Award-Winning author announces his latest book, "Baby's First Lean Book"

SAN ANTONIO - April 1, 2013 - PRLog -- Award-winning author Mark Graban has announced the upcoming release of his third book, "Baby's First Lean Book" to be published through Baka Eipuriru Press (Tokyo). The book takes a creative approach to teaching proven "Lean Management" principles to babies and their parents, leading to measurable improvements in childhood development and parental satisfaction.

The book is based upon three years of global research, with a team of MIT researchers, led by Graban, looking into parenting practices in Japan, North America, and Europe. "We were clearly inspired by the groundbreaking research of the late 1980s, led by James P. Womack, that showed that so-called 'Japanese production methods,' or 'lean' could be transferred into organizations around the world. This is a similar coming revolution in parenting," said Graban.

These "lean parenting" techniques are proven to raise smarter, happier, and more productive babies, reducing the "time to market" of a fully-mature college graduate from 22 years to just 15.A baby is the "ultimate Lean Startup," adds Graban.

Serving as "chief improvement officer" for the software company KaiNexus provided the perfect cover for his research, said Graban. "Anybody who believed that 'chief improvement officer' was a real job title should be particularly careful to not respond to foreign emails asking for bank account information," he added. KaiNexus CEO, Dr. Gregory Jacobson, a co-leader of the research project, said, "We at KaiNexus apologize to anybody who thought our software platform was actually a cutting-edge web-based approach that is proven to 'make improvement easier for healthcare systems and other industries... all part of the ruse."

The book uses colorful cartoon versions of the author and leading Lean experts, past and present, including Taiichi Ohno, James P. Womack, John Shook, and Mike Rother, to teach basic Lean concepts to babies.

Topics covered in the book include:

• The core Lean principle of "Respect for Poppa and Meemaw"
• "Baby heijunka," or the level-loading of feeding schedules and diaper changes
• The application of "5S" and "3P" principles to re-organizing and designing effective and ergonomic baby nurseries and play rooms
• A case study detailing the conversion of the popular "Easy Bake Oven" toy into continuous flow.
• Lessons on how to use Mike Rother's "Baby Kata" method and John Shook's • • "Baby A3" approach to teach scientific problem solving to babies
• The differences between "Real Baby Lean" and "B.L.A.M.E." - or Baby Lean As Misguidedly Executed
• Much, much more

The book will be published using specially-designed drool-proof paper, running about 40 full-color pages. It will also be available in a multi-media iBooks format that's simply "stunning" and "revolutionary," says Graban.

The foreword is written by Professor Bob Emiliani, PhD, author of the five book series, "Real Lean for Teens," with volume six due to be released next month.

Merchandise is also available, including mugs and clothing, with proceeds to benefit the Louise Batz Patient Safety Foundation.

KaiNexus is also announcing their "KaiNexus for Kids" platform that "makes improvement easier for babies" - to be available on Monday. Learn more at www.kainexus.com/kids.

To learn more about the book, visit www.BabysFirstLeanBook.com starting Monday, April 1. Contact the author at mark@LeanBlog.org for review copies or media requests.

About Mark Graban

Mark Graban is a consultant, author, keynote speaker, and blogger in the world of “Lean Healthcare.”In addition to his first book, “Lean Hospitals,” Mark has also co-authored a new book, titled “Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements,” released in July 2012. He is the founder and lead blogger and podcaster at LeanBlog.org, started in January 2005. Mark is a popular speaker at conferences and private healthcare meetings. He has guest lectured at schools including MIT and Wharton and has served as a faculty member for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He has been quoted and interviewed in many publications, including Health Affairs and the New York Times.For more information, visit http://www.MarkGraban.com or http://www.LeanHospitalsBook.com.

About KaiNexus

Founded in 2009, KaiNexus “makes improvement easier (http://kainexus.com/home.html)” for healthcare by facilitating communication throughout the entire organization with its web-based technology.  KaiNexus helps initiate, manage, and spread ideas that come from clinicians and front-line staff, streamlining the management process required for continuous improvement to thrive.  It is built for the realities of today’s complex healthcare organizations, helping better facilitate staff and physician-driven continuous improvement efforts.

The KaiNexus platform has been in use by multiple departments throughout the Vanderbilt University Medical Center since early 2011, after they participated in the development of early versions of the software, starting in 2005.   KaiNexus is now in use in fifteen healthcare organizations, including University of North Carolina Health Care System, University of Michigan Health System, Presbyterian Healthcare Services (New Mexico), Cook Children’s Health System, and Centra Health, as well as a trucking and logistics company.

For more information, visit http://www.KaiNexus.com or check out KaiNexus on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.