On Big Mac's and jumping to conclusions...
There was a sharing frenzy on my personal facebook feed over the weekend as the video of molten copper being poured over a Big Mac went viral. If you missed it, here it is:
All the shared posts were littered with comments denigrating the humble Big Mac.
OMG what damage this burger must cause to your digestive system if it's impervious to molten copper!!
This vid will change your mind about ever eating a Big Mac again :(
And so forth.
Except, that whilst a Big Mac may not be a particularly healthy menu choice, it's not wreaking havoc with your digestive system. It's also NOT impervious to molten copper.
I get why people would see this video and think that a Big Mac must be toxically unhealthy. But it's a great example of jumping to conclusions.
The Big Mac isn't from planet Krypton. It's being protected by science. It's called the Leidenfrost effect. The extreme heat from molten copper (or other metals for that matter) creates a layer of water vapour between the copper and the big mac, causing the molten copper to harmless fall away from the burger.
We jump to the wrong conclusion quite often - mostly without even realising. Happens at work quite frequently too.
So when we teach about improvements in our lean training courses, we spend time talking about defining your problem and investigating potential root causes before we launch straight into solutions mode.
You might want to stop eating Big Macs to be healthier - but this video shouldn't be reason you stop eating them.
Cameron Turner is the Managing Director of Lean Consulting and is recognised as an expert in process improvement, productivity, performance management and Lean Six Sigma. If you would like to read his regular posts then please click 'Follow' and feel free to connect via Twitter
If you want to learn more about Lean Six Sigma, check out our new training company, Lean Sigma Academy.