CLEAN, SAND, PAINT, SAND

A few weeks of renovating kitchen cabinets gave me the perspectives to think about how these processes can be used by leaders and executives running their organizations.

As a first-time DIYer, the Covid-19 forces many of us to start tinkering around the house, clean the garage, and get down to some work that had to be done anyway. There is plenty of down time to be fully appreciated.

Painting kitchen cabinets could be difficult but with plenty of preparation and research and getting the right tools, it can be exhilarating, to say the best.

Prep work is key-clean, sand, degrease, prime, fill, sand, and check again. This could be repeated several times until you get that shiny product you can be proud of.

One thing though is your attempt for perfection versus having a good enough product. What is good enough for you is a subjective question that you as a leader should be able to answer. Other people will tell you to do more for less impact and outcome because it's good to do or for other aesthetic reasons. 

Keep your outcomes front and center. Defining and keeping what matters most is very crucial. One more additional step that is not needed is waste.

Repeating the process is a good discipline. Once you reach mastery, you can see which steps can be substituted and skipped with no consequences whatso ever. Mastery brings satisfaction and leads to excellence.

Lastly, the process requires patience and understanding of the time it will take to actually get the finished product right. Expect many iterations and bumps . Projects like this need a realistic timeline.

Bear in mind that there will be many interruptions and waiting times, it's best to enjoy the moments of learning, making mistakes, and discovering yourselves in the process. 
​