Duct Tape is NOT Going to Fix This…

If you’ve worked with me, then you know I HATE making mistakes.? I admit I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and it’s hard to let that go.? I’m also open to admitting when I’ve made mistakes and learning from them.?

However, I think there’s a distinct difference between taking a misstep (where you genuinely don’t know how to do something or can’t anticipate the outcome) and doing something where you know better.? You remember those, the ones when you were little and the adults in the room said “come on, you know better than to do this”.? Ouch.? Those sting.? And now that I’m an adult (by the calendar, anyway), the “knowing-betters” are painful and costly.

Worse than that, I’ve actually practiced Operational Excellence in my professional life and achieved a certification.? If you know anything about OpEx, one of the tenets is reducing waste.? Here I am writing and talking about how I’m drawing analogies between my passion for my work and my passion in my garden, and I make a classic mistake.? I didn’t take care of my tools, my investments.

Basic physics tells us that as we have alternating very cold and warm days in a New Jersey winter, we will also have items exposed to those temperatures expand and contract, contract and expand.? I went to water my newly-planted pea seeds this afternoon only to find that I ruined another hose nozzle, NOT FOR THE FIRST TIME. (Enjoy the water fountain pics.)

And this one really stings: I love my variety of Mexican pottery planters.? They bring sunshine and color and fun memories to my deck.? Again, basic science here, NJ winters can’t exactly support outside storage of my beautiful pots.? A few years ago I lovingly wrapped them in blankets.? This year, I got lazy and you see the outcome.?

So not only am I looking at loss of investment/tools/materials, now I have rework (I’ll have to buy a new hose nozzle) plus additional cost. The Six Sigma and OpEx consultants out there are shaking their heads at me right this minute.

This lesson is a painfully easy lay-up.? So, tell me friends, where in your work are you missing the ones where you should know better?? Are you rushing, causing mistakes and rework?? Are you not maintaining your tools or monitoring your investments?? And if you are making a mistake – honest or otherwise – are you taking a lesson so you can avoid them in the future?

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Don’t wait until it falls apart.? There may not be enough duct tape.

?#keepgrowing #thegardenHR #operationalexcellence #waste #rework