There's a hole in my bucket

When I was a young boy, I remember a sketch on Sesame Street, called “There’s a hole in my bucket.”  The lyrics to the song go something like this:

“There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza.”
“Then fix it, dear Henry.”
“With what shall I fix it, dear Liza?”
“With a straw, dear Henry.”
“But the strong is too long, dear Liza.”
“Then cut it, dear Henry.”
“With what shall I cut it, dear Liza?”
“With an ax, dear Henry.”
“But the ax is too dull, dear Liza.”
“Then sharpen it, dear Henry.”
“With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza?”
“With a stone, dear Henry.”
“But the stone is too dry, dear Liza.”
“Then wet it, dear Henry.”
“With what shall I wet it, dear Liza?”
“With water, dear Henry.”
“But how should I get it, dear Liza?”
“In the bucket, dear Henry.”
“But, there’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza.”

This type of song, or story, is an infinite-loop motif – it ends where it began, and we find ourselves right back where we started, not having fixed the problem at all.

How often do we see this in our workplaces?  The same problems keep coming up again and again; we end up right where we began, because no real solution was reached.

Often times we find ourselves right back where we started --
not having fixed the problem at all.
Photo source:grumous.wordpress.com

Often times, organizations come up with excuses or band-aid solutions to fix problems, when in reality, they are using excuses in place of accountable action.  Instead of coming up with solutions to the problems, they simply identify them, explain why the problem is occurring, and devise some sort of superficial plan of action to fix a manifestation of the problem. 

It reminds me of a joke about how a young man “fixed” a problem…A customer came into a pharmacy and asked a young man who worked there what he could to help get rid of his cough.  The young man recommended that he take a laxative immediately.  The customer followed the young man’s advice, purchased and took a laxative product, and left the pharmacy.

The manager, who overheard and saw the whole transaction take place, was furious with the young man.  He asked the young man why on earth he recommended that course of action.  The young man pointed to the customer, who was now leaning against a light pole outside, in obvious distress.  He said, "Just look at him – he’s afraid to cough!"

The young man addressed the symptom, which was the cough, in an ineffective way.  What's more is he didn’t address the real issue, which was the bacteria or virus that was causing his sickness, which manifested itself as a cough.

As part of an organization, we need to stop coming up with excuses and superficial fixes for problems.  If we don’t identify how we are accountable for causing the issue, the real problem will never be solved, and we still will have a hole our buckets.

Have a great weekend!

-Victor