Festivities for longest night of the year are an ancient ritual—and special foods are an essential element.

In Dakar, during the American holiday months and a global pandemic, every aspect of my life has shifted.

When you can’t celebrate Dong Zhi with family, a well-prepared bowl of soup can keep traditions alive—and even make new ones.

Even though we can’t be together this year, an ever-changing tradition will bring our family together with dishes from Japan.

Senegalese akara, South African bunny chow, Nigerian jollof rice — these are just a few of the flavorful dishes African immigrant chefs regularly share with their Bay Area neighbors. Each dish tells a story of ancestry, migration, and memory, and the tastes and aromas keep chefs and diners connected to home, even when they’re far … Continue reading New Series ‘Dishes of the Diaspora’ Spotlights African Food and Culture in the Bay Area →

The co-founders of Koolfi Creamery say they resonate with Harris’ mixed-Indian heritage and support of gay marriage—including their own.

Matt Horn persevered through the pandemic to open his West Oakland restaurant Horn Barbecue—to the delight of hungry crowds

Chef Oumar Diuof's Senegalese upbringing gets a South American twist in the dishes at his popular restaurant.

Pam and Wendy Drew are South African identical twins who do everything together; from travel to entering the same career paths and now owning and operating Amawele’s Cuisine in San Francisco. The name of their restaurant came easy—it simply means “The Twins” in Zulu.   Amawele’s Cuisine serves what Wendy and Pam consider to be … Continue reading Amawele’s Cuisine Brings South African Flavors to San Francisco →

I'm happy to announce a live-streamed recording of my Lean podcast with my guest Jarvis Gray. You can join us Live on Linkedin on Wednesday, October 30 at 1 pm ET. EVENT LINK The episode will also be released as a podcast via the normal feeds and my YouTube channel. But if you attend live, you can ask questions via LinkedIn Chat. We'll discuss his new book, MASTERING HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE: A Leaders Guide to Getting […]

The post Coming Soon: A Livestreamed Podcast Episode with Jarvis Gray by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

I'm very excited to depart for Japan on Sunday for the first time in five years! The week of November 11, I'll be part of Katie Anderson‘s Japan Study Trip, this time after five previous trips between 2012 and 2019 with Kaizen Institute and Honsha Consulting. Read my posts about past trips. Each time, I've learned something new, visited new companies, and met new people — and have just enjoyed everything about being in Japan. […]

The post Reflecting on my First Time Meeting Isao Yoshino in Japan — 2012 by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #518 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jerry Wright, author of the new book The Insanity Trap: What Your MRP Consultant Won't Tell You. Jerry M. Wright, PE, MBA, is an accomplished operations executive and teaching professional with over 39 years of experience in the manufacturing and service sectors.  His extensive career spans various industries, including aerospace, consumer goods, healthcare, medical […]

The post Breaking the MRP Insanity Trap: Jerry Wright on Lean Systems and Supply Chain Transformation by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

As we celebrate Halloween–a season for all things spooky–it's a good time to reflect on the “fear factor” that can haunt our workplaces. While ghosts and goblins are fun once a year, fear shouldn't be part of our day-to-day culture. Yet, in many organizations, fear holds people back from speaking up about problems, sharing new ideas, or admitting mistakes. Dr. W. Edwards Deming, a pioneer in quality and improvement, famously said: “Drive out fear so […]

The post Halloween, Dr. Deming, and Eliminating the Fear Factor at Work by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

Thanks, as always, to Ryan McCormack for this. He always shares so much good reading, listening, and viewing here! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace better. Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation Will AI Transform the Factory Floor? Want a business case approved? Just say you are implementing GenAI. Process optimization has remained focused on leveraging […]

The post Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: November 1, 2024 by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #519 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jarvis Gray, the Managing Director of The Quality Coaching Co. He offers more than 16 years of strategic planning, quality improvement, and operations leadership experience in the healthcare industry.  Through his firm, The Quality Coaching Co., Jarvis and his associates help healthcare organizations foster cultures of system-wide quality improvement by offering customized Lean Six […]

The post Achieving Healthcare Excellence: Insights from Jarvis Gray on Lean Six Sigma and Leadership by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

I'm happy to be hosting and moderating this webinar that will be presented by Brent Loescher, a fellow instructor with me at TKMG Academy. A Lean practitioner at heart, Brent received his formal Toyota Production System training while working for Toyota Motor Sales in their North American Parts Operations. He helped develop a Lean program for the landscape maintenance industry, implementing and evolving continuous improvement programs across the country since 2009. This included co-leading a […]

The post Creating Leader Standard Work (LSW) Across a Distributed Business Model — Webinar Preview by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

I'm thrilled to be back in Japan for the first time in five years. Today is the start of Katie Anderson's Japan Study Trip (learn more about joining her in May 2025). It's great to be here for another week of learning and great experiences. Little did I know, I'd kick off the trip by nearly losing my iPhone on the streets of Tokyo–a mistake that ended up teaching me a valuable lesson about Japan's […]

The post Lost My iPhone in Tokyo: A Lesson in Japanese Kindness and Culture on My Japan Study Trip by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.

need to try making this sometime

I've contributed... won't you?

looks pretty interesting... I've used flot a little bit but think there's some real promise here

there are a few good ideas in here

this is 100% dead-on

redis-server implemented in erlang with more (better?) persistance options

that's kinda nuts

a great little store that we just visited for the first time today

good answer to what null is about in javascript

this really is a good list of books

handy reference

some useful tests and data that help to validate a lot of what we already do at craigslist

We made this a few nights ago and it kicked ass.

Works good for me.

a long but well written and informative posting on how to negotiate your salary when taking a new job

https://www.facebook.com/200466826663482/posts/3695679180475545/

https://www.abc27.com/investigators/shawns-law-york-county-mom-fights-for-tougher-penalties-against-those-who-encourage-others-to-take-their-own-life/?fbclid=IwAR2vuraueQvuG0cAOXMuLd8uw9zWUIqA4Kbvm61m3x4aE_UIOM1ewT_WBfU

The PA House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday passed 8 bills designed to combat human trafficking. Here are highlights as we shared them on Twitter. The PCC has long supported such legislation. PA House Judiciary Committee this morning passed 8 bills with strong bipartisan support that are designed to fight the crime of human trafficking. The PCC has long supported such measures. We talked with committee Chair Rep. Rob Kauffman after the vote. @PAHouseGOP @PaHouseDems pic.twitter.com/FF7POQKYL4 — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 A package of 8 bills was passed this morning by the PA House Judiciary Committee to combat human trafficking in PA. The package included HB 246 by Rep. Natalie Mihalek. She talked about the bill prior to the vote. @PAHouseGOP @RepMihalek pic.twitter.com/VYPJc2NSpR — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 Rep. Meghan Schroeder explains her bill on human trafficking, HB 580, to the PA House Judiciary Committee. The bill passed this morning and we hope it will soon be considered by the full House. The PCC supports these human trafficking bills. @PAHouseGOP pic.twitter.com/SRD61DojSF — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 Rep. Craig Williams is the prime sponsor of HB 1130, a measure designed to fight human trafficking that passed the PA House Judiciary Committee this morning. Williams talked about his bill and about his background. @PAHouseGOP pic.twitter.com/3T3xPPG1CX — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 PCC has long supported legislation to fight human trafficking. That has carried over into the package of bills that was passed today out of committee dealing with that crime. Here, Rep. Marci Mustello, sponsor of HB 231, addresses House Judiciary Comm. @PAHouseGOP @Marci4PA11 pic.twitter.com/7tbM8o6Iwy — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021 Rep. Barry Jozwiak addresses the PA House Judiciary Committee prior to the vote on his human trafficking bill, HB 753. The bill was passed along with 7 other bills designed to combat human trafficking. The PCC has long supported such legislation. @PAHouseGOP pic.twitter.com/AWJWRL8Vmk — PAcatholic (@PAcatholic) April 20, 2021          

Today’s PCC Podcast features a review of yesterday’s PA House Committee meeting on the bill to prevent biological males from participating as females in sports across our state. We also have the first two installments of “Capitol Insight. “ https://fb.watch/7b_n1kgQBS/  

The 4th and final part of our series on human trafficking explains what lawmakers and the PCC have been doing to help solve the problem. https://fb.watch/7X9-8f1Bdi/

We talk with Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack about the efforts to fight human trafficking. https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732753579746685324?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732765713054470239?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732766219596435926?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1732775470393889221?s=20 Facebook ? Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/hieNMkimGABgrjaS/?mibextid=d6eG65   ? Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/5pnu4uYDr4DXCvJc/?mibextid=d6eG65   ? Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/qH2GGUt8zv8SKdX3/?mibextid=d6eG65        

As part of the PCC’s efforts on human trafficking, we’re talking with advocates and lawmakers about what is being done to address the issue. Today I’m sharing a series of sound bites from an interview I did with Christine Commerce from the Alliance to End Human Trafficking. https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1736783868848492574?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1736796871337599054?s=20   https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1736818153110307184?s=20              

We talked with PA Senator Maria Collett about two bills to combat human trafficking. The PCC supports these measures. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Kt42YCggWSg8cSfu/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/81hHpExotYkCzhXr/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/pwQ7FQ6FNsH9toZA/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/drx1X9Wqukp77EwZ/?mibextid=WC7FNe  

We continue our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues with a look at Morning Star Pregnancy Services. They do an outstanding job working with women facing unplanned pregnancies. https://fb.watch/bEB-FxMfAj/ The Harrisburg location for Morning Star Pregnancy Services at 2509 Front Street is relatively new, but the service itself is celebrating its 50th year in existence in 2022. The mission remains the same—helping women with unplanned pregnancies and with their sexual health. It offers a number of free health services, including pregnancy testing and ultrasound exams, along with education and support after the pregnancy. Morningstar does not provide or refer for abortion services but they help you to consider all options, including abortion, parenting and adoption. Bottom line, they are there for support. “We know that all mothers would like to feel loved and supported in their pregnancy and beyond. We are also able to reach out to the fathers of their children and offer them support and education as well,” said Morningstar Executive Director Linda Plummer. She says they see a range of women and men who have just had a positive pregnancy test and just can’t see beyond the immediate challenge. “The majority of women don’t want an abortion. They just feel like they don’t have another solution.” Morningstar will schedule regular visits for clients and will monitor the changing circumstances as the weeks progress. As the circumstances change, so do the perspectives. 6:12   “the first time they come to Morningstar and feel that they have no alternative but abortion, they change on their second visit when we invite them back in a decision-making process on a weekly basis. They may come the second time and say, well now my boyfriend says maybe we can have this baby or now my parents are saying they will support me.” Plummer also points out that 25 to 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Morningstar will help to determine the viability of the fetus through ultrasound testing. “Because a lot of those pregnancies end in miscarriage, what we see here is that women grieve that loss of the baby so in the process, they recognize the idea that if I had gone through with an abortion, I would have been carrying this burden and I would have been mourning the loss of that child.” They’ve been around for 50 years and must be doing something right for folks to keep coming back. The commitment to providing care and support without judgement has translated into a very impressive statistic. “80% of the time that women who come here who are at risk for an abortion will decide to have their child.” Plummer says many of the 20% who choose otherwise later return in a subsequent pregnancy.

Our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues continues today with a look at the Heart of Tioga Pregnancy Center in Tioga County, PA and the support it gets from parishioners at Holy Child Catholic Church in the Diocese of Scranton. https://fb.watch/bHgvkXjO3Z/

Our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues continues today with a look at the Tri-State Pregnancy Center in northeastern PA. The facility gets help from local Catholics and on-the-spot advice from above! https://fb.watch/bHh3c7Z-Hu/

Our series on Maternal & Early Childhood Issues continues today with a look at the extensive work being done by the Community Based Services segment of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. https://fb.watch/bHhrh-1oe7/

Sarah Bowen of the Promise of Life Network crisis pregnancy center near Pittsburgh talked with me about the motivation behind the campaign by abortion advocates against the work these centers do, which is to provide women with support during an unplanned pregnancy. https://x.com/PAcatholic/status/1703790777099235616?s=20   https://fb.watch/nccvJtmh6p/?mibextid=cr9u03  

Pro-life advocates and lawmakers gather to announce the PA Pregnancy Wellness Collaborative. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/YL56s6U58gGx8Jnk/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/EiJgsVRXaqcUBuQR/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ohEkGPr137To6Da9/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/DuYiPPtB31qPaVZj/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Here are some of our postings for Monday’s PA March for Life. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/KNZfyjbgaMeFPfj3/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/gp5xVu7y8kxW49kv/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/YpxiCotA4v22Q7tb/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/uNFWLVKh3vcTHH7u/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ZJmyUxQnDzEUQs1N/?mibextid=WC7FNe  

The PA House and Senate were both in session this past week at the PA Capitol in Harrisburg. Here are a few highlights that were posted on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/kpVrbTF41UPcBL54/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/uik5nA16bt1GWLqq/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/QazY1igbzN39gMnp/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/xErRDMW4up3xqnUd/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/BTANcczmJ8tWi1nF/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Gir5L55U3Jmbjwbe/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/jkV5K1hAcJqWgv8R/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Qyo2YZxaYrJzf5wh/?mibextid=WC7FNe