Out of the Crisis.Org

[Louis Altazan]

One day a man working in a foundry was beating on a piece of iron. Suddenly, the man grabbed his chest, turned very pale and collapsed to the floor. The man was dead, by the time the doctor arrived.

The man was on medication for blood pressure and had experienced chest pains in the past. The body was checked and other than a small tear in his shirt and a tiny scratch on his chest there was no sign of a problem. Everyone considered it a heart attack.

Upon close inspection of the piece of iron, another worker noticed a tiny sliver missing. Could it be? The doctor checked much closer and the tiny scratch was actually a puncture wound. The tiny sliver of iron had pierced the mans shirt and his heart. The wound was so small and so quick that it did not even bleed externally.

It is very easy for people to come to wrong conclusions. Something seems quite logical and the facts seem to fit. Easiest is to accept the logical conclusion. Doing so works out in some instances. It also results in a great many errors.

Change the words in the story just a bit and it might describe any of several situations:

A business uses an incentive pay program. Morale is low and there are several problems with the work. They drop the incentive system and go to pay by the hour. Morale is still low and quality issues continue. They return to incentives and the problems continue.

A man’s car dies. It cranks over but will not start. He returns one-half hour later, connects jumper cables and the car starts. He assumes it must be the battery and replaces it. The next day the car dies again. This time he merely waits a half-hour and the car starts.

Properly solving problems often involves more than a quick decision. Any number of factors can influence outcomes and must be considered. Statistical process control and flow charting can help. Better decisions, better outcomes.

These simple tools take a bit of effort to master, but yield a lifetime of benefits. Have you had success using these methods?

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Louis Altazan
Owner/Manager AGCO Automotive Corporation
Baton Rouge, LA