He was the leader of his organization.
In this case, the plant manager of a manufacturing company. He was responsible for overseeing 650 people producing the company’s products.
He was bored. Wandering around aimlessly. Unsure what to do. There were no emergencies. No one was calling about parts shortages or quality problems or production behind schedule.
What do you do when things seem to be going well? His assistant, the plant engineer, told him, “Just relax. When there are no problems, just enjoy it.”
This could have been any organization.
What if you are the leader? You’ve organized the project or process and things are proceeding according to plan. What do you do?
Ah, but we are talking human endeavors. When we begin involving many people–could be 6, could be 600–circumstances become complex. We could bet that somewhere, sometime, the process will begin to drift from stable to unstable. Something to do with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
At this stage of a project or process, there are things we had best be doing or we’ll soon find ourselves under water.
Observe.
In Lean thinking, we call it Gemba. A 1980s guru called it “Managing by Wandering Around.” Go out to the scene. Check the data.
Read.
Study what other people are doing. Read about current technology trends. Are there ideas from somewhere that would make the product, process, or people better? Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it can save us from a disintegrating situation.
Think.
Gather some people together from an area of the plant or process. Encourage thinking about how to improve. Hint: things can always be improved.
Realize.
A leader’s job isn’t just “putting out fires.” Leaders must be looking ahead and behind. Observing people and process.
Faith Venture 
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