Posts

Showing posts with the label obvious solutions

The Paradox of the Low Hanging Fruit

Image
In business projects, the metaphorical language of picking the low-hanging fruit almost always comes up. Just to be clear, the low-hanging fruit refers to the idea that the easiest or lowest cost work should get done first. Examples of low-hanging fruit include things like eliminating obvious waste, cutting overtime, reducing excessive stockpiles, and removing self-inflicted policy constraints. Good things generally happen when you pick the low-hanging fruit. First, the project team can satisfy an immediate need to be successful, if only on a small scale. Because the low-hanging fruit is so easy to get, harvesting it early in a project can generate momentum for a more sustained effort. Second, everyone on the team can agree. Because the low-hanging fruit is obvious, disagreements on the obvious course of action are normally quite easy to resolve. Third, the project team can de-clutter the solution space. Getting the little things out of the way can help the team stay focused on the