Denver

Just got back from a five days in Denver. Greg Hadubiak and I were invited to present at the BMGI World Summit.  Presentation went well - I threw in several Simpsons clips for laughs in the Keynote...always good to lighten things up during a big business forum.  Or make an idiot of myself. I think it worked out ok though; we had a lot of positive feedback.  The summit itself was outstanding - BMGI are a wonderful consulting firm, they had many great speakers, and a lot of good ideas being shared about process redesign, measurement, and the science of performance improvement (and yes, it is a science if you do it right and aren't consumed into the world of fluffy team building and management-speak). It didn't hurt that the summit was held at the Four Seasons - if you're ever in Denver and are looking for a high-end hotel with outstanding service and rooms, this is the place. Last year was at the Ritz Carlton in Denver, and they were equally stellar.

Of course, I brought the Leica MP with me, hoping to get a few shots in during the trip. I quite like this photo for some reason. It's representative of how I'm feeling these days. Part terrified of flying, part ambivalent and relaxed - and not really sure of why in either case.  (Ilford XP-2, Summaron 35mm f 3.5).
I tried to get a bit of street photography in while I was there, but Denver is a lot like Edmonton and Calgary that way - pretty 'new' downtown in some respects, without the visual 'punch' that a place like Paris or Boston or Chicago has. All the same, I absolutely love this next shot - there were a group of rather suspicious street teens hanging out and I had to be pretty discreet (hence the blur). What's fascinating about it though is the grain. I never get this kind of grain from XP-2...this looks more like it was shot with HP5 pushed to 3200 or something. (Ilford XP-2, Summicron 50mm f2)

Trying to think now about simplification. The summit featured a lot of presentation and discussion on Lean process redesign. A key concept behind this is defining clearly the "job to be done". When looking for a 1/4" drill bit, the job to be done is actually to make a 1/4" hole.  Too many manufacturers focus on the drill bit. Same as a lawnmower - what some people think (design a better mower) is actually off the mark at times...what I need is to have a great lawn that I don't need to cut.