A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of October 2026.

You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

Time Is a Lean Leader’s Most Valuable Resource – Ron Pereira reflects on why leaders must use their limited time intentionally to support people, solve problems, and improve.

Signals & Levers: Elisabeth Hendrickson and Joel Tosi on Change Theater, Open Loops, and Systems Thinking for Software Teams – Mark Graban discusses how systems-thinking tools can help software teams expose change theater, close open loops, and improve delivery.

Put Tools Where You Can See Them – Paul Akers shares a short practical example showing how keeping tools visible and accessible can make everyday work easier.

How 37signals Rewards Performance – Christopher Chapman examines how incentive pay can distort performance and contrasts it with Deming’s emphasis on systems and customer focus.

Lean Was Always an Experiment – Josh Howell argues that Lean grew through experimentation and that practitioners should approach unfamiliar improvement efforts with curiosity rather than quick judgments.

You Can’t Improve What You Don’t Commit To – Steve Pereira explains that making invisible work visible only creates improvement when leaders establish the commitment and mechanisms to act on what they uncover.

The Lean Transformation at Viwinco, Part 4: Companywide Performance Management and Planning – George Taninecz explores how companywide performance management and planning helped connect the elements of Viwinco’s Lean transformation.

Toyota Veteran Naoto Kitagawa’s 17 Principles for Chief Engineers – Lex Schroeder highlights lessons from Toyota’s product-development system and the chief engineer’s role in creating customer value.

What the History of Lean Can Teach Us About AI Adoption – Art Smalley draws on Lean’s history to explain why organizational adoption often lags behind technological advances in AI.

Rebecca Teeters, President of Chemical Operations, 3M: Your Best Benchmark Isn’t in Your Industry – Jamie Flinchbaugh talks with Rebecca Teeters about how looking beyond your own industry can reveal new ideas for operations and transformation.

Creating a Continuous Improvement System in Accounting: Nick Katko on PDCA, Culture, and Psychological Safety – Mark Graban and Nick Katko explore how PDCA, psychological safety, and a structured system can help accounting teams solve problems instead of repeatedly fixing them.

Ask, Don’t Tell: How Humble Inquiry Builds Deeper Connection with Peter Schein – Katie Anderson and Peter Schein discuss how asking thoughtful questions helps leaders build trust, deepen relationships, and encourage learning.

Kaizen is Necessary But Not Sufficient – Pascal Dennis reflects on why incremental Kaizen must be supported by broader leadership practices and management systems to sustain a Lean transformation.

Think, Act, Improve: Lessons from As a Man Thinketh – Ron Pereira reflects on James Allen’s classic and how our thoughts influence the choices, habits, and improvement actions we take.