Kaizen, a taxi driver and a mother’s epic shutdown

There’s a story often told about one chatty taxi driver. It was raining hard one evening. A mother and her 13-year-old son were inside a taxi, inching through traffic. Outside, under flickering streetlights, a line of women stood by the roadside. “Mommy, what are those women doing?” the boy asked.

“They’re waiting for their husbands to come back from work,” the mother replied calmly.

The taxi driver, perhaps feeling morally heroic or simply bored, turned around and said, “Why don’t you tell him the truth? They’re prostitutes. They sleep with men for money.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Mommy, is that true?”

The woman reluctantly said “yes” while giving a dagger look at the driver. A few minutes later, the boy asked, “Mommy, what happens to the babies those women have?”

Without missing a beat, she replied, “Many of them become taxi drivers.”

Moral of the story? Silence is golden. One burst of unnecessary honesty can trigger a domino effect — except the dominoes are people who fall miserably.

In the corporate world, the taxi driver and the mother are alive and well. They sit in meetings. They reply to emails telling the whole world they want to be brutally honest.

Kaizen THINK filter

Under Kaizen, a solution should improve the system without creating new problems. The driver’s intervention was unnecessary and provoked a mother’s insult, escalating the conflict rather than improving the situation.

Both the driver and the mother could have tried a simple Kaizen THINK filter: Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind? Arguably, the taxi driver passed the first test. But he flunked the other four. On the other hand, the mother failed miserably in all five questions.

Of course, honesty builds trust, yes — but Kaizen prefers honesty with a seatbelt: safe, structured, purposeful, disciplined, calibrated, deliberate, measured, restrained, thoughtful, strategic and constructive, all aimed at improvement.

Problems are privately discussed with those concerned. But there’s a system. There’s timing. There’s context.

Nobody blurts out a production or service flaw in front of a customer (the boy) just to demonstrate “honesty.” Issues are identified to solve them, not to score points, grandstand, embarrass, posture or appear self-righteous.

Three don’ts of communication

Sure, the taxi driver started it all. He created a problem. The mother should have not gone to the driver’s level. Imagine if both parties observe the Three Don’ts of Communication like what professionals do in the corporate world:

1. Don’t interrupt people. Hire smart people and resist the urge to grab the steering wheel every five minutes. Steve Jobs said: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire them so they can tell us what to do.” If you want a puppet show, hire a puppeteer.

2. Don’t offer unsolicited advice. Some unsolicited commentaries include: Your friend orders fries, and you deliver a lecture on cholesterol. A coworker arrives five minutes late, and you report him to Human Resources. When someone buys a new phone, you pontificate about saving money.

3. Don’t be a family counselor. Unless your ID says “Therapist” and your office has a couch with decorative throw pillows, resist the urge. You were hired to manage projects, not coach people how to clean the coffee maker. You can show empathy, but you’re not licensed to interpret dreams.

Sometimes, we encounter managers who want to “tell it like it is.” But Kaizen demands something subtle. The goal is to define what could improve a system. A meeting derailed by an offhand remark is like a production line halted by a loose bolt.

Both are preventable with small tweaks. Kaizen identifies defects and does not hide problems. There’s a logical tension between being silent to save relationships and the requirement to speak up to improve a process.

In your own organization, who are the taxi drivers? Who are the mothers? More importantly, which one are you?

Kaizen is the quiet art of upgrading how we speak, listen and behave under pressure. It’s like adding a few sacred seconds before replying. “Silence is golden?” Kaizen tweaks that: silence is golden — when it saves time, trust and relationships from expensive repairs.

Every process can be improved. Even the ancient process of minding one’s own business.

So, the next time you feel the irresistible urge to clarify someone else’s explanation, pause. Remember to THINK. Am I improving the situation — or just displaying my knowledge like a dashboard warning red light nobody requested?

Indeed, the most powerful Kaizen move is the smallest one: close your mouth and improve your timing next time.

Rey Elbo is a quality and productivity enthusiast. Email comments to [email protected] or DM Facebook, LinkedIn, X or via https://reyelbo.com. Anonymity is guaranteed if you’re a talkative taxi driver.