A Bending Column, a Bad Answer, and the Real Test of a Speak-Up Culture

Lean Blog by Mark Graban · Jul 15, 2026

Sean Dow was on the 22nd floor of a Manhattan high-rise last week, working on the building's sprinkler system, when he noticed something wrong with the concrete slab: cracks where cracks don't belong. The building is Pfizer's former headquarters on East 42nd Street, now being converted from offices into roughly 1,600 apartments. The enormous redevelopment includes adding floors to part of the complex, making this far more than a cosmetic renovation. Dow went down a […] The post A Bending Column, a Bad Answer, and the Real Test of a Speak-Up Culture by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean…