jflinch

Standardization is good, right? Well, it’s not quite that simple. We should standardize something because it helps us solve a problem, as I wrote about in Chapter 3 of People Solve Problems. Two variables in finding the RIGHT solution of standardization are the level of abstraction and the level of

Happy Heuristics is a podcast about using rules of thumb, decision criteria, or heuristics to help leaders operate with speed and effectiveness in a complex and uncertain world. Podcast partners Jamie Flinchbaugh and Jeff Grimshaw explore specific heuristics, one theme at a time, that you can either adopt or use

Management teams run the company, and the board of directors provides governance and direction to do so. That seems simple enough to maintain some role clarity. A useful guiding phrase, repeated often by those with board experience, is “noses in, fingers out.” The meaning of that phrase is that you,

A long time ago I was running an off-shift in operations. Late at night, we didn’t have any resources coming to train the team, and so if we wanted to learn, we were on our own. We began reading and applying books, beginning with two books from Kiyoshi Suzuki, The

When I wrote the book “People Solve Problems,” I approached the book in a tool-agnostic way. As far as the book is concerned, I don’t particularly care which problem-solving tools you are using. However, tools do still matter (which I also make clear in the book). Here’s a tool that

Most people get coaching from multiple people, whether it be on their work, on their career, or just within problem-solving. How do you decide which coach to listen to? Well, that’s the wrong question, and in this video, I explain why. Watch here: https://youtu.be/B5PpWaVX9vs  

This article was originally published in March 2021.    I’ve been asked to help dozens of clients with their lean certification plans at some point in my engagement. How should we design our lean certification program? This is often the question presented to me. Before you get to design, you

I coach coaches. That’s obviously the only thing that I do, but I spend a significant portion of my time coaching people who are trying to coach others. One of the most common questions I receive in this domain is… What do we do when someone is resistant to coaching?

Episode 31: “End a Year, End a Bottle; Start a Year, Start a Bottle”  In Episode 31, Mark and Jamie discuss the routines and practices of wrapping up a year and kicking off a new year. In that spirit, we either finish a bottle of whiskey or start a new

Fast Company published an article of mine, “The Power of Solving Small Problems.” I have observed even some of the most experienced and wise lean leaders struggle to get this principle correct, as I struggle with it as well. Perhaps that’s why I wrote it, to remind myself. Here’s a