Skip to main content

Avoid Being The Ice Harvester - Don't Drive Your Life Looking Backwards

It is human nature to fear the unknown and be very comfortable with the known but the times are such that to grow, you would need to constantly expand your comfort zone and explore unknowns ... This is a great story which illustrates this .....
In the late 1800s there was a thriving ice industry in the Northeastern part of the US. Companies would cut blocks of ice from frozen lakes and ponds and sell them around the world. The largest single shipment was 200 tons that was shipped to India. 100 tons got there un-melted, but this was enough to make a profit.
These ice harvesters, however, were put out of business by companies that invented mechanical ice makers. It was no longer necessary to cut and ship ice because companies could make it in any city during any season.
These ice makers, however, were put out of business by refrigerator companies. If it was convenient to make ice at a manufacturing plant, imagine how much better it was to make ice and create cold storage in everyone’s home.
You would think that the ice harvesters would see the advantages of ice making and adopt this technology. However, all they could think about was the known: better cutting saws, better storage solutions for the ice, better transportation.
Then you would think that the ice makers would see the advantages of refrigerators and adopt this technology. The truth is that the ice harvesters could not embrace the unknown and think forward.
Challenge the known and embrace the unknown, or you will be like the ice harvester and ice makers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

# value # inspiration # newyear Just a bit of trivia, December got its name from the Latin word decem (meaning ten) because it was originally the tenth month of the year in the calendar of Romulus c. 750 BC which began in March and we have entered a month named after the Roman god Janus, an appropriate personification of the start of the new year.  This particular Roman god Janus had two faces so that he could look ahead toward the future and back at the past at the same time. As we get rid of an old year and look forward to a new one, I hope we can all try to be a little like Janus. We know through experience what we did wrong and what we did right, and hope to do better this year.  Many of us make ambitious new year resolutions while people like me just take a deep breath and hope for the best.…Here's wishing you and your family a happy new year 2020

Leadership By Doing - Setting An Example

Do do you lead by example? There was a colleague of mine who used to tell everyone on his team to stay late, and then leave promptly at 5:30 p.m. There is also the typical manager who criticizes everyone for spending time on the Internet, but is discovered shopping online during working hours. We also may have come across finance teams who advise austerity but then splurge on something else Do you know any of these people? One of the worst aspects for sagging company morale are leaders who practice the "I dont walk the talk" approach. When this happens, you can almost see the loss of enthusiasm and goodwill among the teams and being replaced by cynicism No matter what the situation is, double standards - witnessing people say one thing, and then doing another - always are big let downs. If this ever happened to you, you can probably remember that sense of disappointment and letdown. If you're in a leadership position, then you know that you have a responsibility to your t...
# excellence # framework # important # AllItTakesIsAMinute # AKP#TopToolsForStartups The theory of constraints framework helps identify the most important bottleneck in your processes and systems in your organization which can then be dealt with to improve performance.  It is also about strengthening your weakest link. # management