Consistency and Variability

Much of our world is built for consistency.

Assembly lines. Machines. At scale. Chain restaurants and hotels. Insurance policies. Public transportation. Highways. AI coders and support chatbots. Heck, our public education system.

All built for consistency. Whatever you put in, wherever you are, get the same stuff out. Somebody designed it (probably with data), and the process enforces it.

Why is that?

It’s a little bit for the customers.

Consistency helps one avoid the unknown. I know what I’m getting. There’s value there. In fact, maybe more value than whether the person actually likes it. “Phew. It’s just as I expected it.” Deterministic is a powerful sedative.

But it rewards the designers of the system.

Consistency of output breeds consistency of outcomes, financial statements, and KPI’s. It allows efficiencies in process and labor. It unlocks bigger margins with smaller investment.

Where does that leave you?

Not us. Because the consistency is designed for us.

You.

You are variable. Yes, even you introverted engineers.

It’s up to you to be on the lookout for variable delight.