Earlier this week I had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy coffee with a colleague dealing with a daunting business process re-engineering task.  She’s working with a client that has not leveraged technology well in their current business processes.  Management recently hired a new CIO who has been hard at work getting approval and buy-in at the management level to automate many processes, but she’s finding great resistance actually implementing the improvements at every level.

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A couple weeks ago I finished on a renovation project at the Ki Society with my step father, John.  John is a recently-retired trades-person.  It’s interesting to listen to him talk about the difference in trades-work between the professionals today, and those from a generation ago.

John strongly believes in quality.  He does things right.  He uses the right tools and processes to ensure everything is done to a high level of workmanship and that things are built to last.  There’s a deep level of pride and importance attached to that which is impossible to discount.

Something has changed with the current generation – the focus is on doing the job right now instead of doing it right. There’s less pride in workmanship, and it shows in so many ways. (more…)