Shingo Publication Award recipients – Mark Graban
Three Books, Three Shingo Awards
Lean in hospitals. Kaizen on the front line. Learning from mistakes.
The Shingo Institute, part of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, recognizes books that add to the body of knowledge on operational excellence. Three of Mark Graban’s books have received its publication award, in 2009, 2013, and 2025.
The topics differ. The thread running through all three is the same: improvement depends on how leaders treat people, not just on which tools they use.
2025 Shingo Publication Award
The Mistakes That Make Us
Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation
Why do some organizations learn from mistakes while others keep repeating them? Drawing on stories from the My Favorite Mistake podcast and research on psychological safety, this book shows how leaders can make it safe to admit mistakes, and then turn those lessons into improvement.
2013 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award
Healthcare Kaizen
Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements – with Joe Swartz
How do you get improvement ideas from the people closest to the work, and actually put them into practice? Built on the experience of Franciscan St. Francis Health System, with more than 200 full-color examples of staff-led improvements. For senior leaders, see the companion book, The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen.
2009 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award
Lean Hospitals
Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement – now in its third edition
The first Shingo-recognized book on applying Lean in healthcare. It explains how hospitals can use the Lean management system to improve safety, quality, access, and morale while reducing cost, with examples from real healthcare organizations.
Bring the ideas into your organization
Find a signed copy, see all of Mark’s books, or explore a keynote or workshop to help your team put the ideas into practice.