I spend much of my team thinking and working on innovative information systems for construction. One of my best sources for developing ideas is a construction expert Chris who is passionate about lean construction, industrial engineering, logistics, and OODA Loop. He has taught me many things about how construction people see things and think. And I have shared ideas on how technology people approach problems, like in order to program things we need to get to a binary condition of is this a "1" or a "0."

In our latest conversation chatting about the efforts to use wireless technology Chris said the application of wireless is the "Glue and Grease" in the process. "Glue" was providing the way to connect and attach things. "Grease" was reducing the friction in processes to make them easier and faster. To my technology friends we would never use these terms we would say "system integration and performance tuning."

On the other hand I like the physical explanation of glue and grease. And I think sometimes it explains the sloppiness in system integration and performance tuning with glue dripping and grease over applied. :-)

My next presentation on construction innovation will use the ideas of "Glue and Grease," because saying words like integration and performance tuning doesn't mean much to non-technology people.

One of the best parts I like about the data center industry is the friends who are innovative thinkers. It can difficult to identify the exact characteristics of who these people are. One thing that I have found is pretty consistent is a beginner's mind.

The classic story of the concept of a beginner's mind is the empty cup.

Empty Your Cup

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

Another explanation of the beginner's mind is in this video.

I can think a lot of my data center friends who fit the description of a beginner's mind.

Shoshin (初心) is a concept in Zen Buddhism meaning "beginner's mind". It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would. The term is especially used in the study of Zen Buddhism and Japanese martial arts.

The phrase is also used in the title of the book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki, who says the following about the correct approach to Zen practice: In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

Saadat A. Khan suggests that "Beginner's mind embodies the highest emotional qualities such as enthusiasm, creativity, zeal, and optimism. If the reader reflects briefly on the opposites of these qualities, it is clear to see that quality of life requires living with beginner's mind. With beginner's mind, there is boundlessness, limitlessness, an infinite wealth."

A related term, shōshin (正真), means correct truth and is used to denote a genuine signature on art works or to refer to any thing or person that is genuine.