WHO’S THE AUTHOR
This saying from the southern states of the US became popular in May 1977 when Bert Lance, the US Director of the Office of Management and Budget, quoted in Nation's Business magazine. Bert Lance was only for 9 months in office in the Jimmy Carter's administration. He had to resign due to a financial scandal.
HOW TO APPLY IT IN YOUR EVERY DAY LIFE
Check the right indicators. Like at the birth of each child, the APGAR test is done to check the heath of the little baby. I use the metaphor of a yellow canary in the mine. Miners took canaries underground due to their heightened sensitivity to carbon monoxide. Defining the right indicators is not always easy. The signal must sound around a major problem, be sent out in time for intervention and has to guard against false positives.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The meaning is obvious. Save yourself the trouble of changing something that works and, instead, focus your energy on whatever needs attention. But the key question is: when is something broken?
NICE TO KNOW...
In 1985, Coca-Cola introduced the New Coke, a new version of the popular drink based on a new recipe. New Coke was supposed to compete against Pepsi Coke but after three months the company was forced to sell the traditional Coca-Cola again after dramatic protests. Despite all kinds of market research, the old recipe was clearly not yet broken.
