Lean Whiskey #25: Peaty Scotch, Working from Home, and Misunderstood Lean Phrases

In Episode 25, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban welcome a guest to our show, with Jim Benson joining us. Jim has been a long-time collaborator of Mark's, and certainly enjoys a dram or two of whiskey. We begin by getting the backstory on Jim's Twitter handle @OurFounder, complete with artwork. 

Since it's still winter, and Jamie continues to spend more time driving his snowblower than his car, we thought “something peaty” felt fitting. We all selected something peaty from our scotch collection, from Highland Park to Samaroli to Lagavulin, and we learned about Jim's favorite whisky shop in the UK. We discuss the continued extension of work-from-home practices, and both the need and opportunity to make it effective for each individual. This includes everything from ergonomics to managing your attention span, with a little detour into the Pomodoro technique. 

We explored lean phrases that are commonly used but often misunderstood, including “lean project”, “kaizen”, and “respect for people.” The three of us fall dangerously close to “cranky old lean guy” territory, but pull ourselves out just in time for our fun closing question of something we watched recently that was disappointing, ranging from Wonder Woman 1984 to The Muppet Show to baking shows. 

May you enjoy your whiskey, and your work, in peace and health. Cheers! 

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Listen or Watch

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Show Notes and Links

• Jim's Twitter handle OurFounder, along with Mark and Jamie on Twitter
• Mark and Jim's upcoming webinar on 3/2 on humane management and their previous podcast episode on the topic 
• We selected “something peaty” so here's a bit about the peat scale 
• Jamie's go-to selection, Lagavulin 16 year old
• Mark's Samaroli Islay Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
• Jim's 21 year old from Highland Park
• Jim's favorite UK-based whisky shop Milroy's 
• FastCompany on finding the best place to work at home
• Jamie's video on making his home office more productive, and a waste walk on his morning routine 
• The Pomodoro technique 
• Mark's blog post on not using the Deming quote to threaten people 
• Jamie's blog post on the myths of the lean principle respect for people 
• Mark's “Choose Lean” LeanBlog mug 

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