In Episode 46, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh spend a lot of time talking about AI, but that still, as always, begins with the whiskey.

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We both asked ChatGPT to consider all our ingredients for making a whiskey-based cocktail, and to invent an original recipe. Jamie's is called The Bourbon Harmony, although there was a lot in there to try to reach harmony, and Mark's was called the Spiced Cherry Rye Cocktail.

The verdict for both drinks was that they were good, but probably wouldn't be made a second time. We had slightly different tactics in prompting ChatGPT to generate our recipes, which we discussed.

We then spent a little time recognizing the passing of Don Petersen, former CEO of Ford in the late 1980s. Peterson was very different from an automotive CEO at the time, disrupting many practices whose time had come. Most notably, he brought in Dr. Deming to help influence the transformation.

The discussion then turned into a deeper dive into how a lean thinker might look at artificial intelligence, machine learning, and more. This explored governance of AI, having good standard work and workflow design around AI usage, lessons of effective delegation while treating AI like an employee, when to use it, and even a few tips and tricks along the way. We saved the discussion of whether AI will be the end of humanity for when we might have a stronger cocktail.

Have AI design your new cocktail, make it yourself since AI can't do that, and sit down for this interesting discussion. Cheers, or in binary... 01100011 01101000 01100101 01100101 01110010 01110011

• Jamie's Bourbon Harmony recipe:
  • 2 oz Bourbon (used Elijah Craig Small Batch), 0.5 oz Lillet Blanc, 0.5 oz Aperol, 0.25 oz Drambuie, 2 dashes Orange Bitters, 1 dash Angostura Bitters, Orange peel (for garnish)
• Mark's Spiced Cherry Rye Cocktail recipe:
  • 2 oz Rye Whiskey, 0.5 oz Tart Cherry Liqueur, 0.5 oz Italicus, 0.25 oz Green Chartreuse, 0.25 oz Aperol, 0.5 oz Lemon Juice, Garnish: Lemon twist or a few cherries
• News of former Ford CEO Don Petersen passing away and Mark's blog post adding much context, including Dr. Deming
• GrantThornton's report on AI risks
• Jamie's YouTube video linking AI and problem solving
• Wall Street Journal on whether AI causes job loss
• Wall Street Journal on how AI changes jobs
• Podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or jflinch.com/leanwhiskey

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In Episode 45, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban join the Just-in-Time Cafe team of Elisabeth Swan and Tracy O’Rourke as a special nod to their 100th Episode, while also having a chance to toast Mark’s accomplishment of 250 episodes of My Favorite Mistake podcast and 500 episodes of the Lean Blog Podcast. This episode blended the two formats a bit, but you can be sure whiskey was one of those elements that we retained.

We each selected a cocktail to make. Jamie made his original recipe, the Black Forest Kiss. Since you can’t Google it, the recipe is 2 oz bourbon, ½ oz sweet vermouth, 1 oz Cherry Herring, 5 dashes chocolate bitters, and garnished with cherries. Mark made a Perfect Manhattan with walnut bitters. Elisabeth made Remember the Maine. Tracy was stuck with wine, but you’ll have to listen for the story as to why that was. We also checked in about the various books we’ve written, including Mark’s The Mistakes That Make Us, Jamie’s People Solve Problems, Elisabeth’s Picture Yourself a Leader, and the forthcoming 2nd edition from Tracy and Elisabeth of the Problem Solver’s Toolkit.

We shared our Hot Apps personal choices, which included Trello, Kainexus, Asana, and the combination of Evernote and Scannable. In the episode you’ll hear how we utilize these apps. We then turned our attention to podcasting, sharing our origin stories, what we love about it, and some mistakes that we’ve learned from through the process.

• Just in Time Cafe podcast
• My Favorite Mistakes podcast
• Lean Blog podcast
• People Solve Problems podcast
• Picture Yourself a Leader book
• The Mistakes That Make Us book
• People Solve Problems book
• Podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or jflinch.com/leanwhiskey

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Notes for everyone on what’s below. Please add links for preferred website and books for the show notes (going both directions):

• Jamie
  • https://www.jflinch.com/
  • https://www.jflinch.com/people-solve-problems/
• Elisabeth
  • https://www.jitcafe.com/
  • https://elisabethswan.com/book/
• Tracy
  • https://www.jitcafe.com/
  • The new edition of the Problems Solver’s Toolkit will be released soon, but no link yet.
• Mark
  • http://markgraban.com/

https://www.mistakesbook.com/

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In Episode 44, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh get back together for this first episode of 2024. Since we’re not doing Dry January, we go right into the whiskey first by talking about old bottles, including one very old one found at auction. We then did our own comparison tasting, with Jamie trying two different age statements of Knob Creek bourbon and Mark trying two different expressions of Glen Scotia scotch from Campbeltown. 

Dry January is like a New Year’s Resolution that you don’t intend to keep past a month. We discuss New Year’s Resolutions and their reasons for failure. We relate all this to goals, hoshin kanri, SMART goals, systems, and small steps. So, if you’re still working on clarifying your goals or resolutions for the year, take a listen. 

Boeing’s recent troubles with an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX-9 door plug falling out mid-flight was also discussed, including Boeing’s resolution / commitment to add more inspectors to the process. Will more inspectors and more inspections make a difference? If not, what will make a difference? We may not know the final answer, but we break it all down for you in this discussion. 

We wrap things up with a little football talk, both the NFL and College. Cheers! 

• Vintage bottle sold at auction, from York, PA
• Jamie’s selection: Knob Creek
• Mark’s selection: Glen Scotia
• NPR on abandoned New Year’s resolutions
• Jamie’s 2010 blogpost on goals
• Jamie’s 2021 short video on working with goals 
• Boeing’s own updates on the 737-9
• On Senator Cantwell’s letter to the FAA
• Yup, University of Michigan wins the National Championship
• Podcast feed at LeanWhiskey.com or leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or jflinch.com/leanwhiskey 

Please review us and follow!