Day #769 - Edge of the System

Cheating, or winning

I’m en route to Germany today, to spend a few days writing with Sae. I was sat right at the back of the plane, which was itself half empty. The two flight attendants were having a very in-depth conversation about to to register their fatigue.

I don’t know the details of their systems, but clearly they had two choices: if they think they have been given too busy a schedule, they can file a ‘risk of fatigue’ report, and if they actually feel fatigued, they can file what I assume is called an ‘I’m really tired’ report.

I felt quite jealous already at this point, and wondered why the school had not given us one of these.

Anyway: they were discussing in-depth which to file, and what to put in it, each sharing tips from their previous experience, Social Learning in action.

I was reminded of the fact that humans excel at finding the edges of systems, and then casually stepping over them to take a look.

Use your sixty seconds today to consider when you have shared experience with someone in this way, or when you have benefited from it.

Is it cheating, or efficiency, or right, or wrong, or… just something we do?

I think it works both ways: we use tacit and tribal knowledge to step around the edge of systems, but also to make them absolutely excellent. I guess one is the price of the other.