Learning from Living
10 Feb 2004 in Best Practices, Lean Thinking, Work by GarrickOver breakfast this Saturday, my wife and I discussed various home improvement projects for our new place. Very early into the conversation, we realized how little we knew about the house. What’s under the carpet? Can the toilet be moved easily? How long will it take to remove the wallpaper?
Answers that can only be found inside the space - and tearing up the carpet.
One of the principles of Kaizen is to be in the environment you’re attempting to improve.
Yet, many conversations I have with clients, especially early-stage meetings, take place outside of the environment in question. Many teams feel pressure to nail down times, processes, and schedules before their first step into the space.
Comments (3)
Learning from Living - Part 2
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent the weekend doing tearing out carpetting from our house and understanding the electrical and plumbing systems. A couple of our plans needed to change once we really got into the house:
Need a new subf…
Working Pathways, LLC - The Work Better Weblog added these pithy words on Aug 18 04 at 5:13 pm[...] « Legalizing Feng Shui Many Conversations Converge » Learn [...]
The Work Better Weblog » Archive » Learning from Living - Part 2 added these pithy words on May 26 05 at 4:24 pmAnonymous added these pithy words on Aug 18 04 at 5:33 pmThe Japanese have a 1/3 - 2/3 ratio similiar to Americans, only backwards. we’ll spend little time on planning a project and then the remaining 2/3 of the time working through execution. oftentimes this is an expensive path to follow, as many unforseen problems can arise. the Japanese will spend much time talking, planning, and testing a plan before the execution. think Japanese cars relability vs. american cars. undoubtly the Japanese cars rank better almost every time.
Americans are in a big damn hurry to do something, whether they get it right or not isn’t necessarily as important as in the doing.
Add a Comment
Related Entries
- Learning from Living - Part 2
- Putting the ‘Fish’ in AmigoFish
- Suburban Living Not Cheaper Than Urban Living
- Maybe It’s a Sign
- Learning the Rails
