I Coulda Had a V8!

As I finished a kaizen event this afternoon and the team did the obligatory management report-out, I couldn't help but laugh when the executive sponsor said over the speakerphone that he had experienced a few "I coulda had a V8" moments. In other words, DUH! It was the obvious, little things that made the difference--and the difference was in the millions of dollars.

On the two hour ride from Knoxville to my home in North Carolina, I kept thinking about this and here's the burning question I kept kicking around: HOW MANY OF THE THINGS WE STRUGGLE WITH ARE THE RESULT OF OH-SO-PAINFULLY-OBVIOUS CAUSES. We have been conditioned to look for the exotic, brilliant, breakthrough answer and the mindbending AHA! As a result we miss the clear, in-your-face simple things that, if seen and addressed, could make a lot of difference. Some of you get this. For those of you who don't, well...you've just proved my point.