some days…

Most days I am the most happiest person on this planet. I have a great husband whom I adore and cherish; kids that I am very proud of; a career that I love and that fulfills me.

Then there are some days when I question the world around me- am I nuts or has someone turn on the switch for incorrectness?!?!

Let me explain- in my line of work you could say I am part of a team of brainstormers. We are given a concept; a new healthcare regulation; a patient safety standard or initiative; any idea … And we literally brainstorm until we have practical applications; we research; we google; we read; we go to meetings not as participants but as “feelers”; “watchers”… Think tanks…we are placed as outsiders looking in on every aspect of hospital operations be it direct patient care; indirect care- you name it we look at it and we are suppose to find perspectives way outside everyone’s box…

So…at a recent Lean or Toyota Way rapid improvement session where a selected group of people had been reviewing, and changing the process of delivery of operating medical material to streamline and “lean it”…something strange happened.

From the start the level of antagonism was palpable… I was not part of the “lean team” but of the steering group who initiated the project…but I realized the minute I arrived that the lean team was on the offensive…

While the group did an admirable job at finding the waste in time; cost; and material their delivery was like a gypsy’s delivery of daggers- sharp and in quick succession- more of an attack…

But why? The attacks were personalized…and I must say uncalled for… But then maybe I belong to another era where you watched your words carefully…

But what I heard that day made me wonder if the trend in our society to call it like we see it- is really a diseased lack in social filters?

Here is a group that has done some deep digging into the inner workings of a specific process and in their digging they seemed to have unearthed their lack of inhibitions and let it all hang out…

Cut throat…is this how we think; is this how we react to pressure? Implementing the Japanese Toyota Way is at times…well…excrutiating- but what is it about us that we go on the offensive when we peel too much skin off? What actually is it that hurts so much that we attack? And mind you this is about process…

Is it that we are so sure we know our job that any question is seen as an attack not on how we do our job but on us in particular?

Some days I wonder what is it about our society that makes us flip out; say things our mothers would have washed our mouths in soap for and still believe we are the consummate professionals?