Today’s highlight is whisky cocktails! Or the reason behind our whiskey cocktails. In a crossover celebration of 100 Cafe episodes, Tracy and Elisabeth invited their good friends Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh of the Lean Whiskey podcast to mark this cafe milestone. They're primed to talk all things podcasting. And for a special Hot Apps segment, these four will let you in on their current favorites, so stay tuned for some solid work tips …but with a twist, or possibly a garnish! 0:00 - Intro 1:52 - What's on the menu? 21:06 - Hot Apps Trello Kainexus Asana Evernote Credly 14:49 - Featu ..read more

It's Episode 99 and the highlight is Tracy and Elisabeth's interview with Allison Kestenbaum, the Supervisor of Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at UC San Diego Health. She just got her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification so we dig into the intersection of continuous improvement and Spiritual care–that’s a new one for everyone out there. For Hot Apps, we’ll cover an app that gives you credit—and we all need credit and recognition. Then we’ll cover a book that recently got some credit and the author just happens to be one of the hosts of this podcast—so stay tuned for gold-med ..read more

It's Episode 98 and the highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with Lifesharing’s Executive Team—Jeff Trageser and Mike Vazquez. Lifesharing is a nonprofit arm of UC San Diego Health dedicated to organ procurement and—lucky for everyone—they're steeped in continuous improvement. For Hot Apps, we’ll cover a networking app you’re probably aware of, you might even be using, but are you making the most of it? And for Q&A, we’ll discuss the topic of work relationships. Are you a “just-the-facts ma'am” Joe Friday type? If asking people about themselves feels like “fluff” —are you hamstri ..read more

It's Episode 97 and the  highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with Cheryl Jekiel, the Founder of Lean Leadership Center, get the scoop on her latest book, Let Go To Lead. Cheryl has a deep background in helping managers go from overpowering to empowering.  For Hot Apps, we’re going to delve into an app that’s been referred to as your "adjunct brain.” It’s a way to hold onto all that stuff you learn and access it when you need it it.  For Q&A, we’ll discuss how to take advantage of an age-old truism–”Necessity is the mother of invention”—If that’s true, how do we co ..read more

It's episode 95 and the highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with Rich Sheridan, the CEO and Chief Storyteller at Menlo Innovations. Rich’s ingeniously Lean-incognito workplace sparks joy in all who enter. Menlo recovered from Covid with their best year to date, and Rich explains why. For Hot Apps, the AI exploration continues. This time it's some free help with project presentations. And for Q&A it's the Praise Paradox. We all want to be acknowledged, but we don’t often see ourselves as the source of praise for others. Why is that, and what can we do about it?   0:00 - Int ..read more

It's Episode 94 and the highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with Krista Schulte, the Assistant Director of Operational Excellence for the University of Michigan. Krista gave us a glimpse into how Lean gains traction in higher education. For Hot Apps, we’ll delve into Artificial Intelligence again–and the results are real–and really useful. We’ll tell you how to use it for problem-solving change management. And for Q&A, we touch on the temptation to do things ourselves even when we sacrifice collaboration.   0:00 - Intro 01:33 - What's on the Menu? 02:21 - Hot Apps Writeso ..read more

It's episode 93 and the highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with the internet doyenne, Deondra Wardelle. We explore the intersection she’s created between Vision, Strategy, and Continuous Improvement—and maybe tiaras For Hot Apps, Deondra is sitting in as our guest reviewer to showcase an app that helps you with the elusive goal of staying on top of everything and get stuff done with other people. And for Q&A, we touch on an issue that came up during our recent livestream session–how do leaders form bonds with workers when workloads seem to get in the way? It's an iced coffee da ..read more

It's Episode 92 and the highlight is Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with powerhouse author Mark Graban. They dig into his latest book that just hit the bookshelves—The Mistakes that Make Us. They delve into how he turned an innovative podcast into a bestselling workplace culture guide. For Hot Apps we highlight a way to use your phone and friends to build your habits of excellence. And for Q&A we address the challenge of showcasing the return on investment, ROI, of continuous improvement. Each improvement effort is an asset, and yet when budgets get tight, dispensing with Lean Six Sigma ..read more

It's Episode 88 and the highlight is Tracy and Elisabeth's interview with Miguel Rodriguez. Miguel is the Educational Technology Analyst in charge of Communication for this year’s Process Palooza—UC San Diego’s signature live, Lean Six Sigma Competition. He’s also been a contestant so we’ll hear his take on this crazy improvement festival. For Hot Apps we’re highlighting red-hot Artificial Intelligence—Depending on who you talk to it’s either a godsend of information, or the reason college students will never learn to write. And for Q&A we address the issue of expectations with improvement ..read more

It's episode 81 and the highlight is Tracy and Elisabeth's interview with Visionary Leader Deondra Wardelle. They uncover how this Toyota Kata practitioner has put her considerable problem-solving skills to work supporting the #RootCauseRacism movement. Next up we’ll review an app that lets you collect, share, evaluate, experiment, incubate, & develop the best ideas in your organization. And for Q&A we asked our community if they ever got their customers “wrong.” Apparently that happens a lot more than you might think.   There's a lot going on at the cafe!   Timeline 0:06 ..read more