This afternoon, I had a conversation with my grandma and asked her if the leaves of the tulips had dried up yet in her garden. Not only had they dried up, but she had already cut them and prepared to burn them. I wasn't surprised by the answer; this wasn't the first time I had tried to persuade her to change her 88-year-old practice and not burn them, but rather compost or use them to cover the soil to prevent it from drying out in the summer months. I won't convince her; the idea is too strong, too deeply rooted in her mind that this is how it should be. It has always been this way, and probably always will be.
The story came up because I meet this phenomenon at work too, where someone holds onto a fix idea about something and refuses or is unable to change it, even if it costs a lot. Money usually plays a crucial role in this, especially hard to change when the alternative would be more expensive, it would cost more time, effort or energy, or would lead to a conflict situation. We especially don't want to step out of our comfort zone and learn something entirely new.
But what if the tool requested by the only experienced colleague for a task is actually necessary for the job, and we just remembered incorrectly that someone said years ago that it was unnecessary? Do we lose the colleague if we resist their rational request?
What if ideas that have worked well on one assembly line don't perform as effectively in electrode manufacturing? How much do they increase the production costs if we stubbornly stick to them?
What if strict formal and substantive requirements really must be met for invoices and other documents for entry into the EU? How many days will the trucks stand at customs if we do not follow the rules?
There are countless examples of stubborn adherence causing minor or major losses and additional work. It's worth thinking about these and keeping our eyes, and more importantly, our minds, open.
What if things aren't as we think they are? Right now, right here, in this country, industry, situation, or even this year can things be different?
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