lean

I have spent as much time on lean product development as I have on any other area over the past 10 years.  That’s largely because, for most companies, manufacturing products a little faster or cheaper is nothing compared to the overall business results delivered through a stronger product-development engine. I’ll

In Episode 13 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh reconnect in their first joint episode this year, after a couple of weeks of guest hosts. Our last episode together was filled with Grinches, gremlins, and glitches, so it was nice to both be in a proper recording location

In this episode, I reveal a coaching phrase that has helped me lead teams to the most effective outcomes in all pursuits. The phrase is “it’s more important to be effective than right.” Use this phrase to unlock your team’s learning, collaboration, and creativity no matter what the project is.

People Trust that You Care When You Show You Care. In this episode, I dig into a comment a viewer made regarding trust and the fact that real trust is realized when leaders demonstrate that they care. Leaders can demonstrate care by creating a safe working environment where failure is

Trust in an organization is both elusive and yet vital, abstract and yet mentioned frequently. Trust is an important backdrop to help build any transformation, including a lean transformation. Few would argue with this, but also few would talk about what to do about it. How do you build trust?

In Episode 11 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban gets a rest, and Jamie Flinchbaugh co-hosts along with long-time friend and colleague Susan Pleasant, who was first a client and later a partner. Susan brings 30 years of operations experience, and has consulted for 12 years, first at the Lean Learning

Theranos has captured the attention of many, in part because the hype surrounding its founder reached such massive peaks, and partly because the degree of fraud is on par with 19th-century snake oil salesmen, except on a billion-dollar scale. To be sure, we’ve seen large-scale fraud or misconduct before. We

In Episode 10 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh do their best to work through technology issues, as the Grinch clearly didn’t want us to record. We apologize if this affected the final product, but the show must go on. The two whiskey enthusiasts select some whiskey they

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