Listen:
Here is the episode if you want to stream it (no video this time):
In Episode 31 of “Lean Whiskey,” Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh discuss the routines and practices of wrapping up a year, and kicking off a new year.
In that spirit, we either finish a bottle of whiskey, or start a new one. We also invite three guests to share their thoughts.
Past Lean Whiskey guests Jim Benson, Deondra Wardelle, and Chris Burnham join and share their thoughts on finishing up a year and starting a new one.
Routines, habits, practices that help you transition the year and set up for success in the new year. Lean thinkers know the fallacy of just having good intentions, such as New Year's Resolutions, and tend to focus more on purpose, reflection, structure, and systems. We put that hypothesis to the test by asking three lean thinkers how they approach this time period, and didn't know in advance what they would share.
Jim Benson talked about their discussions within his company, which take place during huddles which allow the conversation to emerge. This is much different than the once-and-done offsite approach. They are exploring how to increase collaboration, as that is certainly the central theme of their work with clients.
Deondra Wardelle celebrates, which she often models for all of us. She also shared how she develops a theme for each year, which drives her plans and actions. The theme for 2022 is “laser focus” which was very intriguing.
Chris Burnham, who is Senior Lean Strategy Director, KaiNexus, shared his evolution of daily practices which includes reflection, prioritization, and planning. His methods include journals and digital tools and of course, having important conversations about the right topics with the right people.
Mark and Jamie also share a bit of their perspective on the challenge, including the fact that the turning of a calendar is relatively arbitrary when it comes to performance management and continuous improvement, and Mark notes how often he sees people zero-out their measurements to start the new year (please don't do this).
Jamie observes that the open space often (but not always) created between your last and first meeting gives you more room to mentally breathe (inbox = zero helps too) which allows deep work, whether that is reflection or planning.
Links From the Show
- We record this episode just after Repeal Day
- Mark's whiskey selection: a new bottle of Yamazaki 12 – Thanks, Ralphs!!
- Jamie's whiskey selection: finishing bottles of Larceny and Willett Pot Still Reserve Bourbon
- Jim Benson's rum selection: Kohana Rum
- Jim Benson's guest appearance on Lean Whiskey Episode 25, and his Personal Kanban site
- Deondra Wardelle's whiskey selection: starting a bottle of Old Pogue
- Deondra Wardelle's guest appearance on Lean Whiskey Episode 23, and her own company and #rootcauseracism
- Chris Burnham's whiskey selection: finishing a bottle of Blanton's
- Chris Burnham's guest appearance on Lean Whiskey Episode 3, and his own podcast Lean Leadership including guest appearances by Mark on Episode 1 and Jamie most recently on Episode 62
- Mark's post about starting the year with blank charts
Since both books came up, we might as well mention Jamie's People Solve Problems and Mark's Measures of Success.
Subscribe, Rate, and Review!
Please check out the main LeanWhiskey.com page if you want to subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or RSS. Please rate and review the podcast too!
Cheers! If you have any feedback or ideas for the podcast, let us know!
Find the podcast feed and past episodes at LeanWhiskey.com or at leanblog.org/leanwhiskey or at jflinch.com/leanwhiskey
Please review us and subscribe or follow in your favorite podcast directory or platform.
What do you think? Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Or please share the post with your thoughts on LinkedIn – and follow me or connect with me there.
Did you like this post? Make sure you don't miss a post or podcast — Subscribe to get notified about posts via email daily or weekly.
Check out my latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation:
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.leanblog.org/2021/12/lean-whiskey-31-end-a-year-end-a-bottle-start-a-year-start-a-bottle/&media=https://www.leanblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Lean-Blog-Post-Cover-Image.jpg&description=In Episode 31 of "Lean Whiskey," Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh discuss the routines and practices of wrapping up a year, and kicking off a new year.){kind=link}