π “Let go of the horses.” π
It is time.
In the early 1940s, a military consultant was hired to help an army become more efficient. After observing the army in-person with their canon artillery, he noticed something that appeared odd to him.
A moment before the firing of the canon, two members of the gun crew appeared to provide no value to the gun crew at large but did come to attention for a three-second interval when the canon was being fired.
He was puzzled by this, and summoned an old, retired colonel with a long, white beard who had fought with this same army decades before when he was still a very young man.
This consultant begged of the wise old colonel to share any insight as to why these two members would salute at such a time.
In a weak, strained voice, the colonel announced: “They are holding the horses. We had two men that would hold the reins of the horses so they didn’t bolt upon firing.β
Take a second to reflect on this. Even though the army no longer had horses pulling their cannons, tradition kept these two individuals as part of the gun crew. The army continued the practice long after the horses were gone.
How often are we like this army? Do we have sacred cows or other old, outmoded processes that we keep solely due to tradition? Do we rest on our laurels and not ask the “why” behind all that we do?
Stagnation insists that they way we are currently doing things is sufficient (if not optimal).
Innovation requires thought and trimming the tree at times.
Let’s all grab our shears and get to work.
#dyealogues
dyejo
Guest Author
J Washburn
