It’s a brand new year and Tracy & Elisabeth's highlight is their conversation with Bernadette Hill and Priya Venkatesan from UC Davis—two leaders who’ve helped shape a culture of improvement using approaches that may surprise you. Their work reminds us that progress isn’t always driven by new tools or frameworks, but by how people show up for one another.

And instead of the cafe's usual Book Buzz, Hot App, or Q&A, Tracy and Elisabeth are closing out the year with something different—a moment of reflection. After all, reflection is the step we’re most tempted to skip—and the one that gives us the biggest chance to learn.

Time to get down to business!

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Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/QOcJPiEParI

Today's highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with Melisa Buie, co-author of the just-published Faceplant. We get the skinny on how someone with a PhD in Plasma Physics got drawn into the emotional landscape of failure, and all the great things that came out of it. For Book Buzz we’ll do a nosedive into Faceplant—hmm, might need to rethink that phrasing—but Tracy & Elisabeth give a more behind-the-scenes take on Melisa’s new book. And then for Q&A, we asked, What’s the latest example of process improvement in the wild? What have we seen?

Every problem solver faceplants eventually—it’s what you do next that counts. And regardless of next steps—be sure to include coffee.

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Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/73dtX_um8oo

Today’s highlight is Tracy and Elisabeth's interview with Kristle Bulleman, Process Manager for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She lets us in on what it takes to make the impossible happen — like granting a wish to meet a mermaid (and honestly, who wouldn’t sign up for that?).

For Hot Apps, Tracy brings firsthand experience on how to zhuzh up an event — especially when you want to add a little fanfare to picking winners.

And for Q&A, we tackle a classic leadership challenge: how do you reward improvement teams in ways that truly motivate? What works — and what falls flat?

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Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/epm0Yo9pf9Q

It's October at the Cafe, and Elisabeth and Tracy got to sit down with Meg Bowles—co-author of the New York Times bestseller How to Tell a Story—to explore why stories power so much of our work and lives. In Book Buzz, they spill what got underlined and dog-eared (stakes, structure, callbacks, and more) in today's book. And for Q&A, they tackle the evergreen trap: jumping to solutions before we’ve even named the problem.

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Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/Wgxuzsyf6B4

It's episode 115 and the highlight is our interview with Michael Bremer—the author who turned the humble Gemba Walk into an art form (and picked up a Shingo Award along the way). For our Book Buzz, we crack open Michael Bungay Stanier’s The Coaching Habit—because it’s always the right time to celebrate saying less and asking more. And in our Q&A, we dig into the potholes people stumble into when conducting Process Walks—aka Gemba Walks.

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Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/zGvUULtZh-8

On today’s episode, Tracy & Elisabeth sit down with UK author and empathy firestarter Shola Kaye to unpack, among other things, something called “Empathy Hijacking”—yes, it’s a thing, and yes, it’s probably happened to you. For Book Buzz, we crack open Miracle Mornings and snoop through Tracy’s daily habits—was she ever a night owl? Then for Q&A, we go head-to-head on how we each structure our personal growth (and whether structure is even the right word). 

Curious? Good. Let’s get into it!" 

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In today’s episode, Tracy & Elisabeth sit down with process improvement pro Michelle Formanczyk to talk about her exciting new role for this year’s Michigan Lean Conference—and why you won’t want to miss it.

In our Hot Apps segment, we test drive Scribe, an app that magically turns your clicks into slick, step-by-step guides.

And for Q&A, we ask: Is AI a continuous improvement hero—or just another shiny tool in the toolbox?

Lean, learning, and a little splash of sass—let’s dive in!

Scribe

Is AI a continuous improvement hero—or just another shiny tool in the toolbox?

Michelle Formanczyk

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Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/8R-DxNeGcno

Today’s spotlight shines on none other than Gwendolyn Galsworth—author, trailblazer, and the reigning doyenne of the visual workplace. In our feature interview, Gwendolyn shares powerful insights into how visual thinking transforms not just operations, but entire cultures. Get ready for sharp wisdom, strong convictions, and a dash of storytelling flair.

Spoiler alert: A lot.

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Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/BFfALBcMrxM

It's Episode 111 highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with best-selling author John Guaspari–about his latest book, If Engagement the Why, then Respect Is the How. We quizzed John on how an aerospace engineer ended up writing what could be a how-to guide for the Lean tenet: “Respect for People.” For Hot Apps, we’ll explore an offering from your local library that’s free and worth thousands, and for today’s Q&A, we ask, “Do traditional hierarchies make it harder to foster true respect between leaders and employees?”

Let’s explore why respect isn’t just nice to have—it’s how the world actually works—when it works.

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New! Picture Yourself a Leader as an audiobook!

Multiple-award-winning book, Picture Yourself A Leader

Ready or not, here we come!

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It's Episode 110, and the highlight is our interview with April Thomas, who has drawn on her clinical healthcare background to incorporate the stages of grief into change management. We’ll delve into how they intersect with and help drive Operational Excellence. For our Book Buzz, we’re revisiting the classic book Switch by Chip and Dan Heath. The cover has the iconic light switch–and we’ve learned the hard way that change does not happen at the flip of a switch. For Q&A, we asked, what are the most common change management obstacles you see continuous improvement professionals running into? Change, grief, and progress!

Resources:

New! Picture Yourself a Leader as an audiobook!

Multiple-award-winning book, Picture Yourself A Leader

Ready or not, here we come!

Thanks for Listening!

Listen to more podcasts at JITCafe.com.

Link to the video version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/wkibL5SHn34

- Apple Podcasts

- Podbean

- Spotify

- RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/JITCafe/feed.xml