Note - by clicking "back" on your browser, you can click on parts of the image and see responses related to those parts. Clicking on the Wagon Puller, for example, brings up ideas about leadership. This page is merely a long list of ideas compiled from different sessions.
It is amazing that there is so much requisite variety and differences of viewpoint when people view the illustration. These are some of the responses we collected over a period of time. This is NOT the complete list, merely a compendium of some reactions.
There are general themes of:
Vision
Change
Resources
Innovation and Creativity
Leadership
Teamwork
Technology
Communications
Trust
Metaphors
Some 170 more specific reactions include:
We've always done it this way
Determined to use the old ways
Organizations don't think Solutions are in the wagon, already
The solutions are available but not being used
Old processes and information
No trust in the people behind you
Everybody yells at the guy in the front
No air pump - the tires are unusable.
No trust in the team
Air pumps haven't been invented yet
One person sets the direction
Lonely at the front - nobody to share ideas
Lonely at the front - nobody sharing information
One person has the vision
Leadership is deaf
Leaders see only what's ahead Support people are blind
All of them are blind to the possibilities
They can't see the forest for the trees
Round wheels belong to someone else
We don't use the tools that we sell
Changing directions is very difficult
We need to se the problem to find the solution
Traditions die hard Inefficiencies are everywhere
Need to change our paradigms
People work hard, not smart
Continuous improvement is possible
No tool for steering or changing direction
Don't just do something, stand there
Some work is just not much fun
Resources are always available
No vision of what is ahead from the back
No use of available resources
Poor planning for resource utilization
Lack of commitment to make real progress
The wheels have a wheely bad attitude
If only we mirrored our reality occasionally
The answer is in front of us, we just can't see it
Push, or get left behind
Working together can get it done
Jobs are designed harder than they need to be Human capital isn't valued
Not all technology works for you
Not all the ideas are usable
We need to step back from the wagon to discover possibilities for improvement
People aren't resisting change, they aren't aware of possibilities
People are choosing to be unaware of possibilities
Progress isn't simply about working harder
The rope is loosely tied, management may choke itself
There is no idea of where they are going or where they have been
Tried and true still works -- the Square Wheels still work
People need to step back every so often to look around
Internal resources for improvement are always available
We like to overpower rather than reduce obstacles to get things done
Leaders get isolated from the realities of the wagon and the journey
Workers have no vision of the goal
People are too busy pushing and pulling to get a vision of the goal
People are too busy pushing and pulling to make improvements
Square Wheels are the status quo; difficult to change on the fly
The team will probably meet its goals for productivity and cost
Communications are always difficult when people are busy
The manager may be too close to the work to see the possibilities
The wagon is hard to start and easy to stop
Stop. Think!
people make things work no matter what
Too busy with the work to focus on what will work
A few people are doing all the work and others are going through the motions
Leaders lose touch with what is going on
Good ideas are always available and innovation is always possible
People blindly and unquestionably follow leadership
A few do all the work
Work is rough going
The wagon gets more and more overloaded over time
Leaders have more of the vision but may not share it
Systems and processes get in the way of innovation and improvement
We're always overlooking the obvious
Re-engineering the Square Wheel
Reorganize, but within existing guidelines
Tools are always available
We can focus on the negatives of how it is done or the positives that there are possibilities for improvement
Working toward failure
Simple solutions always exist
We provide great ideas for others
Inefficiencies result from isolated engineering processes
Teamwork works
Doesn't everyone use Square Wheels?
Square wheels are easier to make and cheaper to build. It's an accounting / purchasing issue.
Competition is using round wheels and we don't have a clue
No sense reinventing the wheel, since they already exist
We actually like to use that which is familiar
If it didn't go thump, thump, how would we know we're making any progress
We push our wagon uphill
Real progress is slow
There is no emergency to change things
We could always add another person to make sure everybody is pushing
Is there a Big Picture?
Are we even on the tight road?
No creativity - everyone dressed the same
Not using resources properly
Steering is very difficult
Product effectiveness is not good
Pushers are following and not questioning
There is no real progress
No middle management -- good news!
There is a need for reorganization -- of the product
Not maximizing the people-potential
There is some forward progress
Leadership looks determined to move forward
Leadership is keeping its hands clean
To them, it's as if they are moving a load of garbage
They are not dragging anything - no anchors holding them back
They are at least on level ground and not moving uphill
It took a long time to get as advanced as Square Wheels
There is a follow-the-leader mentality
Even the Square Wheels don't work well together
It's really about Sacred Cows
Even the round wheels aren't efficiently used - badly stacked
It's really three High Potentials out taking a walk
We know that there are round wheels in the wagon
But there are no wheel hubs or rims
There's no air in the tires
We're too busy to stop
Continuous Unimprovement
At least there is no dead horse to kick
Too many wheels, too little time
This is a wheely stupid situation
Not enough horsepower
No testing of possibilities or alternatives
Reminds us of Windows 95, except this won't probably crash
People aren't provided tools or perspective
Closed minded organization, with no women
The organization is wheely behind the times
Leadership is asking the impossible / improbable
"Just work harder!"
"We've always used Square Wheels."
Just Do It!
Old technology works a little
It's also probably the hottest time of the day in the middle of Summer
At least it appears we're going in the same direction
Hard to get it rolling; why would we want to stop
Hopefully, the rope will break and things will stop
Execution without much planning
No Fun
Leadership thinks its job is pulling ahead instead of providing direction
Uneven contribution toward the task
The solution increases the load of the organization -- good ideas can be weighing negatively on morale and energy
Don't let the sound of your Square Wheels drive you crazy
There is a LOT of wasted energy and ineffectiveness
Step by Step, Inch by Inch, Slowly It Turns
Overloaded situation, but you ain't seen nothing yet
At least it isn't raining, too
If it didn't go Thump, how would we know we're making progress?
The wagon can do the job
It is all about Implementation and Innovation
We're not building much teamwork and camaraderie
We do not need to analyze this thing to death -- some things are obvious
We can't become better by staying the same
Blind workers following deaf leadership
Status quo modus operandi; rigor mortis in situ ridiculous
Going? Going. Gone. Not likely to survive in a Darwinian world
This must be a cartoon, it can't be real? Can it?
The solution is right at hand
No jack. Or, "NO!, Jack."
The Square Wheels are an advantage when going downhill
You can't cook off rubber tires; Square Wheels are better for survival situations, maybe.
Good effort, bad housekeeping
Overloaded with irrelevant asks
We also bought the cheapest Square Wheels we could find
No tools available to change the wheels
Brawn, not Brain, Hard, not Smart
People don't really understand the situation
Is it ignorance or apathy? They really don't know and maybe don't care
They could obviously go faster if they had a smaller wagon with fewer tires. Obviously
There are three staff people getting paid to study the process.
The team used the round wheels before the consultants suggested the Square ones
How can one build a sense of commitment with this situation?
They need a sign, "1-800 How's My Driving"
Just think, someone actually designed this thing!
Contact Scott Simmerman for a question or more information at Scott@squarewheels.com
Back to: Try to identify some Square Wheels from the illustration!