Our Job is Not to be Perfect but to be Human

I have to say that there were many times during my day today, when being perfect took precedence over being human. If we are to truly send our people home fulfilled each and every day we need to embrace their "humanness" and then figure out how to "error proof" our processes so that we don't keep frustrating ourselves in attempting to circumvent our human qualities.

That is the rub in a work environment where standards dictate perfection, or at least near perfection.

I love what I have seen in the development of gas caps on cars. I can't tell you how many times, in my 58 years of existence, that I have forgotten my gas cap at the pump. I was delighted when car manufacturers started tethering those suckers right to the car. But still, there were more than a few times that little tether got in the way of easily putting the cap back on. Now, I am even more pleased with the self-sealing fill port. If you haven't seen one, it is very cool. There is a spring loaded seal that gives when you insert the fuel nozzle and then pops back into place when the nozzle is removed. I love it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I can continue to be the fallible, absent minded person that I am, and I still can be sure, each and every time, that my gas port is sealed and ready to go.

Error proofing of procedures is happening more and more: I no longer loose the cap on the tooth paste since I started buying my toothpaste in a pump dispenser. I no longer have to worry about the cleanliness of a bar of hand soap, as I buy my hand soap in a pump dispenser. I no longer have to look for a rag to apply my Armour All to the interior of my car, as Armour All now comes in a wet-wipe dispenser. With as many things that we now have that now allow us to be the people we are, forgetfulness and all, there are still areas that could use some improvement and error proofing: ways to reduce our carbon footprint; ways to execute our economic initiatives as communities and nations without polluting our environment.

I like the idea that you can be who you are without your humanity being a challenge to living with excellence.