Avoiding Your Grave While You’re In Your Groove
Rueben Slone, Executive VP of Supply Chain for Office Max looks outside his company for innovations. His quote in APICS magazine’s article (sorry, membership required), “Career Essentials: Adept Supply Chain Professionals Help Companies Thrive” caught my attention:
“The difference between a groove and a grave is only the depth.”
He’s speaking about comfort levels and the ability to see beyond the walls of your groove. If you become comfortable in what you are doing to the point of NOT considering new ways of doing it you can lose – your job, your company, and your career. The idea of looking outside your comfort zone, and your company, for innovation is captured in another Slone quote from the same article:
“I think the big opportunity for any executive right on up to the [CEO] is how you inculcate what I call cycles of learning.”
He then goes on to describe outside organizations he belongs to that keep him in a learning and innovation mode. This is great advice for all of us and is the essence of continuous improvement.
Tell me how this changed your thinking. Are you more aware of the potential of your groove becoming your grave?
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Great post, Bob! (The analogy reminded me of the old V8 commercial about the rut:) And it’s so true. I’ve been talking about comfort zones and their dangers and working with clinets on how to expand them for years.
Your comfort zone is part of your MAP (mindset, attitude philosophy)™ and that means that it’s within your will to enlarge/change it as much as you want.
I hope you don’t mind my including a link to one of the posts that spells out more about comfort zones. http://www.leadershipturn.com/realist-vs-idealist/
Miki- I appreciate your links in the comments. It only enhances our exchange. I really liked the “groove/grave” quote!