If it Ain’t Broke, Make it Better

Recently I found myself investing a great deal of time and energy into improving a process. It wasn’t my process, I didn’t create it, but I was enjoying taking it apart and putting it back together in a way I believed would make it better. I’ve always enjoyed doing that with systems. Designing systems isn’t a natural strength of mine; I work best when I’m improving or adjusting procedures.

While I was working on the project, someone invoked a familiar expression: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

You know what…I’ve never believed in that. That idea doesn’t just go against what I believe in, it goes against who I am and how I work. I work best when I’m reacting to systems or processes. I’d like to rewrite the saying to be: “If it ain’t broke, make it better.”

Do you add your greatest value by responding? To information? To processes? To new ideas? To tangible solutions?

Are you someone who naturally reviews and edits the information that other people gather?

Like me, do you maintain and adjust processes?

Are you someone who naturally experiments with the ideas of others?

Or are you someone who naturally repairs or renovates what others have built or created?

You could do all of these…or none, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we need the people with these strengths to balance us.

Last month I attended the Conation Nation Symposium in Scottsdale, AZ where theorist and founder Kathy Kolbe discussed the natural advantage an individual has when they are using their instinctive strengths. Kolbe’s foundational assessment, The Kolbe A Index™ validates my instinct to react to systems and process. Knowing that has empowered me to confidently improve processes, even when they’re not broken.

I’m fortunate to work on a team that appreciates this about me, and even relies on me to make adjustments to every system we use.

How could your work come to life if your team understood the ways you naturally worked best and relied on you for those strengths? Imagine if everyone on your team understood each other this way…

I’m here to say it’s possible – my team is living proof – but it requires a willingness to change the way we understand one another. Kolbe Wisdom™ has helped my team improve the way we work together, and even though we weren’t broken…it has made us better.