As someone who spent years in shipbuilding and manufacturing, I have learned that sometimes the biggest problems are not the ones hidden deep in the data. Sometimes they're the ones standing right in front of us.
Which brings me to the giraffe in Texas. If you missed the story, an eleven-foot-tall giraffe named Gracie escaped and spent nearly two weeks wandering around Texas before finally being found safely. An eleven-foot giraffe missing for two weeks!
I don't know about you, but my first thought was, "How exactly do you lose a giraffe?" Then my Lean brain kicked in.
How many of our organizations have our own version of Gracie? How often do we do the same thing in our organizations with processes, problems, and opportunities that have become so familiar that we stop seeing them. The weld procedure that goes through several hands because it has always been done like that. The spreadsheets created that no one uses or the quality issue that never seems to get resolved.
One of the greatest risks in any organization is not that we have problems—it is that we become so accustomed to them that we stop noticing them. Because if an eleven-foot giraffe can successfully evade detection for two weeks, there is a decent chance our organizations have a few things hiding in plain sight as well.
Lean teaches us to make problems visible. It teaches us to go to Gemba and learn to see what may be right in front of us.
You can learn more about finding your organization's "giraffes" at the AME Milwaukee 2026 International Conference October 26–29 where we will celebrate People First. Progress Together.
Register by July 31st and receive a $250 discount in celebration of America's 250th birthday. Use code AME250 when registering to receive the discount.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
