The Blog Post

Twenty years after Toyota Culture was published, Jeffrey Liker’s lessons still expose why so many Lean efforts stall — and why Toyota’s thinking continues to matter in 2026.

In this episode, Mark revisits a three-part podcast series recorded in 2008 with Professor Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way and Toyota Culture. Together, they explored what most organizations miss when they try to “implement Lean”: culture is not an add-on. It is the system.

This reflection connects Liker’s insights to today’s leadership challenges — high turnover, pressure for speed, tool-driven transformations, and the temptation to replace leadership with dashboards and templates.

Key themes include:

• Why Lean fails when it’s treated as a toolbox instead of a management system

• The “people value stream” and why development and retention are leadership work

• Servant leadership, the manager-as-teacher role, and the idea of “no power” at senior levels

• Why stability, trust, and psychological safety are prerequisites for continuous improvement

• How turnover, silence, and disengagement are system problems — not people problems

The conclusion is clear: technology has changed, but the hard work has not. Sustainable improvement still depends on leaders willing to invest in people, create stability, and build systems that allow problems to surface and learning to occur.

If you’re serious about improvement in 2026, this episode is a reminder that Lean is still a leadership test — not a tools deployment.

The blog post

How should organizations think about using AI in Kaizen and continuous improvement? In this AudioBlog, Mark Graban argues that there are no clear answers yet—and that uncertainty is exactly why AI should be approached through small, disciplined PDSA cycles rather than big bets or hype-driven rollouts.

Instead of treating AI as an expert or decision-maker, Mark frames it as a thought partner—a tool that can support brainstorming, reflection, coaching feedback, and clearer documentation. Used this way, AI becomes another input into the learning process, not a replacement for judgment, gemba observation, or human relationships.

The episode emphasizes what AI can’t do—build trust, observe real work, or validate improvement—and why those limitations reinforce the need for small tests of change. When AI is used with curiosity, restraint, and real-world validation, it can support learning without undermining the purpose of Kaizen itself.

The takeaway: treat AI like any other countermeasure. Start small. Learn quickly. Keep humans firmly in charge of thinking and improvement.

the blog post

Why do Lean practices like pull systems and heijunka fail to take hold in so many organizations? In this AudioBlog, Mark Graban argues that the problem isn’t the tools—it’s how Lean is applied. Too often, organizations cherry-pick visible practices like 5S, huddles, or kaizen events while avoiding the harder work of adopting Lean as a complete management system.

This episode explores why foundational elements such as leveling, pull, and continuous improvement only work when supported by long-term thinking, aligned leadership behaviors, and psychological safety. Mark explains how these methods surface uncomfortable truths about variation, instability, and decision-making—and why organizations that lack a learning culture tend to avoid them. Drawing on Toyota Way principles, he makes the case that Lean fails when it’s treated as a toolkit for short-term results instead of a system designed for sustained learning and improvement.

If Lean hasn’t delivered the results you expected, this episode invites a more fundamental question: are you practicing Lean as a system—or just using the parts that feel convenient?