I pride myself on being an innovative thinker, looking for innovation in every situation. But recently, I learned the hard way that there are times when innovation is not needed or warranted. Let me explain.
I recently replaced a double oven in my primary residence. After removing the old oven, I carefully measured the opening and compared it to the stated dimensions of the new oven I wanted to install. After checking and rechecking, it looked like it would fit without me needing to modify the opening.
Once the new oven was actually in position to be installed, however, it was a no-go. The dimensions weren’t just a little off–more like a half an inch. But, there were almost two inches of wood separating the upper and lower parts of the cabinet, so trimming the wood would not be that big a deal. Since we are renovating a smaller house to become our new primary residence, and since every tool of any worth was there, I made a list of the tools I thought I would need, and then went and brought them back to work on expanding the opening.
As I re-examined the area I needed to trim, I realized there were screws holding that piece in place, and I would have to take those screws out. Instead of slotted or Phillips heads, though, these screws had square heads. Now, this was not in and of itself a problem, except I hadn’t brought any square bits.
With less than one hour until the person helping me install the oven would arrive, I started brainstorming my innovation options. After rechecking that I had no square bits, I found an older screwdriver and was about to put it to the grinder to create my own square bit, when I realized that within my 45-minute timeframe, I could simply drive to the new house, grab the square bits, and arrive back in time to finish the job–no tool-cutting necessary.
I was actually shocked I would be so quick to innovate a tool. Did I really need to destroy a perfectly good Phillips screwdriver because I failed to fully check the project before making my tool list? No. I realized I had failed to fully vet out the project–literally look at it from all sides before forming a plan. If I had been fully informed, I would have made sure to have grabbed a square bit at the start, and would have easily completed the job in time and without the need for “innovation.”
This hasn’t throttled my desire to seek out innovation and innovative thinking. But it does bring up the point that, in many cases, we force ourselves into innovative thinking because we miss or overlook a basic step. If we are thoroughly vetting out our processes and eliminating the obvious areas where projects can get derailed, we limit the need for innovation. Or, as I prefer to think of it, we can focus our innovative thinking on areas that truly warrant our thought and not on areas that could have been perfunctorily addressed. We should be careful not to create our own problems that force us into innovation.
Having said that, I really did think I could create a square bit if needed. But, then again, I might still be at that workbench with the grinder, down to my last screwdriver, trying to make it square and the right size. A man’s got to know his limitations…