Lean Quote: Combine Passion and a System to be Unstoppable

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Just as passion without a system will fail, so will a system without passion fail. We must have a system with passion." — Thomas Berry

Passion is the driving force that enables people to attain far more than they ever imagined. Commitment means you will go all the way for what you believe in. Passion and commitment go hand in hand. Remember to have a positive attitude because of the saying “Good attitude, good results; bad attitude, bad results.”

Passion is everything. Without passion there is no drive to succeed. It is the fuel of the will, and everything you do as a leader must express your passion. Passion is contagious and is easily shared. Passion will bridge moments of weakness, and will drive you past your failures while reaching for your goals. Passion radiates from you and is easily detected by others.

Having passion makes sense, and has proven to be a key factor for many successful businesses and endeavors, but passion alone is not enough to be successful. The key to is to set up a system. A system lets you focus with strategic tunnel vision on what you need to be focused on right now. Systems are about the long-term process. In the end, process always wins.

Feedback loops are important for building good systems because they allow you to keep track of many different pieces without feeling the pressure to predict what is going to happen with everything. Forget about predicting the future and build a system that can signal when you need to make adjustments. Committing to the process is what makes the difference.

Passion can put you on the path to starting a successful endeavor, but once you combine your passion in a system, you can truly become an unstoppable force.