Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren

One of my earliest jobs was working as a roofer, which was hot, dirty work. We would tear off the old room, roll out and nail down felt paper, and then leave for the next job while a couple of really experienced guys did the shingles. I’ve never minded working hard and equated working hard with doing a good job (and still do!), but once I got past the beginner stage was astounded one day to realize that I guy I was working with was finishing his side of things in half – literally half – the time it was taking me. He wasn’t frantically working, if anything he wasn’t working as hard as I was.

What was the difference? I’d get a nail out of my nail pouch, tap it to set it, drive it with a couple hammer whacks, repeat. He’d set the nail, and while driving it in would be getting the next nail out and positioned in his hand. That one small change made a lot of difference in the amount of work he could do, with no real extra effort expended.

That experience shaped me in a lot of ways, teaching me to look for ways to not just work harder, but better. It’s also taught me to watch the experienced people closely, especially once I’m past the initial learning curve. Some of it is style, but a lot of it is practical, and you have to be willing to look to find it, because often they don’t know – they just do it.

So, I’m curious, have you had a time at work where you learned a lesson about productivity or technique by watching someone, a light bulb moment?