Formerly known as “Lean Whiskey.” Mark and Jamie Answer Listener Questions Listen: In Season 2, Episode 6, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh bring “lean coffee” to Lean Coffee Talk, kind of. But first, we haven’t caught up in a while,…
Why do so many Lean efforts fail in offices, engineering, and executive work? In this episode, Don Kieffer explains why copying Toyota’s rituals misses the point–and how Dynamic Work Design applies Toyota thinking to intellectual work, leadership systems, and real…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape highlights practical thinking on value creation, continuous improvement, and leadership in an AI-influenced world. From empowering nurses at Cleveland Clinic and using AI as a problem-solving coach to avoiding common change mistakes…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape focuses on what real, sustainable improvement actually requires: leadership commitment, respect for people, and disciplined learning over time. From reframing “continuous improvement” as everyday improvement, to lessons from Larry Culp’s lived Lean…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape emphasizes that real improvement depends more on mindset, leadership, and system design than on tools alone. From lessons on problem-solving behaviors and the persistent challenge of patient harm in healthcare to examples…
Listen: Submit your question (and maybe win a Lean Coffee Talk mug!) at: LeanBlog.org/coffeequestions In this short bonus episode of Lean Coffee Talk, hosts Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh share an invitation for you to help shape future conversations. They’re…
Be part of a future episode of the “Lean Coffee Talk” podcast with Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh. If you like, you can record audio or video using your phone or computer. Use the upload button or share the URL…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape examines why true operational excellence remains elusive despite decades of tools, frameworks, and good intentions. From reflections on learning organizations at LEGO and leadership discipline at Costco, to the hidden costs of…
Formerly known as “Lean Whiskey” Listen: In Season 2, Episode 5, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh are going back in time (apologies to Huey Lewis and the News) to the 1990s and examining companies that were iconic then and trying…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape focuses on disciplined thinking, ethical use of data, and people-centered improvement in an AI-enabled world. From reminders that data have no meaning without context and the risks of p-hacking, to human-centered approaches…
Listen: In Season 2, Episode 4, 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.…
This edition of Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape explores why real improvement depends on disciplined thinking, leadership habits, and cultural integrity–not slogans or shortcuts. From reflections on problem solving, Leader Standard Work, and the limits of healthcare “systems,” to lessons…
