Keep it Simple
(Something to remember)
•One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management
was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of
Japan's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a
complaint that a consumer had bought a soap box that was
empty. Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the
assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of
soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box
went through the assembly line empty. Management asked its
engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers
worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution
monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that
passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No
doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent
whoopee amount to do so. But when a rank-and-file employee in
a small company was posed with the same problem, did not get
into complications of X-rays, etc but instead came out with
another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan
and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on,
and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty
boxes out of the line.
• When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they
found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (Ink
won't flow down to the writing surface). In order to solve
this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million. They
developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down,
underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and
in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees
C. And what did Russians do....?? The Russians used a
Pencil!!!
•Moral of the story: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) i.e. always
look for simple solutions. Devise the simplest possible
solution that solves the problem :-) So, learn to focus on
solutions not on problems . "If you look at what you do not
have in life, you don't have anything".
"If you look at what you have in life, you have everything"
This short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you
whether you are qualified to be a "professional."
Scroll down for each answer. The questions are NOT that
difficult. But don't
scroll down UNTIL you have answered the question!
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
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The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the
giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you
tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
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Did you say, "Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and
close the refrigerator?" Wrong Answer.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe
put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your
ability to think through the repercussions of your previous
actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the
animals attend...except one ... Which animal does not attend?
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Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the
refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your
memory. Okay even if you did not answer the first three
questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show
your true abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross but it is inhabited by
crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
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Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have
you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the
Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your
mistakes.
According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the
professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many
preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting
says this conclusively disproves the theory that most
professionals have the brains of a four year old. |
