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It amazes me how seemingly disparate ideas, when considered together, can create new ways of seeing the world. Bear with me for a minute, and I’ll share an insight I’ve received lately based on two seemingly unrelated ideas.

As process improvement practitioners, we get hired to drive waste and variation out of our clients’ businesses. But what if we hired ourselves, provided frank advice, and then listened to it to drive waste out of our own business or process?

The baseball thudded into the dirt at the batter’s feet causing a dusty orange cloud as the dry powdery clay splashed over home plate. “Ball four!” cried the umpire, and the batter took off for first base.

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This is an article inspired by the glut of recent football weekends. Lou Holtz, the legendary college and pro football coach, offers the following advice to coaches everywhere: “I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.”