You’re Not Hiring Talent. You’re Renting It.

You finally found the perfect hire. The one who did this exact job, at a company just like yours, for six years. No training required. You felt the relief of it. Someone who already knows the work, who can start Monday and contribute by Friday. Six m...

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Jun 02, 2026
Join us May 7: Mistakes and Leadership Lessons

The Mistakes That Make Us is a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award from the Shingo Institute!Hi :Three years ago, my book "The Mistakes That Make Us" came out. Around the same time, Elisabeth Swan published "Picture Yourself a Leader." Two diff...

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Apr 30, 2026
A new book, and four titles I can't choose between

The Mistakes That Make Us is a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award from the Shingo Institute!Hi :I haven't mentioned this here yet, but I'm writing a new book. It's a practical guide for Lean leaders on psychological safety -- why so many impro...

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Apr 22, 2026
What you can't learn about Lean without going to Japan

The Mistakes That Make Us is a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award from the Shingo Institute!Hi :There's a limit to what you can learn about the Toyota Production System from books, courses, and conferences. I say that as someone who writes the...

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Mar 30, 2026
Your Lean coach should ask questions, not write essays

The Mistakes That Make Us is a recipient of the Shingo Publication Award from the Shingo Institute!Hi :Here's something odd about AI coaching tools: they're all trained to be maximally helpful, which means the moment you ask a question, they give you...

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Mar 08, 2026