This is part of the Other Bloggers Review series where I write about other bloggers around the web.
leanblog.org is a blog run by Mark Graban. The site is running WordPress with the Thesis theme.
Mark is currently employed by the software company KaiNexus. Mark’s focus is on lean and Toyota Production System principles to improve quality of care and patient safety, to improve the customer/patient experience, to help the development of medical professionals and employees, and to help build strong organizations for the long term. At the end of each post appears the following:
“About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals.”
Mark like myself earned a B.S. and M.S. in engineering from Northwestern University. However, Mark also went on to get his MBA.
Mark has published several books and has written numerous articles which are listed over at http://www.markgraban.com/publications/. Mark also has given numerous speeches and has more coming in 2012 located over at http://www.markgraban.com/speaking/. For those interested in Mark’s past projects take a look at http://www.markgraban.com/about-mark-graban/projects/.
Mark decided to put a bunch of his best posts from 2011 into an eBook and paperback available for purchase for around $10 to $20 depending on what platform you are interested in over at http://www.leanblog.org/blog/best-of-2011-ebook/.
leanblog.org has been up with posts since January 2005 and just last month in December 2011 Mark still remains very active and posted on most days with a few 2 or 3 days gaps between posts.
For those looking to see what the best posts and most commented posts are on the blog check out http://www.leanblog.org/archives/best-posts/. A good place to start his Mark’s post “Where Did I Start with Lean?” published on July 23, 2009.
An excellent post by Mark appeared on April Fool’s Day in April 1, 2010 titled “A New Way to Learn Lean? Wii Lean!” In the post Mark makes a April Fool’s joke about a new video game ‘coming out’ in Japan for the Nintendo Wii which plays similar to the Wii Sports games.
Mark mentions a book that was released a few years ago which provides summaries for the 100 Best Business Books of All Time. He makes this list available on his site in a February 9, 2009, blog post located over at http://www.leanblog.org/2009/02/100-top-business-books/. Mark highlights the books on the list he has read and also the ones he wants to read. I think this list has a wealth of information for those looking for some help with their business and inspiration.
The books on this list I have personally read include
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- How To Win Friends and Influence People
- What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
- Emotional Intelligence
I wish I would have come across this list when I was younger as the books seem to provide a wealth of information and I personally recommend you start the younger the better. I read many of the books mentioned above in High School.
Mark also has a video podcast series which currently has 17 videos http://www.leanblog.org/podcasts/video-podcast/ and an audio podcast series which has 134 videos http://www.leanblog.org/podcasts/audio-podcast/.
Mark has a very interesting post that was recently updated on November 19, 2011, titled “Statistics on Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Problems – Errors & Harm.” This post provides many statistics on healthcare safety and quality and it appears he updates this list frequently. Mark mentions that between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year in U.S. hospitals due to preventable medical errors. In this post he mentions that 99,000 people die as a result of hospital-acquired infections each year and another 7,000 people due from medication errors. A wealth of information on quality of hospitals is provided in this post that can be very startling for many.
I feel that I have only scratched the surface of Mark’s blog leanblog.org. If you are at all interested in improving healthcare quality and patient safety it is certainly a place you should check out. Even if your passions lie in other business areas I would still recommend visiting the site and seeing what Mark has to offer.
