When faced with information that contradicts our understanding of the way things are supposed to be, we revert back to what we already know, claiming disbelief in the rightness of what we’re seeing and failing to examine the situation in order to develop a new understanding. We are told to follow the rules, even if we don’t understand them, and we insist on following the rules even when it is pointed out that those rules were based on false assumptions. [Read more]
Ideas, not answers
November 1, 2011 By 2 Comments
My 6-year-old son has show-and-tell at school every Friday. The night before his most recent presetation, I asked him what he wanted to bring to school. He simply said, “Hmmm….I don’t know!” and shrugged his shoulders, waiting for me to give him something he could use. It was then that my improvement genes went into [...]
Family Friday: Hiking Trails and Pretty Pink Dresses
October 28, 2011 By 1 Comment
I was out hiking with my 6-year-old son this weekend at Beaver Brook in Hollis, NH. It was a perfect fall day to be out, and we walked well into the woods and around the pond on a 2 ½ hour trek. While we were out, we learned a few lessons about finding the fascinating in both the unusual, and the ordinary. [Read more]
The Cart Wrangler Blues
October 13, 2011 By 1 Comment
Everyone likes to show off their ability to put their backs into it and come out a winner. In the end, it’s all about “Look at me! I am tough, and I can take it.”
But why do you want to?
Any number of organizations have figured out that no one should have to, or want to. From Toyota and its fabled Production System to Best Buy and the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), there are places that have realized that overcoming the “Look what I can do!” aspects of human nature. [Read more]
Being Resourceful is a matter of curiosity
September 27, 2011 By 1 Comment
“Do what you can with what you’ve got wherever you are.” Theodore Roosevelt Those words got me thinking about people who will state that they can’t accomplish something for no reason other than, “I don’t know how.” Ummmm……what? The truth is that the statement is incomplete. The person doesn’t know how to do the task, [...]
Automating Daycare…Just Like Manufacturing
September 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The other night while I was watching TV I saw this Geico commercial. I thought this was very funny. The commercial is funny because it is ludicrous. We would never consider this a viable option. We want a human to interact with our children so they can adjust to their needs and solve problems that come up throughout the day. We value having the mind that is attached to the hands and feet of the daycare workers.
So, why don’t we value the minds attached to hands and feet in a manufacturing environment? [Read more]
Practice talking to yourself
August 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
Education is killing the spirit
August 14, 2011 By 4 Comments
Change your premise
June 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I am frequently reminded of some old Star Trek: The Next Generation episode whenever I hear or see someone who is failing, over and over again. The episode dealth with Commander Data, the cybernetic organism that worked so dilgently to understand human life. He was pitted against some grand master in a game that looked [...]
A little something about nothing
May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It’s hard coming up with new ideas all the time. Ask any writer, or painter, a musician or even an engineer. Anyone who has to come up with something new often enough will eventually encounter blockage. There are exercises and writing prompts, little tricks that people use to get themselves going – some even don’t [...]
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