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In Episode 9 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh link up on Halloween night to share a drink and ideas about lean. We discuss air travel, which we both experience in volume, and taste affordable whiskeys under $35.  We both agree handing out whiskey for Halloween would be

I recently attended the National Association of Corporate Directors. I was an early Leadership Fellow through NACD when they launched the program, as I believe in continued learning and personal improvement. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended the conference (it conflicts with my fall soccer coaching schedule), and

In Episode 7 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh share whiskey samples from each other’s collection and talk about some recent projects. They explore whether you should bring lean home, and apply it with (or to???) your spouse or family. Is lean about efficiency when it comes to

In Episode 6 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh explore two icons as leaders and the impact they’ve had. Lee Iacocca and Ross Perot passed away recently, and we explore their impact on their companies and most importantly, on people. We also enjoy a couple of Speyside single

While I intend to continue contributing online occasionally, this is my final Lessons from the Road column for IndustryWeek’s print edition. I have written this column for eight years. I have enjoyed interacting with readers, and I hope the column has provided value for you. Writing this column has helped

In Episode 4 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh (and a cameo from his cat Rocco), longtime friends, lean thinkers, and whiskey enthusiasts, join forces to enjoy a casual conversation — mostly about lean and a little bit about whiskey. We recap Mark’s recent trip to Louisville, including

As my ties to Lee Iacocca include Chrysler and Lehigh University, when he passed away this week at the age of 94, I was honored when IndustryWeek asked me to write a tribute to him. Many tributes will focus on facts and events, but I wanted to focus more on

Originally Posted: by Jamie Flinchbaugh on 10/22/2009 Direct observation has been an under-appreciated aspect of lean for most of its life. It has gotten a lot more attention in recent years, unfortunately, this is thanks in part to the use of jargon, such as gemba and genchi genbutsu. For those

Have you ever delegated a task and the team or person you delegated the task to goes down the wrong path? This often happens when management delegates a problem-solving task but have already determined what they want the answer to that problem to be. There is a time for delegation

In Episode 2 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh, longtime friends, lean thinkers, and whiskey enthusiasts, join forces to enjoy a casual conversation — mostly about lean and a little bit about whiskey. We start by thanking the listeners of Episode 1 who shared their response to hearing