Drive your daughter's car

One often mentioned expression is to walk in another's shoes. To do so would allow you to see the world from their perspective and so learn more about what is really going on than what you would normally. MWA or "management by walking around" is a buzzword that is worthy for this very reason. It provides management some time to walk the front line, the assembly line, the docks, the aisles, wherever ... to see what work is really being done. It can allow for some frank conversations. Management is now in the workspace and away from their ivory tower office. I always liked MWA when I lead a group. I made it a point to find some time during the day to MWA. I generally liked to do it on both a regular basis and an irregular basis. The regularity conveyed the impression that I was concerned and dedicated to do this (and I was). It was rare for me to miss the morning rounds. If the schedule was known in advance, I would also let them know I would not be around in the morning the next day. The irregular visits therefore were less surprising. It was not strange to see me on the rounds other than in the morning. Most of the time it was to walk to ask a question instead of picking up the phone or sending an email. The benefits were numerous. All this came back to me in a flash as I took my daughter's car to the train station the other day. To clarify, it is one of the family cars; they just are the primary users. It was decorated recently to celebrate Carolyn's graduation. Getting into the car, I am reminded how tall I am. I need to adjust the seat inorder to fit. And adjust the mirrors to see properly. Turning on the car, the radio volume wakes me up. It is tuned to a station I don't normally listen to. But feeling adventurous, I keep it there. Finding a spot in the station parking lot, draws comments from other commuters on the car decorations. "Nice art work!" "Doesn't it make you feel young again?" Oh, I wish... no, not really. I am fine this way. But I think I'll take the car once in a while to feel young again! Technorati Tags : young, MWA, shoes, graduation, daughters