Nikka Whisky, Performance Reviews, KPIs, More Lean Pet Peeves

Show notes: http://leanblog.org/whiskey4

In Episode 4 of Lean Whiskey, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh (and a cameo from his cat Rocco), 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 our friends at Glenns Creek Distillery, before tipping our glasses with Japanese whiskey, both from Nikka. Jamie is tasting the Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt, named after the father of Japanese whiskey, Masataka Taketsuru. Mark is tasting the Nikka Coffey Malt, named after the Coffey Still. 

While also covering topics like our “lean pet peeves” and binge-watching shows, we talked about benchmark data and its purpose for driving improvement. In our Lean in the News segment, we look at benchmarking data both from IndustryWeek's Best Plants competition, as well as national healthcare safety data. We explore that there are no standards for these metrics, and ask whether it really matters. 

In our Reader Mail segment, we explore Dr. Deming's Point 12: “abolishment of the annual or merit rating and of management by objective.” Is this lean? Can reviews be lean? What would make them fit better in a lean environment? 

Here are some links from the show: 

• We once again talked about our friend David Meier of Glenns Creek Distillery
• We both sampled whisky from Nikka 
• Jamie tried the Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt
• Mark had the Nikka Coffey Malt 
• IndustryWeek's article on the Best Plant's performance KPIs
• The Boston Globe's article on Getting an accurate count on medical errors
• Dr. Deming's 14 Points for Management 
• Email us a reader mail question at leanpodcast@gmail.com
• Check out the podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or at leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or at jflinch.com/leanwhiskey