S2 E14 - Jim Benson - Make Work Visible, Make Work Better

Title: S2 E14 - Jim Benson - Make Work Visible, Make Work Better Subtitle: Kanban and Lean Coffee to replace chaos with clarity Description:Jim Benson—co-creator of Personal Kanban, Shingo Prize winner, and co-founder of Lean Coffee—joins Mark to unpack how visual management and WIP limits reduce overload and create humane, effective teamwork. We trace the origins of Kanban for knowledge work, why “Done” should become “Learn,” and how a Seattle café experiment turned into a global pattern for better conversations and decisions. Chapters00:00 Intro — why “make work visible” matters01:05 Meet Jim Benson (Personal Kanban, Shingo Prize, Lean Coffee)03:10 Punk rock → systems thinking → urban planning05:25 Early real-time traffic/ITS and proto-Agile roots07:40 When iterations weren’t fast enough: Kanban emerges10:30 The pub napkin story & early knowledge-work Kanban13:50 Personal Kanban: visibility for humans (not just tools)16:45 Options → Doing → Done (and why “Done” should become “Learn”)20:20 Columns, states, collaboration rules, and where work gets stuck22:55 Why we limit WIP: flow vs. flood & cognitive load26:20 Social debt, decision latency, and finishing with quality30:00 PDCA on the board: Plan / Do / Study / Adjust in practice33:15 Trello/Asana analogies and practical board setups35:40 WIP slots/lanes and right-sized work38:30 Human-centered Kanban and healthier team dynamics41:10 The Lean Coffee origin story (Seattle café → worldwide)45:00 Mechanics that matter: voting, timeboxes, continue/stop48:05 Leveling power distance and creating equitable meetings52:10 Using Lean Coffee for better leadership/team meetings55:45 Kaizen Camp & Riot Games: from stuck to momentum01:00:30 Community impact stories; what to try on Monday01:04:30 Closing & how to stay connected Episode Highlights Visual management changes conversations—not just throughput WIP limits as guardrails against overload, rework, and hidden social costs Turning “Done” → “Learn” to make continuous improvement continuous Lean Coffee: simple rules that create equitable, productive discussions GuestJim Benson — Co-creator of Personal Kanban; co-founder of Lean Coffee; co-founder, Modus Institute; Shingo Prize winner. #PersonalKanban #LeanCoffee #Lean #ContinuousImprovement #VisualManagement #WIP #Flow #Agile #ImprovementNerds