This poem, by Stevie Smith has long had an influence on me. Whilst the poem itself is quite sad, if taken literally, the meaning behind it is one of life’s great lessons. It’s too easy not to see, or misinterpret that which is right in front of your eyes…
“Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.”
When I work with Boards, defining their future strategy, or Operational teams to work out how we make improvements, it’s my 35 years of experience that enable me to see past what is apparently right in front of me, to see what really lies beneath. Learning to see is the first step of Lean, when you are embedded in a business or a sector, it’s quite normal to not be able to see the wood for the trees.
Being able to see is a skill, much like being able to draw, or paint. Whilst (in theory) anyone can learn to do it, people tend to have a natural propensity to/or not to be able to.
If you want to know more about how I do this, please check out some of the other posts on my blog.
If you want to discuss further, or have any specific requests, please contact me here Contact – MCDBT (business-transformation.org.uk)
I have multi-sector experience at driving significant business changes, breadth and depth of experience. If you want to know the art of the possible, a short call with me will help you explore that.
Although focussed on manufacturing, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) has some great info for further reading here – What is Lean? Lean Manufacturing & Lean Enterprise | ASQ