Transcending The Factory Mindset

By Mudit Jha | 31st May, 2022

Going beyond our typical, linear ways of functioning like machines: taking input, producing SAME output every time and BREAKING THE mold! Humans are complex creatures that have the power of creative innovation! Let's see how we can cultivate it...

What Exactly is this "Factory Mindset"? 😯

Einstein- “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we used when we created them”

The Factory mindset is essentially a frame of reference or a way of thinking in which we function more or less like an assembly line in a factory. It is a pre-defined way of thinking that hinders creativity and innovation. It forces us to adopt a single routine that we follow through in our lives without ever making any changes. While you may argue that you are building consistency, and achieving productive results—look at it from this angle: your building comfort and attachment to a single routine and mindset effectively over time deteriorates the growth mindset and energy to innovate.

A closer look into the “Assembly Line”🧐

An example of a factory filled with workers in the industrial age. Each person is tasked with handling one machine that they are trained and specialized in.

What began in the industrial age, pioneered in the early 19th century by Henry Ford - the guy who revolutionized the mass production of automobiles of Ford - the assembly line was used to reduce the time to produce by specializing and mechanizing different areas of production.
Similarly, Mcdonald's and other fast-food chains also employ this approach which explains why they can provide cheap, fast, and massive amounts of output (food in this case): Quantity over Quality.

“Most people in corporations are trained in analytical thinking and focused on reliability and consistency. They are focused on making the “factory” and related processes better, faster, and cheaper to produce existing offerings.”- Roger Martin, Management Thinker and former Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto

Breaking the mold! 🧱 💥

If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done. Thomas Jefferson

Breaking the mold means going beyond the confinements of our limitations and doing something outside our comfort zone. For many students that might be to stop trying to do something that everyone is doing and try something that they think is beneficial. Every successful person makes achievements in life that align with the person, not what society demands from them.

📖✨While I was reading Elon Musk’s biography: Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X, and the quest for a fantastic future- by Ashlee Vance, I learned that every decision that Elon makes is based on the grand vision he has of colonizing Mars and advancing humanity to a state where they are not a constant threat to the environment and can live sustainability.

He might have not been the first person to suggest innovations like the electric car, but he had the motivation, work ethic, and confidence to “break the mold” in the research and development of electric cars and just 5 years- from 2003 to 2008- they revealed their first car. While other companies had been spending years slowly developing, but being held back by the thought of early market failure.

👉 Don’t be afraid to stand out. If you believe in yourself and your work, AND constantly stay focused. Then you WILL be successful in your endeavors.

As students and the next generation of the workforce, we must seek opportunities for constant innovation and growth. Whether that's in fields of research or entrepreneurial ideas that will inspire and lead to change, it all leads up to our mindset and willingness to think on a higher level and “Break the mold!”🔨