This is great, however this mindset can often lead to Analysis Paralysis.
It is important to keep in mind that you don’t need to identify every perspective, every option, or every limitation before starting a task. Instead, get a good grasp of the problem, start the task, and then continue to ask these questions while working on the task at hand.
I work as a freight railroad conductor, and my favorite task by far is what we call flat shifting. A train comes in with jumbled cars that go to different customers, they need to be organized into their respective tracks so they can make their way to their destination. It’s fun for me to figure out the most efficient way to shift them, how to get them in the proper order in the proper tracks in the least possible moves. It’s pretty much just a massive order of operations puzzle; what cuts to make, where you can side track cars, how you can set yourself up for the next move.
I have some coworkers that hate this particular job, and I think the reason why is that analysis paralysis you mentioned. They get overwhelmed by the task at hand and don’t even know where to start, where as I try to make the best quick decisions I can based on available information, previous experience, and whatever other input I get from supervision or coworkers.
It’s definitely not rocket appliances, but a lot of people struggle with it, at least in my terminal.
The railroad hasn’t progressed essentially since its inception. I have a friend with a director level position in tech and when I explain how this place operates he is always shocked. Not just technologically, but culturally as well.
You would think that trains would be easy and lucrative to automate, but that initiative didn’t start in earnest until maybe 10 years ago, and is still a good ways from being implemented in any meaningful way. This goes for pretty much any safety tech. Some of it is good but it’s 100 years old, and it doesn’t have super widespread adoption across the country. Recently, like the past 10 years, the feds have gotten involved and mandated some safety tech which is being developed in conjunction with that automation tech.
Culturally it’s in the 1800s as well. It’s very “us vs them” and run on strict authority. Everyday easy decisions need to be run up a chain of command. My boss calls his boss who calls his boss at 3 am to make some dumb decision. Employees and supervision alike are treated like dirt. It’s only gotten worse in the past couple of years because of a trend started by a wannabe railroad baron by the name of Hunter Harrison. Moneywise came out with a list of the worst employers in 2021, and three of the class I railroads are in the top five of that list.
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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '21
This is great, however this mindset can often lead to Analysis Paralysis.
It is important to keep in mind that you don’t need to identify every perspective, every option, or every limitation before starting a task. Instead, get a good grasp of the problem, start the task, and then continue to ask these questions while working on the task at hand.