Books by Mark Graban on Lean, Leadership, and Learning

I am the author of multiple books on Lean management, leadership, measurement, and psychological safety, drawing on real-world experience across healthcare and industry.

The Mistakes That Make Us

Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation

My latest book grew out of the lessons and compelling stories shared by guests on my My Favorite Mistake podcast. It started as a synthesis of those conversations, but evolved into a broader, more practical guide to learning, leadership, and improvement through mistakes. The book makes the case that psychological safety — the freedom to speak up about mistakes without fear of punishment — is the foundation for learning and innovation in any organization.

Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award Recipient, 2025.

More Information

Measures of Success

React Less, Lead Better, Improve More

Measures of Success book website
Order the Kindle version through the Amazon Kindle Store
Paperback and Hardcover are also available

Measures of Success focuses on how leaders and organizations use data to guide decisions and improvement. Drawing on real examples, the book explains why reacting to every up-and-down in performance often makes things worse — and how better thinking about variation leads to calmer leadership, better decisions, and more sustainable improvement. The book introduces Process Behavior Charts as a practical tool for separating signal from noise in any kind of performance data.

Also Published by Mark Graban

Practicing Lean

Learning How to Learn How to Get Better… Better

If we keep practicing, we might get good at it eventually. We all have a starting point in our personal “Lean journeys.” Looking back at our first year of work in Lean or continuous improvement methodologies, we probably weren't very good at it. Sixteen Lean practitioners share honest reflections on what they got wrong, what they learned, and what they wish they'd known earlier — so you can avoid repeating their mistakes and accelerate your own improvement journey.

Healthcare Improvement Books

Published by Productivity Press

Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen Cover

Lean Hospitals

Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement

A practical guide to applying Lean principles in hospitals, this award-winning book explores how organizations can improve care, reduce waste, and better engage staff. Based on real-world examples, it helps leaders build systems that benefit patients and employees alike.

Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement, (3rd edition, June 2016)
- Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award Recipient, 2009.
- 1st Edition, 2008
- 2nd Edition, 2011
- 3rd Edition, 2016

Healthcare Kaizen

Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements
Co-authored with Joe Swartz, this book shows how hospitals can create a culture of continuous improvement by involving everyone—nurses, physicians, support staff—in daily problem solving. With over 200 full-color examples, it’s a roadmap for making improvement part of the everyday work.

Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements, co-authored with Joe Swartz, 2012.
- Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award Recipient, 2013.

The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen

Leadership for a Continuously Learning and Improving Organization
Written for senior leaders, this companion to Healthcare Kaizen outlines the leadership behaviors, systems, and mindset needed to support a culture of daily improvement. It emphasizes how executives can move beyond isolated events to build sustainable, organization-wide change.

The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen: Leadership for a Continuously Learning and Improving Organization, co-authored with Joe Swartz, 2013.

Contributions to Other Titles

Mark has written the foreword for these books:

And has been a contributor to books, including:

Additional menu