One of the things I love learning about most are frameworks. Understanding how people approach: making decisions, building products/processes and creating lasting change. My personal framework is anchored in the concept of foundations.
My grandfather was a custom home builder and talented carpenter. I spent summers and weekends working on projects with him where he would take a set of ordinary materials and transform them into something purposeful and lasting. The more I worked by his side the more I realized that the tough manual work of cutting wood and swing a hammer was the easy part, he had already done the hard work before that point. He would spend hours drawing up plans, picking out just the right materials and thinking through his vision for the end product. Once he got to work he insured that whatever he was building had a strong, balanced foundation that could support the rest of the structure. If a piece of wood was slightly bowed it was re-planed or swapped out all together. He knew if he didn't get the beginning correct whatever came after would not last. As someone who has stood on roofs he built and climbed through attics he framed, I am grateful he always used this approach.
I have taken the lessons my grandfather taught me, and his dedication to building a strong foundation and applied them in my own life. Whenever I start designing a new process I think about what type of foundation it will need to ensure it is successful. This foundation varies by project and by process but always needs to be in place if there is to be stability in the long-term. Likewise, when something goes wrong, instead of looking at a problem at the surface level, I drill down to the foundation and figure out what led to the issue. It is only by making changes at the root level that we can insure that the problem won't happen again.
For me the Foundation Approach has been extremely impactful. I use it in my professional life, in my personal life, in building relationships and of course I use it anytime I've got something of my own to build. I will always be grateful that Ray Haws took the time to give me a strong foundation that I can use to build my own life and career.
My grandfather was a custom home builder and talented carpenter. I spent summers and weekends working on projects with him where he would take a set of ordinary materials and transform them into something purposeful and lasting. The more I worked by his side the more I realized that the tough manual work of cutting wood and swing a hammer was the easy part, he had already done the hard work before that point. He would spend hours drawing up plans, picking out just the right materials and thinking through his vision for the end product. Once he got to work he insured that whatever he was building had a strong, balanced foundation that could support the rest of the structure. If a piece of wood was slightly bowed it was re-planed or swapped out all together. He knew if he didn't get the beginning correct whatever came after would not last. As someone who has stood on roofs he built and climbed through attics he framed, I am grateful he always used this approach.
I have taken the lessons my grandfather taught me, and his dedication to building a strong foundation and applied them in my own life. Whenever I start designing a new process I think about what type of foundation it will need to ensure it is successful. This foundation varies by project and by process but always needs to be in place if there is to be stability in the long-term. Likewise, when something goes wrong, instead of looking at a problem at the surface level, I drill down to the foundation and figure out what led to the issue. It is only by making changes at the root level that we can insure that the problem won't happen again.
For me the Foundation Approach has been extremely impactful. I use it in my professional life, in my personal life, in building relationships and of course I use it anytime I've got something of my own to build. I will always be grateful that Ray Haws took the time to give me a strong foundation that I can use to build my own life and career.