Mark by Mark Graban

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 19, 2026

Every Muppet Is Bad at Their Job (And That's the Point)

Joe Hennes of Tough Pigs on what actually makes the Muppets work: everyone is dumb in their own way, and everyone is bad…

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 18, 2026

Disney+ Should Be Greenlighting 4 Muppet Specials a Year

Joe Hennes of Tough Pigs makes the case that Disney+ has been thinking about The Muppets the wrong way. Forget the…

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 18, 2026

I Got Hired at My Dream Company. It Got Complicated. | Joe Hennes

Joe Hennes built his career around Muppets -- first as editor-in-chief of Tough Pigs, then as an employee at Sesame…

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 18, 2026

The Hidden Cost of Working at Your Dream Company | Joe Hennes

Joe Hennes spent years writing about Sesame Street as a superfan. Then he got hired there. Then he got laid off. In this…

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 17, 2026

AI Can Make a Bad Process Faster. That's Not the Point.

The old line was "don't automate a bad process." The AI version is the same idea with the volume turned up. Tell AI to…

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 16, 2026

How NUMMI Forced Toyota to Codify Its Management System

Before NUMMI, Toyota's management system existed mostly in the social fabric of the company -- in bits and pieces, in…

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 15, 2026

Deming Said It: "They Don't Know What to Copy"

A Deming-ism Mark Graban brings up here: "They don't know what to copy." GM had a green book called the Competitive…

Mark Graban: Lean Leadership & More May 15, 2026

NUMMI's 5 Management Strategies, From a 1987 GM Document

From a January 1987 GM Confidential document I found in the Don Ephlin papers at Wayne State's Reuther Library -- the…