Because that's the way we've always done it!

Written by: Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership by Dan

I first came across this story from an engineering colleague of mine, Kyle Smith. He said he got it from Howard Winsett, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. I have no idea if it's true, but it's a great story to help people see the need to challenge the conventional wisdom. Or silly HR policies.

Does the expression, "We've always done it that way!" ring any bells? The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That is an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that is the way they built them in England, and English expatriates built the US railroads. Why did the English build them like that?Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre railroad tramways, and that is the gauge they used. Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they used for building wagons, which used the same wheel spacing.

Okay!

Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?

Continue reading the original article here.