A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of May 2026.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

Levelling Up the Centre of Excellence – Pascal Dennis explains protecting the core business with Lean/OpEx and igniting new Growth with Digital is hard because each entails different mindsets & skillsets.

The Right Leadership Call, Built in Advance – Kevin Meyer contrasts Johnson & Johnson’s principled and proactive response to the 1982 Tylenol crisis with BP and Boeing’s delayed, self-protective reactions to their own disasters, illustrating that enduring leadership stems from values, character, and culture established before a crisis occurs.

Start Every Process Improvement Effort with the Primary Metric – John Knotts emphasizes that successful process improvement projects must begin with a clearly defined, trended primary metric, as this establishes clarity, focus, and measurable results, preventing common pitfalls and elevating project quality.

The Angel in the Marble – Ron Pereira uses Michelangelo’s quote to illustrate that true leadership is about recognizing and freeing the hidden potential within people, rather than piling on tasks or managing problems, by removing obstacles and seeing what’s already inside each person.

What “Respect for People” Actually Looks Like on a Tuesday Morning – Emily Kauten says respect for people in Lean practice is demonstrated through specific, consistent leadership behaviors—such as actionable help, careful communication, structural trust-building, and kind responses—that move beyond vague principles and create a culture where improvement is safe, valued, and sustained.

Why Your Lean Transformation Stalled After Year 5 (And What to Do About It) – Mark Graban explains that Lean transformations often stall after initial success because organizations focus on tools and methodology rather than systematically designing, practicing, and reinforcing leadership behaviors and trust, which are essential for sustaining continuous improvement.

The F1 Pit Stop Analogy You Haven’t Actually Used – Kevin Meyer says while Formula 1 pit stops are often used as metaphors for speed and efficiency in lean operations, he argues that their true value lies in their structured approach to handoffs, reliability under pressure, and adaptability to team turnover, offering deeper lessons for process improvement across industries.

How Habit Science Can Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement – Maggie Millard explains that sustaining continuous improvement habits in organizations requires deliberately designing cues, easy routines, and immediate rewards based on habit science, rather than relying solely on training or methodology.

How to Design Habit Loops for 5 Continuous Improvement Behaviors – Greg Jacobson provides practical guidance on designing cues, routines, and rewards for five key continuous improvement behaviors—daily huddles, idea submission, gemba walks, coaching conversations, and recognition—emphasizing that sustained improvement relies on systems that support habit formation rather than individual willpower.

Are You Solving the Right Problem? The Most Common (and Costly) Mistake in Continuous Improvement  – Lynn Howell says the most costly mistake in continuous improvement is focusing on solutions before fully understanding the real problem, emphasizing that organizations should prioritize clear problem statements to ensure improvement efforts address

Belief vs. Compliance: Why Lean Still Struggles to Take Root – Mark Graban says lean initiatives struggle to take root not because of resistance to change, but because organizations often demand compliance rather than fostering genuine belief, with sustainable transformation relying on trust, consistent leadership behaviors, and creating environments where people feel safe to openly participate and improve.

Design Products That Delight Your Customers and Enable Your Manufacturing – Dave Leone and James Morgan say dimensional control in Lean Product and Process Development is a critical, often overlooked discipline that ensures high-quality, precisely crafted products by designing for variation, leading to measurable improvements in fit, finish, customer satisfaction, and substantial cost savings.

The Best of Us – Jim Womack pays tribute to Orry Fiume, the exceptional CFO who transformed lean accounting at Wiremold and beyond. Unlike typical financial leaders, Fiume mastered shop floor details and reimagined how companies measure value and competitive advantage.