On a recent trip to the grocery store I shambled by an otherwise nice SAAB with a “Bernie Sanders 2016” sticker on the back bumper, the hood up, and three scrawny hipster guys (late 20s going on 11) slouching around it, occassionally cranking the engine.
“Can you, like, give us a jump?” one man-child asked abruptly as I passed. (What ever happened to the simple courtesy of excusing yourself before you interrupt another person? “Excuse me, can you, like, give us a jump?”)
“Probably not. I walked. Besides, you don’t need a jump. Your engine is cranking fine. There’s nothing wrong with your battery.”
“But we need a jump.”
I was momentarily surprised that not one of these young males had any idea of how to solve the problem of a car that won’t start. That surprise quickly passed as I recognized this as one more manifestation of a very widespread problem: an inability to think rationally about problems. This inability to rationally analyze and solve problems, an inability to make rational decisions, shows up throughout our society — in our personal lives, in public policy debates, and, of course, at work.
Rational — one might even say scientific — analysis, problem solving, and decision making is a core activity for anybody working in a Lean environment, so it’s a set of skills that many people new to Lean will need to learn or refine.