The following is an edited and annotated excerpt from my Shingo Award-winning book Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement. To me, “mistakes” and “errors” are synonyms, so a discussion of “mistake-proofing” is the same as “error-proofing.” A Serious Problem With Large, Unknowable Numbers It is hard to… Read More "Preventing Mistakes in Healthcare – An Excerpt from ‘Lean Hospitals’"
A Botched Overtime Coin Toss 25 Years Ago; At Least It Led to Rule Changes
I remember watching this game live on TV, and I can’t believe this mistake happened 25 years ago now! From The Athletic: The Lions, the Steelers and a crazy, botched Thanksgiving coin flip 25 years ago You can watch video of it on the NFL’s YouTube channel. At the start… Read More "A Botched Overtime Coin Toss 25 Years Ago; At Least It Led to Rule Changes"
Happy Accident: “Inverted Jenny” Mistake Stamp Sells for $2 Million
Recently, a fascinating piece of news caught my attention on NPR: the sale of the “Inverted Jenny” stamp for a staggering $2 million. This story isn’t just a quirky anecdote about a philatelic error; it’s a profound illustration of how mistakes can transform into unexpected value, a theme central to… Read More "Happy Accident: “Inverted Jenny” Mistake Stamp Sells for $2 Million"
Embracing the Experimentalist Mindset: Lessons from Wisconsin Volleyball’s Success
This article caught my eye the other day: ‘We’re scientists right now’: Wisconsin volleyball’s unconventional path to success I love this mindset from Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield: “Wisconsin’s coach sees things eclectically. He doesn’t believe there’s a limit to discoverable answers in the game. Think like a scientist, Sheffield tells… Read More "Embracing the Experimentalist Mindset: Lessons from Wisconsin Volleyball’s Success"
The Mistakes Are Bigger at The State Fair of Texas
As I write about in The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, there are knowledge-based mistakes (where you don’t know how to do something the right way) and there are execution mistakes (where you know what to do, but you slip up and do something… Read More "The Mistakes Are Bigger at The State Fair of Texas"
A Tragic Oversight: How Misunderstandings and Staffing Shortages Led to a Patient’s Death in the ICU
In an unsettling tale from within our hospitals, a friend recently relayed an alarming incident. It’s a story that unveils the complex challenges our healthcare professionals grapple with and the silent crises that occasionally go unnoticed. A diligent nurse, fresh out of school with just a year’s experience under her… Read More "A Tragic Oversight: How Misunderstandings and Staffing Shortages Led to a Patient’s Death in the ICU"