Lean Roundup #192 – May 2025

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of May 2025.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.  

 

Psychological Safety: You get your say, not always your way. – Mark Graban explains that psychological safety doesn't mean consensus. It doesn't mean you'll get your way every time.

 

The Improvement Kata and DMAIC – Mark Rosenthal talks about the connection between the improvement kata and DMAIC principles.

 

Failure to Identify Risks - Alen Ganic explores three common categories of risk—technical, people, and timing—through examples that illustrate the importance of proactive risk management.

 

The 3 Levels of Lean Mistake-Proofing (Poka-Yoke): How to Prevent Defects and Boost Quality (Boston Edition) - Paul Critchley explores the three levels Lean mistake-proofing and how you can apply them to optimize your operations with a New England style example.

 

The Importance of Act in the PDCA – Christoph Roser says despite its apparent simplicity, there are many struggles involved with PDCA’s proper use and it seems that the Act part is especially challenging so he digs deeper into why and how to Act in the PDCA.

 

Stop Reacting to Red Light Metrics: Why ‘Two Reds in a Row’ Is a Misleading Rule of Thumb – Mark Graban writes about how people react to “red” data points in their workplace metrics, misleading rules of thumb, and why process behavior charts are more valid.

 

The Hardest Thing - Seeing What Is - Pascal Dennis talks about the cognitive biases that afflict human beings and hinder our ability to see.

 

The Control Tower – Learning to See What Is – Pascal Dennis talk about perhaps the most useful management system: the Control Tower (aka Big Room, Cockpit or ‘Obeya’).

 

Yokoten: Capturing and Sharing Best Practices - José R. Ferro explains that to accelerate learning and change, don’t copy blindly—observe, adapt, and apply with purpose and that’s where yokoten drives real transformation.

 

Executing Strategy through Daily Management  - Robson Gouveia and José R. Ferro explain how daily management closes the gap between strategy and execution by aligning daily work with strategic objectives, enabling real-time performance tracking, and fostering a culture of problem-solving.

 

Perspectives on People-Centric Improvement - Mark Reich highlights the essential role of people in driving lasting improvement. Drawing from Toyota’s principle of respect for people, contributors explore how activating, developing, and engaging employees unlocks true productivity and sustainable transformation across organizations.

 

A Free Resource for Leaders: The Mistake-Smart Leader’s Checklist – Mark Graban created a simple new resource from Singo Prize winning book The Mistakes That Make Us, that you can use as a team conversation prompt, a coaching framework, or a reminder on your office wall.