Anger or reflection... which would you choose?

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

In one of my more philosophical moments the other night I happened to mention that I remember hearing about an ancient oriental philosophy that says, "if a valuable glass breaks you should not be angry with it being broken, but instead reflect on all the times you enjoyed the glass before it broke"... or something to that effect. The discussion admittedly was around how hard that can be.

Afterwards, recalling the discussion and racking my brain as to where I had heard about my so-called oriental philosophy (and if it was in fact even real), I did what any inquisitive person would do... I turned to the Internet.

I was not able to validate my oriental philosophy of "reflecting on all the times you enjoyed the glass before it broke", but I did discover Kintsugi... something that as an art form is simply beautiful, and as a philosophy is simply marvellous.

Kintsugi is a Japanese philosophy and art that treats "breakage" as part of the history of an object and not something to be thrown away or disguised; it is illustrated by repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum. * 

Getting back to the philosophical discussions of the other night, Kintsugi would have been a nice addition as some of the talk was about the scrapes, scars and breaks that are part of our journey; literally and figuratively. As I reflect more on recent discussions, as well as newly found philosophies, it all seems to be one big fat allegory for working through the trials and tribulations of life.

• Things in life break, both figuratively and literally... objects, situations, relationships and even people. Reflection offers a far more positive energy, whereas anger offers nothing but the negative form; intuitively and practically we all know anything positive is the way to go.
• When things break, they can be put back together. By definition, the very act of being repaired makes it different, but that doesn't mean it will to be any less beautiful.
• The scrapes, scars and breaks that come with our journey of life should be celebrated... they are part of who we are, and that is a beautiful thing. We all have stories to share and celebrate.
• Kintsugi in an allegorical sense, like being reflective is not easy but can be done, and must be a conscious choice; with patience, skill and desire, something wonderful can come from all those pieces.

So for me, I choose "reflection"... if for no other reason, just look what happens when you add some "discussion" and access to the Internet.

gpe

* Many thanks to the Internet and Wikipedia for helping me discover Kintsugi.

Self imposed change... something to encourage yourself to do.

Sometimes you just need some self imposed change... and I am not referring to taking a different route to work or having a strawberry shake instead of your usual chocolate; something more substantial:

• Sell your house and live somewhere new.
• Get an MBA to elevate your prospects.
• Take the package and explore new career paths.
• Take that job in another country.
• Buy a standard, even though you've only ever driven automatic. 

Ok, maybe switching to standard is not so substantial, but don't underestimate how tricky it can be in the beginning. My point here is that deliberately initiating change, the bigger the better, is important for growth, well-being and exploring this adventure we call life.

Let's take me for example... I am selling my house and moving. Although circumstances allow me to sell, I don't have to, and I'm not exactly sure where I would move to; still there is a sign out front. Here is my thinking, and I believe it is applicable to other substantial change events... in both a literal and figurative way.

• I will literally change my perspective of the world. I will move from a place where I looked at the world a certain way to where my perspectives and views will be totally different. I will literally see the world a "different" way..
• In dealing with the "different", I will learn new skills or at the very least sharpen my existing skills. As an extension of this, I will also break or at least challenge old habits.
• My ability to ADAPT will be challenged and strengthened. I believe adaptability is a skill we all need to develop for our ensured success.
• It will strengthen my planning, organization and execution skills. I rarely use the word "hate", but when it comes to moving I will say, " I hate moving... immensely! And with said, I will ensure I do this move as efficiently as possible, with as few issues as possible.
• It will be an adventure; I will find myself doing things I haven't done before to complete the move and once I'm settled, it will all be new!.

There is also one more thing and maybe the most important which is with self imposed change, you are in control (well at least the illusion of control)..but there will be times when big change is thrust upon you, and you are not in control (be it an illusion or not).

Self imposed change lets you practice for those times when opposed change come your way. And make no mistake, it will. 

Wish me luck with my move,

gpe 

DMAIC... a tool for controlling "the quick fix" and Murphy's Law.

The following is the original and rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Up front I will say I have had Six Sigma Black Belt training, completed a project and have been in my share of "deep dive and fishbone" meetings, but am not certified... this makes me profoundly obnoxious when it comes to all things functional excellence and know just enough to be dangerous. (in a safe and good intentioned sort of way) 

Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement developed by Motorola and made famous by Jack Welsh, as part of his management strategy at General Electric. As a big fan of creative problem solving and optimizing execution, process improvement offers a vast treasure chest of frameworks and tools; one of my most favorite is the DMAIC project methodology. Define. Measure. Analyze. Improve. Control.*

• Define the system, the voice of the customer, their requirements, and the project goals.
• Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data.
• Analyze the data to investigate and verify cause-and-effect relationships. 
• Improve or optimize the current process based upon data analysis 
• Control the future state process to ensure that any deviations from the target are corrected before they result in defects. 

In the context of Problem Solving, DMIAC can be slightly tweaked with regard to language and become a nice framework for working through problems:

• Define the problem at hand and its impact internally and externally.
• Measure the key aspects of the problem regarding its impact.
• Analyze the problem to determine possible solutions
• Improve the situation with a solution and execution plan.
• Control the solution's future state to ensure the problem doesn't re-occur or create a new problem.

The DMAIC framework comes in handy for problem solving, but it is with the reminder to CONTROL that truly secures its utility in the proverbial toolbox - Control the solution's future state to ensure the problem doesn't re-occur or creates a new problem... or as I like to say, control "the quick fix". And we all know what that looks like; the duct tape used to stop a water leak; the coat hanger to hold up the muffler; the part-time employee responsible for an important strategic initiative... all fine examples of "the quick fix". 

I understand that urgency may require "the quick fix" use of duct tape to prevent your basement from flooding, but in reality it should be a step in the solution, not the solution. And this is why I like DMAIC in my toolbox... it is a reminder to ask the question, "Is the solution to the problem a quick fix or a solution that has controlled the problem for the long term?" 

Why should you care about controlling the quick fix? That's an easy answer, to reduce the impact of Murphy's Law which states, "If anything can go wrong, it will". Murphy's Law, by nature will unravel your quick fix solution at the most inopportune time, more often than not, causing problems much larger than original problem the quick fix tried to address.

Remember that duct tape used to stop the leak and was good enough to do the job? Murphy's Law will guarantee an hour after you have left for a long weekend get-away the tape will peak away from the pipe and when you get home you will be greeted by thousands of dollars in water damage. Fiction maybe, but then again this is the type of story Murphy's Law encourages.

Murphy's Law is a universal constant**, but my experience is remembering DMAIC and avoiding the "quick fix" will reduce the number of times you say to yourself, "What was I thinking!"

gpe 

* DMIAC definitions generously supplied by Wikipedia

** There is no scientific data to suggest Murphy's Law is a universal constant but sometimes it does feel that way.