I feel like I should start this article with something like: “An innovator and a boss walk into a bar....” But I don’t have a punch line to follow it, so I’ll stick to the facts.

I have discussed steps to take to build a culture of continuous improvement in numerous posts on my Curious Cat Management Improvement blog. What it boils down to is building a system that supports that culture.

In 1987, shortly after I became a manufacturing manager, the shop foreman at the time warned me about a young assembler. “Watch out for Michael,” the foreman said. “He tends to bend the rules. You may need to talk to him.”