Systems

I was always impressed with the way Japan and Japanese people have advanced in different aspects of science and technology. I have always justified their success by hard work, successful management, and calculated planning. Above all, I have considered them as the intelligent nation. These factors are all important and somewhat accurate. They follow well designed, efficient systems in any sector and at any level they work. These systems have already laid out for them by people who knew what they were doing.

Recently, I have learned something knew about following systems. They prevent you from thinking and kill your creativity. A friend who used to work in Japan a while ago told me a story. He said when you ask a Japanese person how to make a hard-boiled egg, s/he might say “bring 2 cups of water to a full boil for 10min; add 1 tea spoon salt; add the egg; and ...” now if you ask s/he if you have boiled water how do you make a hard boiled egg, s/he might say “you leave the water to get cold, then bring 2 cups of it to a boil for 10min and...”.