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SimpleThingsAt the end of the session, we decided to create a page and list Simple Things. Below is the start of the list. I encourage others to add to it. DwaynePhillips 8 November 2005 Simple Things that Can Amplify Effectiveness An outcome of the session held on Monday was that attendees wanted a copy of my existing and growing list of things that amplify effectiveness. Here is the list. It grew by ten during the session.
Someone arrives at your office.
Ask them if they would like to go the the restroom.
Offer them some coffee, soda, water, use the phone.
Take your coat.
You are responsible for X.
You are responsible for Y.
Everyone knows their job.
The sum of the tasks is the final product.
The problem - knowing who is where when Put a paper calendar on the wall. We write on it with a pencil. Schedules change, plans change, erasing is a good feature. We know who what where when at a glance. Easy to enter data, retrieve data, change data, delete data. It works really well.
Oh my gosh, this explains so much of the frustration and distrust in the workplace. "Why does he want me to explain myself? Doesn't he trust me? Doesn't he trust my judgement?" This is not a question of trust. He just doesn't know what you are doing, yet. Once you tell him, he will know.
What are we talking about? I've sat in meetings where we put up an "agenda" on the white board and then talked about stuff unrelated to the agenda for an hour. When is the meeting over? Can we leave now? Should I be sitting in this meeting?
Way back early in the 1990s I was involved in a large, complex project. No one wanted to sketch anything on the board, but once the first sketch went up we all talked about nothing but was on the board. No one wanted to do or say anything without sketching.
Some of these simple things may be life changing, complex, gut wrenching, and the worst single thing for anyone to overcome. They may be major items in the lives of some people. Consider that situation and those people. Calling them simple may be an insult.
Give people time to grow fond of your ideas.
Tired of work bureaucracy? You want to just do it? Build something at home. You can just do it anyway you like. Gain your self-satisfaction and fullfilment there at home. Now go to work to the paying job and go through all the required steps.
A big meeting in 1997. :My name is Dwayne." Most people in the room had 20-plus years of experience and we started the meeting without saying hello.
There was a big WSR meeting on 1/30/2002. No minutes. No agreements. No action items. No written record. What?
When we use "and", we are talking or writing about more than one thing. Same with the magical word "or." There are many occasions when we are trying to talk about just one thing, but we use one of these magical words and confusion ensues.
Always have a writing tool and writing surface available.
Consider pencil, paper, scissors, tape, wall, whiteboard, chalkboard, and conversation face-to-face.
Writing with pencil and paper instead of a computer. Physically this cuts down the number of (useless) words. Writing better? Write one paragraph on each piece of paper or 5x8 card. Now you can rearrange the order of the paragraphs on the floor or wall.
How long does it take to do something? X How long do we discuss doing it? Y If Y is greater than or equal to X, we have done something stupid. The same is true when X and Y are the money involved.
When people don't want to do a task or don't like the work, they usually do a poor job.
Tell me the answer as it is. Also, tell me the other stuff. Ideas and such that are not working. If I am the problem, say so. Many conversations in projects started with, "Dwayne, you told us to tell you things honestly, well here goes..."
It is amazing how we obfuscate written and spoken communication. We should back up and use nouns and verbs. These represent things and actions. These represent stuffand stuff to do. Bad examples include "actionable items" (verbs) and "actionable words" (more verbs).
Speak about us, in this location, at this time. This is a very simple idea. I must admit though that it can be very hard to do.
These are rough calculations with lots of rounding off. "Let's see, we are spending about $40K a day on this contract and we won't hire a second subcontractor for $20K over six weeks because that is too expensive." Another example, Martha Stewart got into trouble over $50K of stock when she was worth $200M. A rough calculation would have shown her how silly that was. A good way to do these calculations is to use a slide rule.
The customer, the requirement, and the product. Ask, if there is no answer to this question, do something else.
Look this word up in the dictionary. This may be too big a topic for this book? What they are, their purpose. My experiences with them. The help take swirling ideas out of your head. Put the somewhere to save for when you are ready to write about them or to use them. Also clears your head for when you are writing about or working on something else.
Wow, that is easy to say, or is it the hardest thing in the world to say?
Have someone else proof-read, edit, review, my work memo note fax before I send it to others. I know some people who never did this. Many of us always try to do this.
In writing, people frequently struggle, write a long messy, convoluted thing. They struggle and finally say out loud, "What I am trying to say is XYZ." Okay, put away all that other writing and write XYZ.
How do you make a line perpendicular to an existing line as on a soccer field? Use a 3-4-5 triangle. Wow, I knew that. It is simple geometry. The triangle is amazing.
n : a strong paper or thin cardboard with a smooth light brown finish made from e.g. Manila hemp Put stuff in these folders. Put a label with a date on it (maybe a "keep until" date). The stuff is there and will always be there. The folder won't crash, we won't erase it by mistake, and the media will not become obsolete and unreadable.
This is a way to establish a relationship with others. Once a relationship exists, influence becomes more natural.
Examples questions before answers, design before requirements. If I think ahead, I can put that idea in a place and use it at the right time. When you have an answer before a question, put it aside. Save it in the answer box and use it when you reach the answer box.
Pick up one thing and put it on the shelf. Pick up the next one thing and put it on the shelf. Repeat until done. How do you do 100 tasks? Do one thing. Go back to the list. Repeat until done.
James Robertson's advice on how to draw better. Use a felt-tip, broad-point pen. Felt on paper slides slower because of the friction. Going slower helps draw better circles, squares, letters, and other things. You are trying to communicate. Remove as much noise as you can. Try to make it hard for the other person to misunderstand.
On an important project, call the other person on the phone each day. Just 5 or 10 minutes, but stay in touch.
Every time on every thing. The next thing to write is your name. This is true if you want someone else to read what you wrote.
Say good morning to everyone you see.
When speaking, speak for myself and not at someone else.
I ...
not You... !
Nigeria - I told Dennis Thatcher thank you when our phone started working
This one is really simple
I see you here and now as a person
I am grateful for what you as a person have done for me as a person
not "no problem" not "sure" I see you here and now as a person It was my pleasure to do something for you that you appreciated
When you introduce a system or a topic - give it name
From then on, you can talk about XXX
instead of talking about
"ya know, that thing we talked about last week - sort of ya know?"
I got this one from Sam Grant
We were discussing how the ISI guys would not return phone calls
or return emails
Its the old thing, at least call back so I know you are alive
and are not ignoring me.
Tell me what is happening in your life
I understand some things might be delaying you.
When I am about to start a new piece of work with a group of people, I should ask "Has anyone here ever done this type of work before?" "Does anyone here already know the answer?"
When working in a group of people, arrange the chairs so that everyone can see everyone else'e face. Speak face to face.
Most furniture is pretty simple. A desk, a table, a chair - but they sure can help us do work.
When doing something that I don't know the reason why we are doing it, ask "What's the point?" Maybe there is no point. Maybe there is a big point, but I cannot see it.
Often the thing I want to do is right, but the time is wrong. If I wait until the right time, everything will work.
Use my memory of my past experiences. I often have done something in my past that solves the present problem.
Create a situation where one group can provide information or feedback to another group frequently and easily. This reduces the amount of mistakes and rework.
There are points in a project where we stop work, gather together, and understand where we are and where we have to go.
Go to the library.
Go to Starbucks for coffee and such.
Go somewhere else when I am stuck.
When working on something, turn it upside down. The perspective may reveal new insights. DwaynePhillips 8 November 2005 Thanks for the session Dwayne. A few more I'd like to add:
Do be afraid to throw out old to-do lists, e-mail archives if they have got too large. Sort out and keep the things you know are needed, ditch the rest. Selectively save in the future.
Always determine your objectives for the day before looking at mail. Mail tends to put you in reactive mode. Remember an e-mail does not always require a response in the same medium. Often the right response to a frustrating e-mail is to talk it out.
RobertFitzmaurice 2005-11-8 LookingForWikiService DwaynePhillips
Updated: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 |
