Thats How We Always Did It Thats the Way We Always Did It Funny

I don't get surprised anymore when people say "but we've always done it this way", like it would be some kind of valid argument for most people, or justification of means. I love the reaction on their faces when I reply "so what?", knowing they expected only a silent "aaah". We got so used to the idea of repeating some steps that we stopped thinking if it makes any sense.

A real-life example happened to me some time ago. Not to get into any details, I was asked to do something in a faulty way. When I declined, explaining this can cause a defect, guess what they said… Yes, indeed: "but we've always done it this way". Year after year, they've been doing it the same way. Repeating the same mistake.

The sad thing is, that when this was escalated to the manager, he used the exact same argument and it seemed that for him, and other parties involved, it was good enough. Now, thinking about the quote from the photo above, you realize that it is by no means an exaggeration - it might be a very dangerous phrase indeed.

So what is the problem here?

I mean the real problem. From my point of view, it is the way we get used to thinking. And this is something we've been taught since primary school. Our educational system teaches us to organize our thinking into boxes with specific labels on them. No mixing allowed, no stuff out of them either.

What is Lean thinking then?

I would say it is the return to our primary, instinctive way of thinking – the way of thinking that we are taught to forget by not using it. Like a firefighter being taught to forget his primal survival instincts of running from the fire, to running into it instead.

I remember an exercise I have been part of – the marshmallow tower. It consists of building the tallest and strongest structure of spaghetti sticks with a big marshmallow on the top, in under 20 minutes. The trick of it is that when you make a very tall structure, but not strong enough, it will fall with the weight of the marshmallow. Now, if you would have to pick a team to build it, choosing in between a group of managers, IT guys, engineers or seven-year-old children, on whom would you bet your money? I would go with the group of kids. Why? Because they have a totally different way of thinking – they actually don't think too much, they just do it. And it was proven that they are one of the most successful groups taking part in this exercise (just behind architects and construction engineers). And also, the approach they take is totally different from adults.

What does that teach us?

That we over-complicate and over-plan things, we don't take reasonable approaches (just the most common ones), we spend too much time arguing and struggling for power, we follow existing paths, and we are afraid to step out of them.

What we need to do then?

We need to start changing the way we think and perceive – being unafraid to try and do things differently. Also not being afraid of failing – most importantly, learning from it. Starting to observe and identify inefficiencies (wastes) and imagine solutions to them. This is a vision that needs to be cascaded to the entire organization, starting from the top to the bottom. And people really need to believe in it, otherwise it will not take off.

It doesn't have to be a dreary obligation either. Lean can be fun and very useful, even in your personal life. Once you re-tune your mind to Lean thinking it is like taking the magic pill in the movie Limitless. You will start to see things you never saw before. They were there all along; you just didn't see them.

So try to re-tune your mind into Lean, like I did. You can thank me later.

#mercerlean

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Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/weve-always-done-way-vs-lean-thinking-sergiusz-lisowski

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