Leaf Blowing – As I was walking today, I noticed someone using a leaf blower. This is an interesting maintenance tool. If you walk behind the leaf blower, everything is clean. But if you look ahead, everything is dirty because all you have done is blown the dirt somewhere else. Do you know why your yard looks so nice? It’s because you have blown all of your leaves into my yard!! I find this “leaf blowing” happening at work every day. Somebody will suggest a productivity improvement. But hidden in the details is that an activity he used to do will now be done by somebody else. He is more “productive” but somebody else is equally less productive. That's just Leaf Blowing!! Or somebody will find a way to improve his budget. Let’s say I used to pay for all of the copy supplies. Now I will charge them out to all the departments that use the copy machine. Leaf Blowing!! My expenses will be lower, but the company is no better off than before. So here is your challenge. When you see this happening at your business, shout “Leaf Blowing!” and let people know that the improvements that make a difference don’t involve merely pushing things off on somebody else.