Some of the lessons learned were also about cultural paradigms. One in particular was a rule that welding "can't be done in the assembly area." The rule was taken for granted because, logically, contamination was not allowed in a clean assembly area. Grime could get into the moving part assemblies and create unwanted friction. What we did not do enough of in the beginning of the project was problem solving! We found later that if the word "can't" was always challenged, the results were often surprising. In this case, we found out through some investigation that welding contamination can be removed successfully at this process source, so that little to no contamination is created.

"Can't" is a funny word. The underpinnings of the word "can't" are divided into three categories. Notice that the odds are with you 66 percent in your favor that the project is possible:

1. Incompetence Often, this is simply lack of knowledge. It is easy to discover incompetence daily on very new topics. It is not a terminal illness, by the way, as long as it is recognized quickly.

2. Laziness Simply the lack of energy to go after something. This can happen because there is no confidence for success. It often is not called laziness; it is more often called lack of desire. Call it what you want. This is probably a worse problem to deal with than incompetence and may seem harder to recognize by yourself.