Why we should not believe in management old ideas

CREATIVITY expert Fredrik Haren tells a story of Paul (not his real name), an autistic young man who quit school to find employment. The placement office told him that putting up scaffoldings was one of the best jobs available that any physically-fit human being can do. He was assigned to be an understudy of two men with more than ten years of experience putting up scaffolds.

After lunch on his first day, Paul asked the two veteran workers: "Excuse me, why can't we put the two scaffolds together when they are on the ground, so that we don't have to go up and down to fetch the other piece?" The two experienced workers looked at each other. They admitted it was an excellent idea.