Improvement Insights Blog
Be Like the Ocean’s Waves
Ever watched the ocean? Waves just keep coming back again and again, rearranging the coastline. You can too!
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“My wife and I like to go out to Maui to take vacations because it’s just restful, and we spend time on Ka’anapali Beach. We’ve been there different times of year, and it’s very interesting because at one point in time the waves move the sand southward and they pile up by Black Rock. Then other times of year it moves the sand along the beach to the north and a lot of things, rocks and things get exposed over by Black Rock.
“One of the things you learn is that waves just keep coming, so I want you to be like a Quality wave. Just keep coming back, right? Moving the… shifting the sand, moving the company in a useful direction no matter who’s leading it, no matter who you’re working with.
“Be like the waves: Just keep coming back and coming back and coming back and solving problems, and guess what? Oddly enough, leadership teams notice results… notice results. They notice who’s getting stuff done because it shows up in the corporate dashboards and stuff. Be like the ocean: Keep coming back.
“That’s my Improvement Insight for this week. Let’s go out and improve something.”
