I like the convenience of cars. They get me to where I want to go.
I don’t like to be inconvenienced by my car. It seems lately I have been dealing with more mechanical failures than usual.
Because I am unenthusiastically frugal, I do most of the repairs myself. To say that I am a shade tree mechanic would be giving me too much credit. I’m sure the tree or even the shade could turn a wrench better than I most days.
The thing I dislike about wrenching the most is the unforeseen hiccups. The nut that seems welded in place, the space just a little too small for my hand or the angle that my body refuses to contort to reach because I don’t have a proper jack.
Myself and others have groaned about engineers being required to work on their products to help their design process become more mechanic friendly.
A car is a whole ‘nother matter once you pop the hood.
I find the same phenomena present in organizations.
Most people love what the organization does for them. The end result is always pleasing to the average individual. But once in a while, we want to see what is under the hood. We start probing and asking questions. We wonder why it wasn’t designed this way or that way. Why was this material chosen for this job instead of another.
Truthfully, most of the time, the design is just fine. It was the best the manufacturer was able to come up with at the time of production. As new materials and technologies make themselves available, processes are improved.
But if we are not careful, we begin to scrutinize the process so much that the organization is unable to please us. We are sure that it could be and should be done different, better or to our way of thinking.
Before long, we are dissatisfied with our car and ready to trade it in for something better.
The reality is that the same process can be replicated with the new car. If you probe long enough, you will always find something that doesn’t meet your approval.
Most of the time, it is best to leave the hood latched and just drive it.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 