Do Twice the Work and Enjoy 20 Times the Results
By: Donald Mitchell
Before creating the breakthrough solution process (devising ways to accomplish 20 times more with the same time, money, resources, and effort), I noticed that most of the world's best solutions to important problems were put into use by a few people more than 400 years before broad adoption. Consider the mortar in Roman roads. Visit Italy and you see roads that are still in use after more than 1,500 years.
Watch the new concrete highways near your home, and they will soon be crumbling from ice damage, leaving endless potholes. True, the Romans didn't have large semis carrying heavy loads on their roads. But the Romans were clearly ahead of their time when it came to making roads built to last.
The Romans knew that ice is the enemy of roads. Water needs cracks to get into before it freezes and causes damage. The Romans drew from the pumice that had spewed out of Mount Etna to create finely ground, glass-based powder. When mixed into their mortar, the material became ice resistant.
By contrast, the local contractor building your concrete highway wins the bid based on the lowest price. In that environment, contractors are unlikely to insist that better roads be built. The contractor usually puts coarse material (like sand and finer bits of gravel) into the concrete.
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Friday, January 11, 2008
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