The Just-in-Time Cafe Podcast

Jan 25 2025 45 ep. 46 mins 7
The Just-in-Time Cafe Podcast artwork

A Continuous Improvement gabfest where Tracy O’Rourke and Elisabeth Swan share what’s new in the world of Lean Six Sigma.

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Buckle Up for Edition 2 (with Tracy & Elisabeth)

Jan 25 2025 29 mins  
It's Episode 107 and it's the first menu of the year! Today’s highlight is an interview with Tracy and Elisabeth! Turns out they're the fascinating authors of the soon-to-be published second edition of the Problem-Solver’s Toolkit. Can’t wait to hear what they've got to say about that. For Book Buzz - You'll hear about the book, The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin and why it’s

What's in a Name?, with Tracy Defoe

Dec 16 2024 53 mins  
Last one of the year! And Today’s highlight is our interview with Tracy Defoe the Kata Coach and Adult learning specialist about how changing a label could make the difference between resistance and acceptance of change. For our Book Buzz segment We’ll dig into a book that breaks down what your brain is up against when you try to create. And creativity is something every one of

Lean Courage: Sheetmetal meets Unconditional Love, with Meg Brown

Sep 09 2024 47 mins  
It's Episode 105 and the highlight Tracy & Elisabeth's interview with Meg Brown, Vice President of Human Resources at Cambridge Air Solution, where they’ve built an amazingly successful Lean culture by combining sheet metal with unconditional love–you know you need to know more about that. For Hot Apps we’ve got a mobile diary that helps you form a practice of reflection

First EVAH New England Lean Summit, with Paul Critchley

Aug 14 2024 45 mins  
It's Episode 104 and the highlight is our interview with Paul Critchley, the President of New England Lean Consulting where we find out what’s in store at the first ever New England Lean Summit this September–there’s rumors of a DJ... For Hot Apps, we sampled a platform that could inject a stealth bit of productivity into your family’s day-to-day activities. And for Q&A

Process Palooza—Oh Yeah!, with Ahren Crickard

Jul 15 2024 39 mins  
It's Episode 103 and the highlight is our interview with Ahren Crickard, the Director of the Center for Operational Excellence at UC San Diego and she’ll be sharing all things Process Palooza–the yearly problem-solving festival with the highest octane MC available–a certain Tracy O’Rourke. For Hot Apps, we’ll give you our take on a conference app how good it is at network

Process Alchemy, with Maribel Topf

Jun 17 2024 42 mins  
It's Episode 102 and the highlight is our interview with Maribel Topf the Division Manager of Continuous Improvement at Snap-on Tools author of the new book Process Alchemy–she put all her insights into print and we’re going to get a few gems from her. For Hot Apps, we’ll cover an app that might help you find space for yourself in your day. And then we’ll dig into the quest

The Biology of Lean Culture, with Tracey Minutolo

May 29 2024 40 mins  
It's Episode 101 and the highlight is Tracy an Elisabeth's interview with Tracy Minutolo—Head of Operational Excellence at the technology health company Hologic. We’ll find out how Tracey morphed from a microbiologist into a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. For Hot Apps, we’ll give you our take on a serious rival for ChatGPT—or a perfect companion for Google—or both. And then w

Lean Whiskey Celebrates the Cafe's 100th Episode

Apr 05 2024 53 mins  
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

Spiritualean, with Allison Kestenbaum

Mar 19 2024 43 mins  
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

Lean Life Sharing: Making Organ Donation Work, with Jeff Trageser and Mike Vazquez

Feb 14 2024 58 mins  
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