APPLIED Curiosity

This week I would like to talk about what I call Applied Curiosity. This curiosity or thirst for knowledge is one of the key attributes of someone (or an organization) who wants to build great processes.

Curiosity is defined as “a strong desire to know or learn something”. Applied is defined as “a subject or type of study put to practical use as opposed to being theoretical”.

So what does this applied curiosity mean in an industrial setting? It means doing whatever it takes to learn what is necessary to make the process strong and robust.

This means that there is an understanding of how the process works, not at an atomic level, but on a practical level.

Applied curiosity in this setting asks and answers questions such as:

• Why did the process work better before compared to now?

• Is my knowledge of this behavior practical and strong enough to turn his behavior on and off at will?

• Is this research project really ready for prime time? What has been demonstrated to convince me that the process is scalable and will be robust in manufacturing?

• Would it be best to terminate this project and move on to other more profitable opportunities?

• Why does this process work? What are the physics and engineering fundamentals that make this “process tick” (or not tick!)?

My curiosity was evident in my youth, and it was applied, but many times, not in particularly useful ways.

When I was a kid, I (and two other knuckleheads) grafted part (everything but the handle) of a reel-type gas-engine lawnmower to the front end of a tricycle. This (unknown to my parents) combination created a primitive, and very dangerous, riding lawnmower/motorized tricycle.

The key innovation on this motorized tricycle was to swap the pulleys between the engine and the driven shaft. This pulley switch increased the speed of this “vehicle” from a few miles per hour to 30 or 40 miles an hour! The test (and only) ride of this motorized tricycle ended with a memorable, violent, and very painful crash. As the driver, I got the excitement I was after, and much more.

The whole motorized tricycle escapade was like something out of the Three Stooges. It was a classic case of misdirected creativity! Fortunately, my curiosity became more directed, and less dangerous, over time.

My main learning from this line of thinking is the essential role of curiosity in developing deep and actionable levels of process understanding. This curiosity is natural for those who are builders of profitable and robust manufacturing processes.

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YOUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK

Please think about the R&D and manufacturing processes that are your company’s (current and future) “crown jewels”…

• Do your key process experts truly have applied curiosity about these processes? How has this applied curiosity (concretely) resulted in more robust processes?

• Who knows why these processes work and why they don’t work? This knowledge is imperative for processes to be ultra-dependable over the long term.

I’d enjoy hearing about your organization’s “Applied Curiosity” stories and learnings! As always, please email me and I’ll get back to you promptly.

All the Best, Marty

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