By Michael Pearsall, P.Eng., CVS, FEC – President, SAVE International
Putting Why Before Function and Solving Problems
Last month I talked about our “Elevator Speeches”. This month, I want to talk more about my reasons for using the Value Methodology (VM).
My summer vacation plans this year involved a lot of driving. While it is nice to be able to travel for pleasure more extensively again, it also means hours in the car. Despite the riveting conversation most of the time from my travelling companions, there were also long periods of quiet time to ponder the greater issues in life, such as promoting the VM.
One critical aspect to me is which reasons for using the methodology I should focus on when promoting it to others.
I previously mentioned how I was leading with monetary savings early on in my career and how tempting this can be. However, it also leads to comparisons with “cost-cutting”, which I want to avoid. Recently, I have had much more success leading with constructability, risk reduction or innovation as sound reasons to consider using the methodology.
While I may jump to telling listeners all about function analysis, was I spending enough time convincing them why they should listen first? What grabbed me at day one and convinced me to learn more about this methodology? Why do I continue to be excited about it?
This got me pondering what my primary personal reasons were for using the VM. I have always believed that speaking more from a personal “testimonial” perspective is always more convincing.
A little over 25 years ago I was introduced to the VM. Instantly, I was captivated by the power and effectiveness of the methodology. What was the one thing that made me so enamored with this? Honestly, it was the power of function-based creativity to solve problems.
One of my greatest interests in life is to fix things and solve problems. I have had this interest and passion since I was very young. In the VM, I instantly saw a structured process to help improve what ever was being studied. It is not to say that everything I have applied the methodology to was flawed or broken – I have run workshops on some very well-engineered things. However, as we all know, well-engineered doesn’t mean it is without waste or other problems.
So, to summarize, my number one personal reason as to why you should use the VM is to solve problems. The problem could be inefficiency, waste, a risk issue, constructability concerns or even cost over-runs to name a few. Regardless, time and time again, I have seen the VM successfully solve problems. This is my personal “Why”.
Of course, this is not surprising, as it is why Lawrence D. Miles created the process to begin with. It was important to me though to think this through and make sure I was promoting the methodology by telling others in a way that reflected my personal experience.
What is your “Why”?
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