Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey)
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”
Episodes
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 continue as is.
We are just as passi...
It's Episode 50 of the Lean Whiskey podcast with Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban!
tl;dr: Lean Whiskey will transition to a new brand Lean Coffee Talk, so stay tuned for more episodes from Mark and Jamie
In their 50th and final episode of Lean Whiskey, hosts Mark and Jamie announce a significant transition, revealing that while this marks the end of “Lean Whiskey,” the podcast will continue under a new title called “L...
It's Episode 49 of the Lean Whiskey podcast with Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban!
Episode page with video and more
Mark shares tales of his holiday / study tour trip to Japan. Since we start with the whisky (like scotch, note the lack of an ‘e’), and Mark’s opportunity to visit bottle shops, his favorite whisky bar, and even a whisky museum, along with the many samples he had a chance to try along the way. He brought one home,...
In Episode 48 of the Lean Whiskey podcast, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by comparing two whiskeys from the same distillery.
OOPS! We recorded this in October... and I released it via YouTube and my blog. But it somehow ended up stuck in "Draft" unreleased status on the podcast. That's why we had two episodes released in the same week...
Episode page with video and more
Mark selected Woodford Reserve, and had a pour of...
In Episode 47, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh attempt another experiment in format, covering a range of quick-hit topics in the news rather than a single deep dive. As always, we welcome feedback.
Before we got to that, however, our whiskey theme was also new, or new to us: we each picked a whiskey we hadn’t tried before.
Jamie’s pick was Four Walls Irish American Whiskey, a celebrity whiskey from a group of stars from It’s Al...
In Episode 46, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh spend a lot of time talking about AI, but that still, as always, begins with the whiskey.
We both asked ChatGPT to consider all our ingredients for making a whiskey-based cocktail, and to invent an original recipe. Jamie's is called The Bourbon Harmony, although there was a lot in there to try to reach harmony, and Mark's was called the Spiced Cherry Rye Cocktail.
T...
In Episode 45, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban join the Just-in-Time Cafe team of Elisabeth Swan and Tracy O’Rourke as a special nod to their 100th Episode, while also having a chance to toast Mark’s accomplishment of 250 episodes of My Favorite Mistake podcast and 500 episodes of the Lean Blog Podcast. This episode blended the two formats a bit, but you can be sure whiskey was one of those elements that we retained....
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In Episode 44, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh get back together for this first episode of 2024. Since we’re not doing Dry January, we go right into the whiskey first by talking about old bottles, including one very old one found at auction. We then did our own comparison tasting, with Jamie trying two different age statements of Knob Creek bourbon and Mark trying two different expressions of Glen...
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In Episode 43 of the “Lean Whiskey” podcast, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by talking about each of our interviews regarding the new book by Steve Spear and Gene Kim, Wiring the Winning Organization.
Mark interviewed Steve and Gene for the Lean Blog Interviews podcast, and Jamie interviewed Steve for a forthcoming episode of the People Solve Problems podcast. We then shifted our attention ...
In Episode 42, Jamie Flinchbaugh visits Mark Graban in northern Kentucky and they get to record an episode in person. This was the origin of the podcast series — getting together in person, enjoying whiskey, and talking about Lean stuff.
In the last episode, we did an experiment that was inconclusive — sometimes that's how it goes. We had moved the whiskey talk to the end of the episode, but since we had no firm evide...
Should Lean be Forced? Running & Evaluating Experiments with the Podcast and Beyond, Inexpensive Sip
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In Episode 41, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh try a couple experiments, in the spirit of continuous improvement. You’ll first notice that we moved the whiskey talk to the end. The hypothesis here is that some people don’t want to hear the whiskey talk, so they can just exit the podcast when we finish the lean talk. We also used a different platform for recording, so it may affect your listening o...
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In Episode 40, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh get back together after their in-person visit where they enjoyed the origins of this podcast: talking about lean stuff while enjoying some whiskey. We get to celebrate the launch of Mark’s new book, The Mistakes That Make Us, as well as Jamie’s new podcast titled People Solve Problems. We recap our in-person visit and some of the great whiskey we were...
Episode page with links, video, and more
In Episode 39, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh toast the completion of Mark's new book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation (coming soon!).
We also acknowledge Jamie's forthcoming podcast based on the book People Solve Problems. That's already plenty to cover before we even get into our whiskey.
Our whiskey theme was sourced juice, or essentially wh...
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What do you do when you are chosen as Jim Murray’s US Micro Whiskey of the Year? You pop in to join Mark and Jamie on Lean Whiskey to talk about it. At least that’s what our friend David Meier of Glenns Creek Distilling did in Episode 38. While we were able to drink, and celebrate, the success of OCD #5, we also explored David’s continued learning, problem solving, and improvement of whiskey product...
Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh
Alternative title: “I’ll have a half-caff no-whip soy-milk chestnut praline latte… to-go”
Episode page with video and links
In Episode 37, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays with some new (to us) holiday cocktails.
Mark tries the Bourbon Flip, and Jamie makes a Hot Buttered Bourbon. Neither will likely be in our regular rotation of cocktails, but they suit the “spirit” of the holid...
In Episode 36, Jamie Flinchbaugh is joined by Chris Kauzmann, an Adjunct Faculty and Innovator in Residence at Lehigh University. Chris, a self-described “bottom shelf” whiskey drinker, joins Jamie to sample some Nikka Coffee Malt Whiskey and Blue Run High Rye Bourbon.
We explore design thinking, which is both distinct from lean but also inherently consistent. The terminology is often quite different, but the essence of the work i...
In Episode 35, Mark is recently back from his Scotland gemba visit. He isn't tired from jet lag, or from whiskey, but nevertheless, Mark and Jamie both end up complaining about being tired. Maybe we're just…old (gasp). We also didn't plan our color coordination (for those on video).
Episode page with video and more
"We’re tired, but not tired of whisky. A gemba walk will pick us up..."
We focus this episode on going to the gemba i...
Episode page: https://leanblog.org/whiskey34
In Episode 34, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh begin by belatedly celebrating the 3rd birthday of Lean Whiskey. No, this wasn’t a pandemic-launched podcast, although if we hadn’t started it yet it probably would have become one. We also learn of Mark’s pending trip to Islay, where an awful lot of good whisky is produced. Apparently, Jamie wasn’t invited to record an “on location” episo...
Episode page: https://leanblog.org/whiskey33
In Episode 33, we recognize some of the back to normal which includes Mark heading out on the road to do consulting again. That brings Mark close enough to Jamie for a new first: an in-person recording of Lean Whiskey. Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh meet up in Philadelphia to drink some Garrison Brothers special barrel selection from Mark as well talk about Lean 101 training.
Episode page: https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey32
In Episode 32 of “Lean Whiskey,” Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh have a first… comparing two similar whiskeys from the same distiller. In this case, family-owned Willett and their Willett Pot Still Reserve bourbon and the Johnny Drum bourbon.
We definitely both have our favorite of the two, but you'll have to listen to find out which. We also spend a little time exploring the histo...
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