"How to..." guides are bad

Sometimes.

Regardless, the fact is if you're telling someone how to achieve a task you're minimizing room for creativity. I'm not necessarily talking about something as big as "Build a hospital." The guide to that might start with 1) Start a NGO 30 years before you want to break ground. But it's possible.

Today we were asked by our general contractor to move the site security shack. Not an unusual request because it was sitting on top of the place where the main entrance to the site will be. It's not very big. Wood construction. Tin roof. Concrete slab around the base.

First, the way it was done before: screw eye bolts into the four sides, attach ropes, and lift with the excavator.

Second, the way creativity did it: 14 Haitians nailed handles to the four corners, lifted it, rotated it, and carried it to where it needed to go.

To reach the second option, my boss, after we'd gone about collecting everything we'd need for the first option and after we'd had our carpenters go to town freeing the structure from it's base, said "maybe we should just step back." Wiser words could not have been used. The next thing the carpenter boss asked us was where it needed to go. We pointed to the spot. Next thing we knew the handles are going on the sides and the Team Haiti labor crew is showing up to help the carpenters.

Next time you ask somebody to do something, maybe just maybe, try not telling them how to do it first and see what happens.