"Giving Reality its Insistent Due"

NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu
turned this phrase tonight on All Things Considered. His point? Maturity causes us to move from idealism to seeing the world more clearly. My ahaa? The responsible person who wants to drive quality, throughput and waste elimination must also "give reality it’s due."

I asked myself as I drove "Where have I given reality its due the past couple of days?" A few examples:

>> It is hard to get every window square
>> I am a sucker for chocolate brownies
>> We struggle to eliminate roof leaks
>> We nailed, perfectly, three month’s of process conformance in ordering
>> A six-page checklist is impossible to use

On further reflection, I realized that the effective person then takes action, based on reality. What did I do in response to the above?

>> Initiated process improvement with vendor
>> Complimented the cook and took another one
>> Began to brainstorm mistake-proofing options
>> Quick celebration with folks who contributed
>> Drafted a one-page version

One of Toyota’s mottoes is "Document Reality." What reality do you see? What can you do, today? Send me a note on how you did.


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