In Episode 48 of the Lean Whiskey podcast, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by comparing two whiskeys from the same distillery.

OOPS! We recorded this in October... and I released it via YouTube and my blog. But it somehow ended up stuck in "Draft" unreleased status on the podcast. That's why we had two episodes released in the same week...

Episode page with video and more

Mark selected Woodford Reserve, and had a pour of both the Double Oaked (which we both agree is underrated) and their Historic Barrel Entry, a nod to production methods in the past. Jamie selected Southern Distilling after a recent visit to North Carolina. He poured their heated bourbon, the Paragon Bottled-in-Bond, and their Double Rye, a surprisingly smooth drink at 95% rye.

Mark and Jamie repeat their “lean coffee modified for whiskey-sipping speed” approach of covering multiple topics. All three topics were prompted by Wall Street Journal articles.

The first was whether AI was overhyped. The article focused on the return on investment, but we spend more time on both the organizational and individual approach of experimentation and learning.

We then explored the trend (although more anecdotal than a large data trend) of “unbossing”, which hopefully doesn’t become a new term. Individuals further into their career are wanting to give up managing people due to the burden and stress of the role. We explored a bit of “what is the problem we are trying to solve?” with exploration of spans and layers, too much bureaucracy, and just needing more focus on growing people.

Finally, we tackled an increase in fatalities and injuries from failure to use proper lockout tagout procedures. These should be fundamental, habitually focused processes. Lack of training and lack of enforcement are some of the causes, and increased turnover throughout and past the pandemic is a contributing factor, as is a cultural focus on output over safety. We explore a bit of the history, importance, and some possible steps forward.

We end by sharing what books we’ve been reading. A book and a glass of whiskey aren’t a bad combination. Cheers!

• Jamie’s whiskeys, both from Southern Distilling Company, are their Paragon Bottled-in-Bond and their Double Rye
• Mark’s whiskeys are both from Woodford Reserve, featuring the Double Oaked and the Historic Barrel Entry
• Is AI overhyped? from the Wall Street Journal
• The trend of ‘unbossing’ from the WSJ
• Factory Workers Are Dying Because Machines Aren’t Being Turned Off from the WSJ
• What we’re reading now, 4 books:
  • India: A History
  • Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World by Rana Foroohar
  • The Psychological Safety Playbook, and watch for a future episode of My Favorite Mistake featuring one of the authors
  • Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn by Katie Anderson
• Podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or jflinch.com/leanwhiskey

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