blend of blog content expanded with fresh context and stories.
Clear, practical takeaways for leaders implementing Lean and safety culture.
Concise episodes that still feel substantial and useful for teams pitching improvements.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Create Your Own Lean System — But Don’t Lose Sight of These Three Things
Q: Which of these three principles would Fujio Cho say we have quietly deprioritized?
Leaders need to reflect on their engagement with the manufacturing floor, questioning practices, and methods of motivating employees.
Stop Forcing Change: Use These Motivational Interviewing Questions Instead
Q: Have you used motivational interviewing questions or a similar approach in your leadership work?
Graban invites listeners to share their experiences with motivational interviewing in leadership.
Safety First: GE Aerospace’s Lynn Facility Demonstrates True Lean Leadership
Q: What's the time when you or your team or the organization you work for prioritize safety or other core values over short-term results?
Reflecting on moments of prioritizing safety can help us understand its long-term impacts on organizational culture and success.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This short-form show revisits Lean Blog articles through the host's expansion and commentary, focusing on practical Lean thinking, psychological safety, continuous improvement, and leadership. Each episode connects real-world examples from healthcare, manufacturing, startups, and complex workplaces to how teams learn, solve problems, and reduce fear of blame. Expect accessible takeaways, concrete stories, and reflections that extend the original writing with fresh context and actionable guidance for leaders and practitioners alike. A notable strength is turning blog content into compact, real-world lessons, often centering on people, culture, and systems rather than tools alone.

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Which podcasts are similar to this podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with this podcast:

1. Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership
2. HBR On Leadership
3. HBR IdeaCast
4. SmartLess

How many episodes of this podcast are there?

this podcast launched 11 years ago and published 520 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Larry Culp
2. Barry McCarthy
3. Katie Anderson
4. Karen Ross
5. Jared Thatcher

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