5. REAL: The Power of Simply Looking – Hidden Solutions in Plain Sight

We often believe that the most complex problems require complex solutions. But what if the answer is as simple as standing still and observing? In this edition, we explore how the Simply Looking? technique revealed game-changing solutions at Pickled Peppers, and fast, all by doing one simple thing: observing.

The Office Traffic Jam: Time Wasted in Plain Sight

Dan stood in front of the group, clipboard in hand, the quiet hum of the office providing the only sound. He could sense the hesitation in the room—Joanna, the office manager, Carlos, her assistant, Debora, Juanita, Renata, and José were all looking at him, unsure of what came next.

He handed each an identical clipboard, a pencil, and blank graph paper.

Dan paused, giving each person a glance. “I want you to draw. Not artistically, don’t worry about that—just sketch the flow of the office. Trace where people go. Take note of bottlenecks, like places where things slow down. Focus on what stands out. The goal is to find the hidden inefficiencies, the ones you don’t notice because you’re too close to the work.”

The team glanced at their clipboards, pencils poised but unsure. Dan continued, “This is precisely what we did yesterday on the gallon line. And believe me, what we uncovered was eye-opening. Now, it’s your turn.”

“Today,” Dan started, “we’re going to slow down and see things as they are—without judgment, without assumptions. We will practice what I call Simply Looking?.”

Dan explained the first step, Quiet Your Mind. “Before we observe anything, we need to clear our minds. Take a moment to sit or stand comfortably. Close your eyes. Let go of the tension in your body, starting from your belly. Breathe slowly, let it melt away. Move your focus up your body—through your legs, hips, shoulders, and head. Let your thoughts settle.”

As he guided them through this calming exercise, the group shifted from their initial uncertainty to quiet concentration. They followed along, preparing to see the office from a new perspective.

Once they were relaxed and focused, Dan moved to Step Two: Observe. “Now that your mind is clear, I want you to take your clipboards and draw. Walk around the office, observe the flow of people, and sketch what you see. Pay attention to how people move, where they pause, and what might be slowing them down. Don’t try to fix anything yet—just notice.”

Joanna and Carlos exchanged glances as they stood up, clipboards in hand. Slowly, the group began moving around the office, tracing lines and drawing arrows to map out the flow. The tension had given way to curiosity. They were watching not with their typical, rushed outlook, but with fresh eyes. For the next 20 minutes, they observed quietly, sketching the rhythm of the office—workers moving to the printer, lingering at desks, shifting between tasks.

As the teams began to reflect on their observations, the patterns became clearer. José pointed out the traffic jam in front of the multi-use machine—printer, scanner, fax—where everyone seemed to get stuck. The large black blotch they had drawn on the office layout spoke volumes. People were spending hours each week standing there, waiting, their productivity grinding to a halt.

Dan, noticing the nods of recognition from around the room, brought the group back together. “So, what’s going on here?” he asked, gesturing toward the blotch on the diagram. “It’s not just about a machine, is it?”

Joanna, the manager, spoke up. “I thought we were saving money with that multi-use machine. It cost less than buying a separate printer, scanner, and fax.” She paused, looking at the group. “But I guess I didn’t consider how much time we’re losing by having everyone wait in line.”

Dan nodded. “That’s a common trap in business. We focus on the immediate cost of the machine, but we forget to factor in the cost of using it. It’s not just about saving a few bucks on equipment—it’s about understanding the total cost.”

He grabbed a marker and started writing on the whiteboard:

The equivalent of a half-time employee doing nothing but standing in front of the machine, waiting.

Dan smiled. “Exactly. So here’s the question: If we replaced that multi-use machine with a separate scanner, printer, and fax, could we reduce the waiting time?”

The team began to calculate. Within minutes, they realized that while buying three separate machines would cost more upfront, the savings in time—and productivity—would pay for the new equipment in no time.

Dan leaned in, the room hanging on his next words. “This is a great example of why multitasking doesn’t always work, even for machines. Just like people, machines get bogged down when they’re trying to do too many things at once. Sometimes, simplifying—breaking things into smaller, focused tasks—is the best way to go.”

The Forklifts: When the Solution is Right in Front of You

Later that afternoon, the plant was running like clockwork—or so it seemed. Forklifts buzzed around the facility, dropping off crates of peppers and running back to get more. The managers had been discussing the rising maintenance expenses for weeks, frustrated that the only mechanic available had retired, forcing them to bring in someone from 100 kilometers away for repairs. The obvious solution? Buy another forklift. Or so they thought.

Dan gathered the team.

“Let’s take a step back,” he said. “Before we make any decisions, I want you to observe the forklifts. No fixing, no jumping to conclusions—just watch.”

The team positioned themselves around the plant, clipboards in hand, quietly sketching the movement of the forklifts. Back and forth they went, over and over, their tires crunching on the gravel. It seemed so routine, so efficient—until the sketches started to overlap. The patterns revealed something startling: the forklifts weren’t moving based on demand from the production line. They were victims of what is called pushing product from the supply side rather than pulling it to meet demand.

The tanks of pickles, managed by the storage staff, were pushing the product at the line, regardless of what the line actually needed. Forklifts were running around constantly, but half the time they were dropping off product that just sat there, degrading under the hot sun. It wasn’t the forklifts dictating the process—they were the victims of it. The line wasn’t pulling product when it required it.

Dan let the silence stretch as the realization settled in. The team saw it now. More forklifts wouldn’t solve the problem. They had been too focused on maintaining the current system to see the inefficiency right in front of them.

And then, from the back of the room, a quiet voice broke through. Blue, one of the field workers, barely finished with high school, spoke up.

“What if we used the red and green crates we already have? We could raise them to signal when we need more peppers.”

The room fell silent. The suggestion was simple—too simple. The managers exchanged glances, their usual reliance on high-tech solutions faltering in the face of something so simple.

But Dan knew. Every so often, the most profound solutions are the ones that hide in plain sight.

By using the colored crates as a signal, the team flipped the process. Now, the production line would pull product when needed, rather than having forklifts push it unnecessarily. And that decision? It saved them the cost of buying a new forklift and dramatically reduced wear and tear on the existing ones.

Lessons from Simply Looking

1. Slow Down – Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to stop and watch. The insights you need are often right in front of you.

2. The Power of Pull – Letting the process pull product when required, rather than pushing it prematurely, can streamline efficiency and cut costs.

3. Ideas Come from Anywhere – Don’t overlook the power of your team. The best ideas might come from the person you least expect.

This is the power of Simply Looking—an approach that might seem simple, but uncovers profound solutions that are easy to miss. When you slow down, watch, involve everyone, and let the process reveal itself, you may just find that the answers were always right there.

Next edition: Symbolic Acts Matter!

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