Formerly known as ”Lean Whiskey.” Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh share more than just their MIT degrees: they’re authors, speakers, and trusted voices in the Lean community... plus they’re both serious about their coffee. Each episode offers insightful discussions on essential topics like operational excellence, leadership effectiveness, organizational culture, problem-solving strategies, innovation, and building a thriving Lean culture. Whether you’re an experienced executive, an ambitious…
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n Episode 9 of Lean Coffee Talk, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh begin with World Cup observations that turn into a broader discussion about process measures, results, technology, officiating, and why referees are rarely the primary reason a team loses. Episode links and more Over coffee—cold brew for Mark and a pour-over for Jamie—they examine Toyota’s work with coffee farmers in Thailand.…
Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh sit down with single-origin coffees and a 1987 GM Confidential report Mark pulled from the Don Ephlin papers at Wayne State's Reuther Library. The document, "NUMMI Management Practices: Executive Summary," lays out five management strategies behind the joint venture's success and the line that ties them together: "The key to NUMMI's success is not its tools or…
How many KPIs are too many — and how do leaders know which metrics actually matter? Episode page In Episode 7 of Lean Coffee Talk, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh explore how organizations overload themselves with metrics, why some “red” indicators fail to drive action, and how to evaluate whether KPIs are still relevant. They also discuss the role of change management in Lean transformations,…
Episode page with links, video, and more In this episode, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh respond to listener questions about system design, leadership behavior, and navigating misguided Lean requirements. They explore why some systems—like college football playoffs or improvement quotas—fail to deliver their intended results, and what leaders can do instead. Topics include cultivating…
💡 Submit your question (and maybe win a Lean Coffee Talk mug!) at: LeanBlog.org/coffeequestions In this short bonus episode of Lean Coffee Talk, hosts Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh share an invitation for you to help shape future conversations. They’re asking for your toughest, most thought-provoking questions about Lean, leadership, culture, and continuous improvement — the ones without easy…
In Season 2, Episode 5, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh are going back in time (apologies to Huey Lewis and the News) to the 1990s and examining companies that were iconic then and trying to find new ground today. But we start with coffee mugs - our most vintage mugs. A coffee mug can make coffee better, or ruin it, or bring back memories. The vessel may not be more important than what’s in it,…
In Episode 4 (Season 2), Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh are joined by the hosts of the Just-in-Time Cafe podcast, Elisabeth Swan and Tracy O’Rourke. This is the second joint episode, the first being episode 45 of Lean Whiskey. In part, we celebrate the launch of Tracy and Elisabeth’s new book, the 2nd edition of "The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit," which we discuss on the show. We talk quite a bit…
In Season 2, Episode 3, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh both share specific episodes of their other podcasts. Jamie shares his People Solve Problems episode featuring Crayola CEO Pete Ruggiero, and Mark shares a repeat guest for My Favorite Mistake with NFL Players Association Dr. Thom Mayer to talk about the experiment of new kickoff formats and the impact (pun intended) on concussions. We then…
In Season 2, Episode 2, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh begin with Mark sharing about his Australia and New Zealand workshop tour with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence. Even koalas find their way into the conversation. Episode page with videos and more We then shift to our coffee selection of the day - pour overs. This old school method has found a resurgence not for being…
We would have called this Episode 51 of the Lean Whiskey podcast with Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban . Episode page with video and more Lean Whiskey is transitioning to a new brand, Lean Coffee Talk , so stay tuned for more episodes from Mark and Jamie. We're also calling this Episode #1 of Season 2 of the podcast series. If you're subscribed, the podcast logo will change but the feed will…
