During a recent trip to the great state of Texas, I heard some down-home wisdom: “Before you season your food, why don’t you taste it first?” The person who uttered that question was not talking about food. Rather, he was challenging someone who was a little too hell-bent on changing something without truly understanding it.

Sound familiar?

Heck, even etiquette folks will tell you it’s rude to season before tasting.

“If you season your food without tasting it, you will convey to the cook that you are already assuming the food will be bland and tasteless. It is more polite to taste food first and then add seasoning if you think it’s necessary.” (“How to Season Food with Table Manners.”)

But, the point of this post isn’t about manners, as important as they are. It’s about standard work.

People are relatively quick to pick up on the notion of kaizen—i.e., making things easier, better, faster, and cheaper. Self-induced kaizen is fun, even freeing. It’s better and more fun to give than to receive.

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