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I don't know how much this swimmer has studied lean, but I like his comments on swimming. They can apply to lean anywhere!
“1. Working hard doesn't help. I swim in many different pools and with many Masters groups. Everywhere I go, most of my pool mates are working harder than they should. They think they're doing what it takes to improve, but when I watch from underwater, most of their energy and effort is spent mainly on creating turbulence and making waves. Few use that effort effectively. Working hard has become so ingrained in the culture of swimming because “real swimmers” and their coaches talk a lot about “pushing through pain barriers.””
How often are we “working hard”, but doing wasteful activities and motions. It's cliche, but “working smarter not harder” applies here, it sounds like.
“5. Never push off without a plan. Never leave a wall, for any set or repeat, without a clear sense of one thing you're trying to do really well.”
Sounds like good lean advice…. never set off on a lean transformation without some clear idea where you are going. You can't completely plan out everything that will happen, but you should have some clear direction!
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Mark's new book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation.
He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean.
Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.