Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey) cover art

Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey)

Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey)

By: Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh
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About this listen

 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 manager, or someone passionate about elevating organizational performance, Lean Coffee Talk provides practical wisdom you can apply directly to your workplace. They bring expertise without the complexity – because Lean doesn’t have to be rocket science. Their takes are bold and their insights are fresh. welcome to Lean Coffee Talk... Where Lean wisdom is brewed and served. Mark Graban: http://markgraban.com/ Jamie Flinchbaugh: https://jflinch.com/ Podcast home: https://leancoffeetalk.com/ Note: The first 50 episodes were done under the theme and name of ”Lean Whiskey”Copyright Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh, 2019 - 2023, All rights reserved. Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Daily Coffee and Productivity Routines, Crossover Event with the Just-in-Time Cafe

    Daily Coffee and Productivity Routines, Crossover Event with the Just-in-Time Cafe
    Aug 12 2025

    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 about our respective daily routines, beginning with how coffee fits into our day. This includes peaceful time, walk time, time with family, and time for health. Coffee fits in many different ways. And once again, Jamie sounds like Paul Giamatti in the movie Sideways in his avoidance of Starbucks. We also share our personal routines that help us stay focused and productive. There are different flavors and tools, but there are definitely some common themes across the group that prioritize our calendars and our to-do priorities over our email inbox.

    Episode page with video and more

    In a meta discussion about podcasts during a podcast, we talk about the trend towards longer podcasts and video podcasts, as the NY Times covered. It is only a coincidence that this episode went a bit longer as well. We explore this trend, why it exists despite some contrary trends, and how we prefer consuming podcasts as well. We finish as always with our cultural shares, ranging from Charlie Brown to Brad Pitt.
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    1 hr and 40 mins
  • What do Crayola, the NFL, MIT, the Pope, and Red Eyes all have in common?

    What do Crayola, the NFL, MIT, the Pope, and Red Eyes all have in common?
    May 23 2025

    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 share our coffees, with the caffeine-laden Red Eye being the drink of choice, including Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s extreme coffee order.

    EPISODE PAGE

    They then jump into lean coffee discussion format covering a wide range of topics. We discuss why Americans aren’t filling the half-million manufacturing jobs already available, two new lean books on problem solving and hoshin kanri, and why it may be ok for it only to take 2 days to select Pope Leo XIV but five rounds of interviews to hire a remote worker (picking up on a popular meme).

    The discussion then turns to the MIT Sloan School of Management Work / 25 online conference, beginning with a bit of a rant about a poorly run event that wraps up in lessons of how to respond to customers when you do make mistakes. Then two speaker topics were explored from the conference, including Sharon Parker’s SMART model for how to prevent burnout in your employees, and then moving to Lynda Gratton’s presentation on the value of mastery in your career.

    The final segment of cultural shares includes two items to watch, featuring Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson in Friendship (in theaters now) and National Geographic’s Endurance about Sir Ernest Shackleton's journey on Disney Plus. We hope you enjoy the listen!

    Links From the Show:

    • Jamie’s podcast with Crayola CEO Pete Ruggiero
    • Mark’s podcast with NFL Player Association’s Dr. Thom Mayer
    • Dan Campbell’s coffee order
    • NPR on manufacturing job openings
    • The Problem Solver’s Toolkit 2nd Edition
    • Managing on Purpose: Using hoshin kanri to develop strategy, align teams, grow leaders, and innovate your enterprise
    • Jamie’s Short on the difficulties in deciding between two options
    • Jamie on YouTube about leveraging your superpower
    • Mark’s Cultural Shares:
      • SNL Roundball Rock sketch
      • Netflix: I Think You Should Leave
      • Netflix: Detroiters
      • “Friendship” movie trailer
    • Podcast feed at LeanCoffeeTalk.com or jflinch.com/leancoffeetalk
    • Please review us and follow!
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    1 hr and 30 mins
  • Australia, New Coke, Boeing, and the Future of Manufacturing in America

    Australia, New Coke, Boeing, and the Future of Manufacturing in America
    May 2 2025
    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 inexpensive but for giving you more control over the extraction process making it the best method for the best coffees. Jamie explains and demonstrates the process with enough details to get you going. We then get to our main topics, beginning with some interesting statistics. 80% of Americans believe we’d be better off with more people working in manufacturing, but 25% of them believe that they would be better off if they worked in manufacturing. Whether skilled trades or engineers, we discuss why jobs in manufacturing are still getting a bad wrap. Continuing with manufacturing, we discuss the possible defunding and impact of the Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, a nationwide network of support centers for small- and medium-sized manufacturing businesses, which gets a significant amount of their funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Boeing is announcing a new, or refreshed, culture in an effort to turn the company around from a seemingly never-ending parade of crisis issues over several years. Are declarations of values enough? Do they need to be better defined? How do you back them up? We discuss all of this, including a mention of Jamie’s video course on culture change. While discussing blue chip names, this is the 40th anniversary of New Coke, an introduction that was likely never needed. Was it a mistake, and how do you recover when the product and the brand is this iconic? We do not include a taste test of New Coke or Coke Classic. Links From the Show: Reflections from Mark’s world tour Pour over methods explained by coffee expert James Hoffman The Chemex and V60, two popular pour over options Manufacturing Extension Partnerships and their role supporting small manufacturers, their potential defunding written about by IndustryWeek, Manufacturing Dive, and an Op-Ed by the Urban Manufacturing Alliance Being is resetting their culture Jamie’s Learning Lab course on shaping culture 40 Years Ago, New Coke was introduced, and Mark’s take on the mistakeWatch The Americas with Tom Hanks and Sea Lions of the GalapagosPodcast feed at LeanCoffeeTalk.com or jflinch.com/leancoffeetalkPlease review us and follow! Please review us and follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform!
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    1 hr and 26 mins
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