Before I launch into this month’s musings, I would like to thank everyone who has responded so positively to my writing. My hiatus from writing and publishing articles occurred when my primary outlet decided all of their article-writing should be done in-house. Not that I needed one more thing to do every month, but it did give me a way to express my opinions each month. To my surprise, I received a call from The Advertiser asking if I would write a monthly article for this publication. I really had to think about it. After being away from it, I wondered if my opinions would still be relevant. As it turns out, many of you either find humor in my writing or occasionally find an opinion that makes sense. Anyway, thanks to all who have emailed, called or spoken to me during my travels. Each time, it gives me one of those “Aw Shucks” moments.
So, I have a dilemma. I have two great topics on my mind this month and only one article. I’ve been thinking about an article on all of the great things Operation Finally Home is doing and all of the ways the SBCA Chapters and Councils are assisting in that endeavor. The other idea though takes me back to something I wrote eleven years ago. That article was one of the most requested pieces. People who were beginning the Six Sigma training process wanted it to use as part of their curriculum. I, of course, told them “sure!” It was a message about how we learn and how we forget how to learn as we grow older. It was framed in the context of my beautiful daughter, so now, having just witnessed her sixth grade graduation, it seems appropriate to choose it as this month’s topic.
At the time, many of you remember, I had just become a father again at a bit of, well, an advanced age. I am still the oldest dad at the PTA meetings, but I am no longer the oldest guy in the industry with an infant child at home. (But I may be the oldest guy in the industry with a twelve year old at home!) I talked about how my one-year-old caught my attention with how she learns new things. All small children do it. THEY LEARN NEW THINGS FAST! They seem to watch something being done a time or two, begin mimicking the actions, and shortly thereafter they master the skill. This goes on and on, until they begin understanding the boundaries and limitations of the world around them. Sometimes it becomes a fear of failure that keeps them from trying new things. Sometimes it is simply an understanding of how things have always been done and not knowing that there is probably a better way.
In that article I talked about an experiment performed by a highly regarded business consultant.
He visited a kindergarten classroom and on the dry erase board he placed a single dot. Without further explanation he asked the children, “What is that?” Hands flew up all over the room. One said it was a star, another said it was a freckle, another said it was a bug, and still another said it was a telephone pole……looking at it from the top. Every child had used their imagination and determined the dot’s identity, unbridled by logic and unhindered by fear that they may be incorrect. Then he performed the same experiment for a classroom of high school seniors. He asked the same question and not a single hand went up. He continued to ask the question and finally a single hand was raised. The student said, “It’s a dot.” Then another hand, same answer. Pretty soon everyone was answering “dot.”
Several things can be learned from this experiment. The most important is that, as we grow older, it seems, we forget how to use our imagination. We judge things based on a narrow field of vision gained from our experiences. This narrowing of our perspective keeps us from recognizing opportunities to learn and evolve, and that includes opportunities in life and in our industry.
If our businesses, and our industry, are going to grow and evolve, then we must remain open to all of the possibilities. How many times have you looked at a process in production and thought, “yes, that’s how it is supposed to be done because that is how we have always done it.”? Every time you watch something in your plant, you should put on your eyes of a child and ask, “Why?” Try to find out how that process came into being. Look for the opportunity to find a new method and use it to improve your business. Sometimes those revolutionary ideas jump out at you, but many times that idea comes when you least expect it. Be ready. Write it down, so you don’t forget before you have a chance to expand the idea. Many times my epiphany moment will occur when I am sleeping. It usually makes me shoot out of bed….well, maybe not shoot out of bed. More like lumber out of bed. I do drag myself out of bed though, because those important ideas don’t come along as often as I would like and I want to get it down on paper (and because I can never get back to sleep after it happens). I’ve learned that, in a sleep state, our minds are less burdened and more willing to solve a problem unaided by conventional logic. Our challenge is to bring that same “free thinking” to our conscious minds. We should find ways to think more like a child, become fascinated by learning new things, and begin trying things that others would simply dismiss as against the status quo.
We should all strive to be idea guys. Bombarded by new ideas all the time. Don’t get stuck in the rut because someone once told you this is how it’s supposed to be done. We have to put an end to “idea blocking” – instead, reclaim that childlike state of mind where we use our imagination and believe anything is possible. Enlist everyone in your operation. Make it safe for anyone to bring any idea forward. Examine it closely. It may end up being the next big innovation in your business and it may come from the most unlikely place. Training everyone to think more like a child and being enthralled by the search for new information could be the one thing that helps you take the next step. As Walt Disney called it, be an Imagineer!