– Judith O’Callaghan –
A saying commonly used by the elders was: An empty stable is a clean stable (closest translation). This saying was intended to remind remind everyone to look for the right measures and indicators while analysing a situation.
The saying has a physical and powerful philosophical meaning.
Anyone with basic knowledge on livestock would know that it is not possible for the productive stable to be ‘clean’. A perceived good (or) clean stable is not productive in the long run. It is not a good indicator of success.
The saying has plenty of applications in our modern world.
We have seen that positive indicators on project measures (cost, time and quality) does not necessarily assure project success. There is value in going beyond the ’standard’ measures relevant for the project which will enable to measure the ’true’ measure of success.
Psychological safety experts indicate that the teams engage in healthy debates and are confident enough to positively challenge the ideas. Presence of ‘conflict’ in this case is a good measure contrary to what it seen on the surface.
💜Safety professionals indicate that the number of incidents recorded usually indicate the presence of a healthy work environment.
💜Expert software testers believe the number of open bugs indicate that the software has been tested well with rigor.
💜In #digitalbusinesstransformation, the number of issues indicate the engagement of stakeholders, active team and many more!
In a world where we are tuned to look for measures to measure success, let’s invest to ensure we are looking at the right one
Ancient wisdom has plenty of applications in the modern world.
We will keep exploring and sharing as we continue to #maketheworldabetterplace
Scripture reference: Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
