Episode page: http://www.leanblog.org/whiskey16

In Episode 16, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh take a little longer than usual to get to the lean talk. Our whiskey topic was cocktails, which takes longer to make (and apparently talk about) than pouring neat whiskey into a tumbler. Mark made a Boulevardier and Jamie made an Old Fashioned. We discuss bar tools and stirring versus shaking (sorry Mr. Bond, see the links below). See, we talked about process.

We also explore Mark’s experience in traveling coast to coast in his move from Orlando to LA, and share a little more on what we’ve both been up to. For our In the News article, we explore the grand experiment of working from home, and what it means for businesses, technology, culture, and jobs. We even explore how Kainexus is dealing with it as a company. It may possibly be that the grand experiment leaves a greater lasting impression than the virus itself. 

We spend a little time exploring a listener's question on how lean thinking can help us deal with larger complex problems, such as reopening the economy. And we close by answering a question more about gratitude, which is what surprising good thing has come from our shelter-in-place time? Cheers!  

• Jamie has been working on launching a new program, the JFlinch Learning Lab. You can see the announcement in his newsletter here and you can sign up for his newsletter here.

Please review us and subscribe!

View the episode at http://www.leanblog.org/whiskey15

In a special live-to-YouTube Episode 15 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh begin their week by catching up, drinking whiskey, and talking shop.

This episode was an experiment both in video recording the episode and in streaming it live to get viewer participation and questions. We didn't have a large audience, but those who showed up shared what they were drinking and asked some great questions. 

We used shelter-in-place as our whiskey selections, with Mark in Florida and Jamie in Pennsylvania, we chose local to drink tonight and enjoyed them both. Both selections prove that not all good American whiskey comes from Kentucky.

We discussed questions ranging from whether we are looking at the right metrics during coronavirus, to what lean resources should be doing right now, and more. And if you stay around until the end, you get to hear about LEGO Masters competitions and attacking garbage cans! 

Here are some links from the show: 

• Watch the video version of the episode

Episode page

In Episode 14 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh finish off another weekend by catching up, drinking whiskey, and talking shop. 

In whiskey, we explore the idea of adding water to your whiskey. Rather than take the tradition as fact, the lean thinker must seek an understanding of cause and effect. We find some of the research, and perform our experiments to validate that it actually works. 

We move on to a more serious topic, coronavirus or Covid-19, and its impact on your supply chain. We avoid any exploration in the medical advice category, but focus on a key question that comes up any time there is a massive supply chain impact: does Lean just-in-time approach strip out too much inventory? In addition to exploring this question, we expand on it by examining how companies deal with the less predictable risks such as this health crisis. 

We move on to explore a nearly timeless question from a listener:

"We've led a grass roots lean initiative at my company for the past couple of years.  It has been successful, but we are struggling to take it to the next level and get buy in from upper management. Upper management is slow to change and set in their ways.  Any advice on how to 'sell' this internally?"

Mark and Jamie break this problem down for how you can examine it in your organization. 

We finish by talking about our different approaches to presentations, with Mark reducing word count and using pictures to tell the story, and Jamie dropping slides altogether. We equally agree, however, that you must know your stuff if you're going to get in front of an audience. 

Here are some links from the show: 

• Why adding water to whiskey matters (Forbes)

Mark's blog post about this article:

Episode page: http://www.leanblog.org/whiskey13

In Episode 13 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh reconnect in their first joint episode this year, after a couple weeks of guest hosts. Our last episode together was filled with Grinches, gremlins, and glitches, so it was nice to both be in a proper recording location and be able to focus on the conversation and the whiskey. 

Our whiskey selections were on the theme of the Pacific Northwest, a growing region for whiskey. Mark's Westland American Single Malt Whiskey really specializes in using Oregon ingredients, including 5 different malts. Jamie's McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Pot Distilled Whiskey seeks a more Scotch-like style, with importing both barley and peat from Scotland. 

Our "In the News" segment was more like "From the Archives," as we pulled out an article from 2002 from AME Target Magazine titled Ohno’s Method: Creating a survival work culture by Jinichiro Nakane and Robert W. ("Doc") Hall.

This article is filled with nuggets that deserves a thorough read, as it explores the work of Taiichi Ohno, often referred to as the father of the Toyota Production System. We explore lean as a culture, whether a survival culture is necessary, how much lean depends (or not) on the country’s culture, and how fundamentally Ohno created a coaching environment to bring both empowerment and enthusiasm to the workplace. 

We take a listener question on how to organize front-line supervision, as this topic connects quite directly to the issues discussed in the Ohno article. We close the episode with another fun question in the “get to know us” category, where we explore career paths not taken. 

Here are some links from the show: 

• Jamie's selection, McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Pot Distilled Whiskey from Oregon

http://www.leanblog.org/whiskey12 

In Episode 12 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban is back and he's joined by a friend from the Lean healthcare world, Ryan McCormack. Jamie will be with Mark for our next episode. You might know Ryan as the creator of the awesome "Operational Excellence Mixtapes" that he sends out via email and he also allows to be posted here on the blog.

Ryan, like Mark, started his career in manufacturing and then transitioned to healthcare. After working for a hospital in Winnipeg, Ryan is now OpEx manager for an insurance company. The guys first met through Mark's visits to Winnipeg through the Catalysis Healthcare Value Network and they've shared many a conversation, a whiskey, and laughs at the Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit and other events.

In the episode, they share and chat about Canadian whiskey. They discuss two news articles -- one about E.D. waiting times (and the need for Process Behavior Charts) and another about an Ontario hospital CEO's "gemba time" that ended up getting her criticized by employees and in the press. They also share some "Lean pet peeves" and a funny story or two from Ryan's career.

Episode page

In Episode 11 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban gets a rest, and Jamie Flinchbaugh co-hosts along with long-time friend and colleague Susan Pleasant, who was first a client and later a partner.

Susan brings 30 years of operations experience, and has consulted for 12 years, first at the Lean Learning Center and now with SPleasant Consulting. Jamie and Susan met for dinner last year at the IndustryWeek conference in Pittsburgh at a whiskey bar and restaurant, where Susan was introduced to Dalmore, which became our theme for the whiskey for the episode. 

We discuss an experiment at Microsoft in Japan with a 4-day work week, which actually had the effect of increasing productivity. We explore the value of the experiment, the relationship between a person and their work, and how to measure output for a range of different types of work. 

We also explore a listener question about how a lean organization sets goals, as many individuals and organizations are still in the mode of setting goals for the year. We finish the discussion by returning to whiskey and discussing why it's the drink of choice for both of us. 

Here are some links from the show: 

• Susan's whisky, the Dalmore 15

Episode page http://www.leanblog.org/whiskey10

In Episode 10 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh do their best to work through technology issues, as the Grinch clearly didn’t want us to record. We apologize if this affected the final product just a little bit, but the show must go on. 

The two whiskey enthusiasts select something to drink that they think goes well with the holidays, as we both prepare to share this time with others. Unfortunately, neither of our selections are easily acquired, so these selections might have been more for our tasting enjoyment more than good consumer advice (although Mark suggests that any bottling of Booker's is worth trying). Mark also shares his experience of visit the gemba at Kirin Distillery near Mount Fuji during a Lean healthcare visit to Japan. 

We share our thoughts on what makes a good indicator of a successful lean journey, prompted by Jon Miller’s belief that the existence of a good andon practice is such an indicator. We also talk about our year-end routines as we prepare to close out 2019 and head into 2019. We also answer some fun holiday questions, and Mark admits to never having seen "It’s a Wonderful Life" or "White Christmas." Please tell him what he’s missing! 

Here are some links from the show: 

• Mark visited Kirin Distillery  (see photos below)

Episode page

In Episode 9 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh link up on Halloween night to share a drink and ideas about lean. We discuss air travel, which we both experience in volume, and taste affordable whiskeys under $35.  We both agree handing out whiskey for Halloween would be a bad idea. 

In the news, we discuss an article exploring the rise and fall of Six Sigma, and its relationship to GE. This is a topic that could keep us going for a few episodes, but we focus on how too much focus on the superficial can be an equal detriment to lean and Six Sigma. We also explore the difference between a set of tools and a management system. 

Our reader question is quite interesting, exploring the challenge of integrating lean into your “day job” instead of treating it like a side job. And we close out with a little more under “get to know us” as we discuss our first jobs. 

• Jamie’s selection, Legent.

• Expertly distilled by 7th Generation Master Distiller Fred Noe and then refined by world-renowned Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo (of Suntory). Suntory bought Jim Beam. Using Jim Beam bourbon, some is aged in sherry or red wine casks, and then blended with Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Jamie purchased it for $34.95.

• This 92 proof product from Heaven Hill Distillery has a mash bill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. This is considered an ingredient in the “Poorer Man’s Pappy” from the book Hacking Whiskey, with 67% Maker’s Mark Cask Strength and 33% Larceny. For more on wheated bourbon, check out this article. 

Podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or at leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or at jflinch.com/leanwhiskey

 Episode page: http://leanblog.org/whiskey8

We have a new guest host for Episode #8 of Lean Whiskey. I'm joined by my friend and colleague Cristal Totterman and we're drinking gin today on her recommendation... so this is "Lean Gin."

We're also enjoying what Cristal calls "chummy Lean chat" -- something we've enjoyed at conferences and when working together at her hospital a few years back.

 Other than chatting about gin and tonic, we discuss two articles -- one about PDCA and one about robotic tails. Yes, we manage to connect that latter article to Lean. We share some Lean pet peeves, even though the issues are more significant than peeves. Oh, and we share the funniest thing that's happened to us in the course of process improvement, although you can be the judge about how funny those stories are.

Here are some links from the show: 

• Our libations

• Cristal: Hendrick's Gin with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water (and simple syrup and lemon)

• Mark: A3 problem solving with poor root cause analysis (two whys, five random whys)

• See this cartoon

• Cristal: “Hit me baby one more time”

• Check out the podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or at leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or at jflinch.com/leanwhiskey