“If It Stinks, Change it.”

I received a poster once. It showed a small baby, clothed only in a diaper. The baby’s face was arranged in a combination of despair and disgust. The inscription said simply: “If It Stinks, Change it.”

It causes one to reflect on the things we have in our life that aren’t as we’d like them. You know there is something that needs to be addressed. You walk by it or keep it closed up in a junk room. It begins to stink, but you ignore it.

We all have them. As I write this, I’m forming a list in my head. Things I need to clean up. Details that need to be tidied. A relationship which needs mending. Habits that need to be formed.

We study “lean management” in our company. The process of “lean” asks one to look at the wasted time, wasted material and wasted motion and to consider what can be improved so the waste can be eliminated or limited.

Consider you’re recent weeks. What is it that is wasteful around you and what have you done about it?

So much of our success comes with eliminating stress, stink, and stress that accompanies our days.

What stinks? What changes need to be made?