Mark Graban is the KaiNexus VP of Customer Success. He is author of two Shingo Research Award-winning books, and has worked as a consultant to healthcare organizations throughout North America and Europe, teaching and implementing Kaizen and other Lean management practices. Mark is also the founder of the popular LeanBlog.org and its podcast series. We asked him to share what he’s been reading this week. Enjoy!

For my installment of the Friday Five, I’d like to share five blogs related to improvement that I highly recommend. Instead of just sharing five articles, I’d like to give a gift that will keep on giving (assuming that the bloggers keep at it!).

Everyday Innovators

Eric Dickson, MD, MHCM is the President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care and he’s a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He regularly blogs about Lean, Kaizen, and process improvement, including these posts:

• Who Is Going To Do What By When?

• Our Way

• What A Waste!
  
  

Bob Emiliani

Bob Emilani is professor at Central Connecticut State University and a prolific author on topics of Lean Leadership. He more recently added a blog and a Twitter feed to his repertoire. Some recent posts that caught my eye:

• Lean as Decoration

• Shingijutsu-Kaizen

• Fat Behaviors Forever

• Secrets Of Lean Leadership
  
  

Idea-Driven Organization

Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder are professors and authors of the book we love here at KaiNexus - The Idea-Driven Organization. They have been actively blogging about concepts in the book, including these posts:

• Top-Down Innovation Is Orderly But Dumb

• Using Idea Activators To Help Your People Come Up With More Ideas

• A High-Performing System Helps You Face an Uncertain Future With More Confidence
  
  

Edit Innovation

Matt May is a former Toyota University instructor and is a published author with books including The Laws of Subtraction, The Shibumi Strategy, In Pursuit of Elegance, and The Elegant Solution. Matt’s current blog focuses on innovation and improvement, with posts including:

• You Can’t Craft A New Strategy Until…

• An Exercise in Observation: Practicing Your Genchi Genbutsu

• Getting Unstuck
  
  

Lean Healthcare Exchange

This is the blog written by staff and leaders, including Charles Hagood, at Healthcare Performance Partners, an official partner of KaiNexus. Recent posts include:

• Hold Your Friends Close, and Your Problems Even Closer

• Root Cause Thinking as a Life or Death Imperative

• I Mean No Disrespect: Avoiding the Blame Game

What blogs do you read and enjoy? Leave a comment to let us know.