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.
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.
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.
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”
All content for Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey) is the property of Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
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.
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.
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.
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”
Does Starbucks’ CEO Serving Coffee and Uber’s CEO Driving Passengers Do Any Good? Tasting Sourced Whiskeys
Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey)
1 hour 25 minutes 34 seconds
2 years ago
Does Starbucks’ CEO Serving Coffee and Uber’s CEO Driving Passengers Do Any Good? Tasting Sourced Whiskeys
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 whiskey producers that buy whiskey from other distillers. This practice takes many different forms. Jamie is drinking Holla Bourbon Whiskey, a 4 year wheated bourbon, while Mark is drinking The Senator Straight Rye Whiskey sourced from MGP. Holla Spirits is primarily a vodka company with an incredibly wide range of infused vodkas, from jalapeno to pickle to cotton candy. They use higher grade ethanol from either corn or cane.
Our lean topic was CEOs who “go to the gemba,” specifically referencing recent Wall Street Journal articles featuring Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi driving an Uber and Starbucks brand-new CEO Laxman Narasimhan being trained and working as a barista. While there is a lot these articles don't tell you, we have to draw some conclusions about whether these efforts are well-intentioned or not. We didn't like the barista with gold cufflinks or the Uber driver ignoring important calls from his General Counsel.
We did conclude that there are three dimensions to this practice to get right, and all three must be right for this practice to be worth the effort. First, you have to get the intention correct. Second, you must execute it with the right spirit and curiosity. Third, you have to do the right things with what you learn, not just fixing specific problems but challenging business model assumptions or improving major systems of how the company works.
Links From the Show:
Mark's book page to find out more when The Mistakes That Make Us will be released
Jamie's blog, where you can find the People Solve Problems podcast release
Mark's recent blog post about Glenns Creek Distillery and creativity-before-capital kaizen
NBC News covering sourced whiskey
Whiskey Advocate covering sourced whiskey
Jamie's whiskey from Holla Spirits, a 4-year Wheated Bourbon, distilled by Southern Distilling Company in North Carolina and blended by Cloonaughill Celtic Malts in York, PA
Mark's whiskey, The Senator Straight Rye Whiskey, a 4-grain blend distilled by MGP in Lawrenceburg, IN
Uber's CEO driving covered by Wall Street Journal as well as Business Insider and Inside Hook
Starbucks CEO trains and works as a barista, as covered by Wall Street Journal
Jamie's past blog about Undercover Boss, and Mark's past blog about a hospital CEO going undercover
Mark's recommended podcast is Culture by Design
Jamie's recommended podcast is Stuff You Should Know
Podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or jflinch.com/leanwhiskey
Please review us and follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform!
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.
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.
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.
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”