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This Month's HeadlinesClick on any Headline to go to the full story. From Jim and CharlieThis is our personal note welcoming you to the October 2006 issue of Future of Work Agenda and setting our theme for the month. This month we're looking at why it's so hard to implement distributed work programs, and what it takes to stay focused on your most important priorities. There just might be a connection between those two themes. AnnouncementsOur corporate members will be holding their semi-annual Roundtable Meeting in Chicago, hosted by Jones Lang LaSalle. Jim Ware will be speaking publicly twice during October. Mary Singer is our newest Future of Work individual member, and as always Future of Work continues to seek additional new members. Feature Article: How Come Distributed Work Is Still The Next Big Thing?This is the second article in a three-part series that addresses the question in the title: how come Distributed Work isn't being embraced to the degree many of us have thought it would be by now? In Part One of this series we identified the six primary reasons that organizations should be embracing distributed work. As we've stated many times, we believe those reasons are incredibly compelling, so we continue to be more than a little puzzled about why there isn't more widespread acceptance of distributed work programs. Bonus Article: Where Have All The Leaders Gone?By Rob Moran Best of the BlogThis section provides you with brief summaries of several recent notes we've already posted on the Future of Work weblog. In each case we also include a live link to the original post on the blog. And we encourage you to become a regular reader of the blog, where we are posting notes, case studies, and links to other important websites on a regular basis. In Our Humble Opinion: Focus, Focus, FocusWe end each issue of Future of Work Agenda with a personal perspective our chance to comment on issues and developments in the world of work that we find important and interesting. This is our "editorial" page, where we enjoy offering our opinions and predictions about what's happening (or should be happening) in the world of work and beyond. |
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From Jim and CharlieWe've got a very exciting couple of months ahead of us. Work Design Collaborative is getting more and more involved in real-world activity in several different parts of the country. We are already actively advising a southern California firm about some very substantial changes in their workplace portfolio strategy. We're about to make our visit to western Michigan as part of the WIRED initiative that we announced several months ago. We've had recent expressions of interest in our Business Community CenterTM concept from several other Midwestern communities and companies. And we're about to begin some very intriguing workforce and workplace research projects for a very large public sector organization (we'll announce that work officially just as soon as we can). So life is getting more complex and hectic (we consider that a good thing; as they way, it sure beats the alternative). We're still a relatively small organization, so it's really important for us to keep our priorities straight and not let ourselves get distracted by trivial activities that don't produce action. In fact, we're doing our best to follow our own advice for getting and staying focused see our rant on that very topic, Focus, Focus, Focus, right here in this issue. And our current clients are very clearly focused right now on How Come Distributed Work is Still the Next Big Thing? This month's lead article is Part Two of our current three-part series, this time looking at the barriers that make moving into a distributed work environment so difficult. Actually, though, if you find any surprises in our ideas about why there is so much resistance to distributed work, we'll be surprised. But we do hope you will find our perspectives helpful. Everyone we talk to about this topic immediately identifies "resistance to change" and "cultural inertia" as the biggest challenges to be overcome. But with all due respect, we believe you have to go a lot deeper into the dynamics of organizations and individual workers to ferret out what kinds of changes are being resisted, and why. You can't overcome "resistance to change" without understanding its root causes. We'll be interested to hear your reactions and additional insights (and personal stories too) on this most important subject. We certainly don't believe we've got the whole thing nailed down tight. So by all means let us hear your ideas too. We've always stressed that we want this newsletter and our accompanying blog to be interactive, and to foster meaningful dialogue. Don't let it be a one-sided conversation; come on back at us. And as always, of course, we're also pleased to bring you our regular Announcements and Best of the Blog sections. We continue to believe that you'll find ideas and information here that you just can't get anywhere else. So, on to the rest of the newsletter. Enjoy! And please let us know what you think.
AnnouncementsFuture of Work Corporate Members Will Gather in Chicago October 3-5Jones Lang LaSalle and GSA will be hosting the Fall 2006 Future of Work Members Roundtable meeting at their respective facilities in Chicago. We're looking forward to a stimulating two days of case studies, personal experience sharing, and a special presentation by Future of Work Senior Fellow Robin Pratt on the challenges of "Managing a Distributed Workforce." The overriding theme for this Roundtable is understanding and managing organizational change. We also anticipate laying out a collaborative research agenda for the next six months. If you are interested in becoming a corporate member of Future of Work, please contact us directly. And feel free to review the membership program description on our website. Panel Discussion on the New World of WorkJim Ware will be a panelist at an October 12 Forum on "The New World of Work" sponsored by the Executive Development Center at Santa Clara University and Torchiana, Mastrov & Sapiro, Inc., a leading Bay Area executive placement firm. The Forum will be held at the World Trade Club in San Francisco, beginning at 8 AM. The other panel members are Detlev Kunz Senior Vice President, Power Management at National Semiconductor, and Patricia Torchiana Co-Founder of Torchiana, Mastrov & Sapiro. The panel will be moderated by Helen Peters, Leadership Development Practice Leader at Torchiana, Mastrov and Sapiro and Co-Director of the Human Resources Leadership Program at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. For more information, and to register, please contact Cindy Carbonetti at +1 925.838.9720 or ccarbonetti@torchiana.com. HR Leadership Forum at Santa Clara UniversityJim Ware will be speaking on the changing nature of work and the workplace at the October 23-25 HR Leadership Forum at Santa Clara University. Please visit the online program description and consider participating. In the words of Jac Fitz-Enz, Founder and CEO, Workforce Intelligence Institute: It's time to answer the perennial question of how does HR positively impact the organization. This program focuses specifically on resolving that basic issue. Other speakers - all worth listening to - include: Helen Peters and Deborah Saks, Program Directors Mary Singer is the newest Individual/Small Business member of Future of WorkMary Singer is a Principal with Cresa Partners, based in Memphis, Tennessee. She is an office, retail, industrial and site selection specialist. Mary became a partner and co-founder of Commercial Realty Group, Inc., in the late 1980's, the firm that evolved into CRESA Partners. She was responsible for revolutionizing the Mid-South real estate industry by pioneering tenant representation services. Through her leadership, the company has become a model in providing corporate real estate services that support clients' business enterprises. The firm was one of the first woman-owned commercial real estate firms in the Southeast Region. Please join us in welcoming Mary to the Future of Work program. Future of Work Continues to Seek New MembersFuture of Work offers several levels of membership that depend on your status and needs: Individual and Small Business, Corporate, and Implementation Partners. We also offer special discounts to nonprofit, educational, and public sector organizations. These membership programs are described in more detail on the Future of Work website, or feel free to contact us directly for more information about fees and benefits. All Future of Work members are now listed on the Future of Work website, in the About Us/Members section. We encourage all our readers to consider joining the community. Please visit our website and apply for membership today.
Feature Article: How Come Distributed Work Is Still The Next Big Thing?by Jim Ware and Charlie Grantham This is the second article in a three-part series that addresses the question in the title: how come Distributed Work isn't being embraced to the degree many of us have thought it would be by now? We fully intended to address the question and answer it in one article. However, as we began writing it became apparent that we were tackling a Very Big Issue one that reminds us of the 1990's quandary about collaborative software: why should anyone use it, what gets in the way of widespread use, and what can be done to promote it? We believe the same three questions have to be asked and answered regarding Distributed Work. (1) What makes it compelling in the first place?(See Part One, which appeared here in September, for our views on why Distributed Work should be much more widespread than it is). (2) Why isn't it being embraced more quickly and more widely? And (3) what can or should be done to promote its adoption? In Part Two, below, we go after the real issue: how come senior executives aren't embracing Distributed Work, especially when it makes so much business sense?. In Part One of this series (see the September Future of Work Agenda for that article) we identified the six primary reasons that organizations should be embracing distributed work:
As we've stated many times, we believe those reasons are incredibly compelling. So we continue to be more than a little puzzled about why there isn't more widespread acceptance of distributed work programs (or what some call "alternative workplace strategies") within the corporate community (we've also been tracking the emergence of distributed work programs among public sector organizations; the issues there are somewhat different but the results are very similar). Actually, we are more frustrated than puzzled, since "organizational inertia" and resistance to change is actually nothing new. In this case, however, the economics are so compelling that we think there ought to be shareholder revolts at every corporate annual meeting. Indeed, it may take that kind of pressure from outraged owners to get senior executives to exercise the kind of leadership and stewardship they're being paid for. But the only way we're going to convince those leaders to get off their duffs is to understand what's behind their resistance to change, and then knock off their "Yeah, but" excuses one at a time. We think there are at least eight primary reasons why Distributed Work isn't yet the Big Thing it should be. And, by the way, these are not all "irrational" or "emotional" barriers that can simply be overwhelmed with aggressive leadership. Distributed Work is different than what most people are used to, and some of their fears of the unknown are actually highly rationale given their current circumstances. Distributed Work actually does require new skills, new attitudes, and new management systems (but we're getting ahead of ourselves; see Part Three next month for our action recommendations). Here's the eight barriers to Distributed Work that we're going to address here and now:
Let's look at these things one at a time. 1. Inherent Human Inertia Against Externally Imposed ChangeWe are decidedly not of the opinion that people just naturally resist change. Every organization we've ever worked with has been full of people who are actively seeking change and improvement. The issue isn't with change per se; it's with imposed change. Our view is that people resist being changed, because that means loss of personal control and generates an unknown future where they fear being less successful than they are in the present. Actually, resistance to being changed is very normal, and basically rational. When someone is told they're going to be thrust into a new situation (especially with little or no preparation, or even an opportunity to think about why the change might actually be good for them), all kinds of fears and questions come bubbling up: "What will it be like? Will I be able to be effective? What if I don't like it? What if my boss expects me to be more productive, but I don't have the skills she expects? Why can't we just do it the way we've been doing it which doesn't take a whole lot of effort on my part?" For people who are used to coming into an office every day, Distributed Work places a huge premium on self-reliance and on being productive and work-focused even in the absence of the work-culture "messages" that every corporate facility sends nonstop. Most of us have grown so accustomed to those messages that we don't realize how much "pressure" they impose. Just think about a typical office where most of what you see is others "at work," and the boss walking down the hall every now and then, and you are surrounded by all the physical reminders that this is a workplace: a lobby with a receptionist and secure doors; ID badges around everyone's neck; cubicles and conference rooms; institutional furniture; bland paintings on bland walls; rows of filing cabinets; a big nondescript wall clock; large fluorescent lighting; wall-to-wall tinted window glass, dark carpeting, etc., etc.). Being suddenly thrust into a totally different physical setting (like a spare bedroom at home) can be jarring, and it takes time to learn new behaviors in the face of familiar surroundings that in the past were never associated with "work." 2. Organizational InertiaMost (though admittedly not all) organizational cultures are strongly biased towards stability, predictability, and efficiency. That, after all, is what the Industrial Age, when most large organizations were born and grew up, needs and rewards. But even though a bias for stability in today's Information/Innovation Economy is the next worst thing to calcification, it's also the reality that permeates every large enterprise these days. And when all the cultural as well as the physical signals point towards stability and away from change, that's what you get. Distributed Work represents a Very Big Change (see Barrier 8, below), and that's exactly what organizations have learned to fend off, fight, and actively prevent. 3. Management Habits and Industrial-Age ThinkingIndustrial-Age managers, and even Information-Age managers who grew up in the Industrial Age (and that's just about every one of us) have been taught that "management by walking around" is essential. It's important to interact with your staff on a regular basis, and not just about work-related activities. Walking the halls, stopping to share a cup of coffee or tea, observing pictures of kids and recreational events that's what "good" management is all about. Organizational effectiveness is, after all, about people, motivation, and inspiration. And we all believe basically that face-to-face human interaction is the best way to understand and solve problems, build relationships, and guide behavior. Distributed Work flies in the face of that conventional wisdom. One of the underlying and usually unstated assumptions about Distributed Work is that with today's IT capabilities we can communicate and interact with others no matter where they or we are. So, once again, moving to a Distributed Work environment where people are out more than they are in, where you rely on conference calls and emails for communication, is a Really Big Change. It may come naturally for some kinds of people (and of course some folks have been working that way for years), but for many who are used to life in traditional corporate facilities, it is a very difficult transition. 4. Middle Management FearWhich leads right to the next source of resistance: the fear factor. Middle managers in particular, who remain accountable for organizational performance no matter what new "program" is being implemented, fear Distributed Work because it removes opportunities for direct observation and interaction with their subordinates, it requires new behaviors and skills on their part, and it creates a very understandable concern that they may not be successful in the "new world." They fear not only obsolescence, but also irrelevance. One thing we've learned over the years is that for individuals to operate successfully as remote or mobile workers they must become much more independent and self-reliant. That means everything from starting to work in the morning even if no one is "watching" to learning how to install your own software and do your own debugging when the computer or the modem crashes. It's only natural that such self-reliant workers actually require less formal "management," and therefore fewer managers. Our research clearly shows that distributed work organizations can operate very successfully with a much higher management span of control (meaning that you literally need far fewer front-line managers in a distributed work environment). And that. of course, is what it's really all about: control. It's actually much more difficult (or at least it feels much more difficult) for both frontline managers and senior executives to imagine how they can "control" (or guide, or even influence) remote workers who aren't regularly visible. Make no mistake about it: maintaining a sense of being part of the organization, and of understanding what the company is all about, is definitely more difficult with a widely dispersed workforce even though today there are plenty of Internet-based tools that enable managers to communicate to and with those distributed workers frequently and effectively (but see Barrier 6, below). Finally, there is one very logical, and wholly understandable, management fear: the risk of losing critical information either because of a lack of network security or because one of those distributed workers loses a laptop crammed with proprietary software and databases. Network security is nowhere as serious a threat as many uninformed managers think it is, but it is a serious issue that requires careful attention. And there seems to be a news story every other week of some remote worker who has had a laptop full of data stolen from a car, an airline club, or a hotel room. That's a very real risk that will never be completely eliminated, no matter how careful the company is with backup, awareness building, and password-protection schemes. So those middle management fears are actually very well-founded and, again, relatively rational. 5. Front-Line Workforce FearThe mirror image of managers' fears about Distributed Work is the anxiety experienced by those front-line workers who suddenly find themselves spending a lot of time away from the corporate "womb." Not only are there new skills to master, no familiar work environment cues, and no co-workers to provide social stimulation and work-related norms of behavior, but on top of all those changes there is also the fear that "no one will see what I'm doing." Perhaps the biggest fear of individual distributed workers is that the organization (and in particular the next level of management) will more or less forget about someone who isn't there everyday actively demonstrating how hard he or she is working and how committed they are to the company. While those who have learned to work independently typically come to love Distributed Work for its freedom, convenience, and self-control, those who haven't yet experienced it are almost always genuinely afraid of the changes it represents. 6. New Forms of Communication and New MediaIn spite of the virtues of modern information technology that seems to enable any-time, any-place work, there is plenty of evidence that the medium does matter (to paraphrase Marshall McLuhan). The two of us certainly continue to believe that for some kinds of communication and problem-solving there really is no substitute for face-to-face interaction and same-time, same-place work. But when we rely on electronic media for communication in a distributed work environment (as virtually all remote and mobile workers do), there is a substantive difference in how our messages are received, understood, and accepted. Like it or not, a telephone call is less "rich" than a face-to-face exchange, and an email conveys far less information than a phone call. And so on. These differences have a significant impact not only on day-to-day communication but, more importantly, on the formation and evolution of the relationships that create context for communication and problem-solving. That's why we always insist on scheduling face-to-face meetings at key points in the life of a distributed project team. You just can't sit down and "break bread together" when you are separated by miles and miles of geography. In our experience, most people who move into distributed work environments understand this "The medium is the message" reality intuitively, and it understandably makes them uncomfortable and uneasy (at least at first). 7. The CEO "Edifice Complex"Like it or not, senior executives, who are more or less human beings most of the time (sorry, couldn't help that cheap shot), find value and take pleasure in seeing the company name on a big and impressive office complex. There is something very visceral and very real about this need to make a statement about the company's (and therefore the CEO's) success. And more than just the name on the building, there's a strong need to see the workforce streaming in every morning and filling up all those empty spaces. This need to see the physical manifestation of the company's success its people, its activities, and its physical structures is very real, and completely understandable. And it's not just to make the senior executives feel good; the physical reality of the company is also important to customers, investors, and industry analysts; the presence of the buildings and the workforce make the company seem substantial and successful. It's certainly a lot harder to "show off" a distributed workforce. 8. Complexity: Distributed Work is a "Big Change"As we've said several times already, moving to a distributed work environment involves many kinds of change, on many dimensions (and we haven't even mentioned the need for significant business process reengineering to accommodate location-independence in work flows). In short, it's a big job when it's done right, and the very complexity (and cost) of the transition means its often done poorly. This reality, coupled with the fact that many organizational attempts to implement Distributed Work have floundered or outright failed, leads a majority of senior executives to be (rightfully, we think) cautious and a bit conservative about the whole idea. But while caution is commendable, we believe the opportunity cost of failing to take advantage of the benefits of Distributed Work is inexcusable. As we discussed in Part One, the economic benefits are enormous, and we believe the additional advantages of becoming a preferred employer, of drawing on a global workforce, and of attracting and retaining talent, far outweigh the risks. Next month we'll look at some of the genuine success stories of companies that have already implemented significant distributed work programs, and we'll catalog a set of guidelines to help you lead the way in your own organization. Please direct your comments and questions to comments@thefutureofwork.net. We'd love to publish your reactions and suggestions. We'd like to acknowledge the contributions of several readers who sent us comments on Part One, or posted Comments on our blog. Thanks in particular to Barry Tuchfeld, Stuart Oliver, Cathie Jennings, and Harold Jarche for taking the time to share their thoughts with us.
Bonus Article: Where Have All The Leaders Gone?by Rob Moran Rob is the President and CEO of the Ancora Group, based in Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania. The Ancora Group is focused on helping non-profits and Associations get back on the course for success and navigate the new work environment. Buffalo Springfield struck a chord with their now famous line, "Something's happening here - what it is, ain't exactly clear." In fact, something is happening here within the Association and nonprofit community that deserves our attention. A massive exodus of leadership talent is beginning and will continue into the foreseeable future. As baby boomers move into their 50's and 60's they are leaving the ranks of Executive Directors, members of Boards of Directors, and experienced senior managers. The implications of this exodus are noteworthy, especially given the strong link between leadership and an organization's performance and success. Recently, significant energies and brainpower have gone into quantifying the magnitude of the problem and exploring solutions. A study funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, "Up Next," chronicles the looming leadership gap in the non-profit community. The study finds there will be a 65% turnover in leadership by 2009 (2,200 nonprofits polled) and that 55% of current Executive Directors were 50 years of age or older. Furthermore, a study of 119 community foundations revealed that while 61% had the same CEO over the past decade, 55% expected them to leave their positions within the next five years. Two additional studies support these findings. The Bridgespan Group's "The Non-Profit Sector's Leadership Deficit", which sampled non-profit organizations with revenues above $250,000, found that over the next 10 years these organizations will need to attract and develop some 640,000 new senior managers (2.4 times the number currently employed). By 2016 these organizations will need almost 80,000 new senior managers. The second study, "Daring to Lead 2006," funded by the Meyers Foundation and conducted by CompassPoint, found that 75% of the executives interviewed plan to leave their jobs within the next five years, and that only 29% of them had discussed succession planning with their Boards. The Association community is witnessing high-profile job openings, abrupt departures, an unusual number of job changes and retirements, and strong turnover in key positions. How will this migration of leaders impact the Association community? What implications and opportunities will emerge? What does this mean for those involved in the search for great leaders? For associations, the impact will likely be experienced in tandem with the departures and the diminishing talent pool. Points to consider in the short term:
In moving forward, we need a new conversation - one that is more expansive, accesses a higher level of thinking and creativity, and involves a range of perspectives. Our focus should include consideration of the increasing numbers of organizations who will undergo leadership change, the fluid nature of organizations in general, and the types of leaders that evolving organizations will seek. We need to acknowledge the increasing complexity in the role and expectations of leaders and the accompanying shift in perception of what leaders actually do how they inspire and behave, their values, their capacity to understand and act, and the needs, wants, and motivations of emerging leaders. In addition to existing choices, consideration should also be given to opportunities and incentives used to entice emerging leaders. We need to put in place creative thinking, imagination, and comprehensive strategies for succession planning, along with intentional mentoring to prepare, introduce, and develop new leaders. The implications and opportunities resulting from this leadership exodus will be numerous. It will be crucial to identify new leaders, invest in their professional development, expand their repertoire and provide on-going guidance and direction. Educating and supporting emerging leaders will become more accelerated, with an emphasis on experiential learning and coaching. A premium will be placed on readiness and converting potential. Individuals who can provide direction and support to organizations in transition will be in demand. What is happening in these communities is actually "exactly clear." We are entering a period of loss and turbulence, with the potential for profound change. While the focal point is the flight of the aging leader, we would be shortsighted if we merely pursued a replacement strategy. We have a chance to dramatically change the face of leadership and to transform the models we have tinkered with for years. The association community needs to be bold and seize this opportunity. It is vital that we rethink much of what we believe about leadership and the development of leaders. We should challenge many of our basic tenets and involve the folks who are stepping into these positions. We need to revisit our views on the amount of time a leader wants to serve, on strategies for preventing/reducing burnout, and on the potential that Association Boards of Directors may increasingly be the creators and protectors of the culture and continuity for organizations. Imagine if, for the survival and sustainability of an organization, it were agreed that we need leaders who can collaborate, who can step beyond mere experience and integrate their accumulated wisdom, and who are emotionally intelligent. Our challenge then is to translate these factors into all facets of the process training and development, mentoring, coaching, searching, interviewing, and hiring. It is my hope that we view this transition time as a potential turning point in the leadership of the association community. Think about your own role in creating future leaders and consider your reply the next time a member of your staff or a colleague approaches you and expresses an interest in leading. Could be a pivotal moment - prepare yourself!
Best of the BlogHere's a small sampling of excerpts/lead-ins from our recent weblog posts. Please get in the habit of reading the Future of Work weblog regularly - bookmark it, or if you have an RSS news reader, subscribe to it. And please contribute as well. We're more than happy to reprint your stories, or to consider featuring you as a Guest Writer. We believe we're creating a unique knowledge base of what's going on out there today, and what's going to be going on tomorrow. If you want to learn about the future of work, our blog is the place to go (along with this very newsletter, of course). Just click on each headline below to visit the full original blog post. The Power of Presence (September 4)Our new friend Deb Schiff has just posted a nice little snippet from a research interview she conducted recently with [us] ("Face-to-Face: It's Critical For Project Kickoff"). Deb is a regular contributor to the Collaboration Loop blog. Are We Becoming a Nation of Entrepreneurs? (September 7)Charlie and I have been writing for some time about the growing interest among American workers in leaving the corporate "womb" to become "free agents" . . . Now an independent survey released last week confirms not only that it's happening, but that the pace of the exodus from the corporate world is, if anything, accelerating. The survey, reported last week by Yahoo! and other sources, was sponsored by E-Myth Worldwide, a leading global provider of online business development education, advice, and coaching for entrepreneurs. The headline: six million Americans who currently work for someone else are planning to start their own business sometime in the next twelve months. Understanding the "Next Generation" Workforce (September 22)There's a wonderful article about younger, tech-savvy new workers in the September 19 issue of The Financial Times ("They are the future - and they're coming to a workplace near you" - paid subscription required to access the full article). Lee Rainie, the director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a Washington DC research organization that examines the social impact of the internet, wrote the article. He clearly drew heavily on the Pew Center's research, but he also did a number of specialized interviews for this piece - including [Jim and Charlie]. The Future of the Internet: Not All That Clear (September 25)If you are at all like me you often wonder what the Internet is going to be like in another 10 or 20 years. Of course, 10 years ago the Internet was such an infant that none of us could have predicted how indispensable it would become. We're really not very good at making predictions. Well, the Pew Internet and American Life Project has just published its second study on the future of the Internet ("The Future of the Internet II").
In Our Humble Opinion: Focus, Focus, FocusCommentary by Charlie Grantham and Jim Ware Stop it, just stop it!!!! Well, Fall is here (at least here in the northern hemisphere). The frost is on the pumpkin, Cooter's growing a heavier fur coat, and the politicians are going through their bi-annual scramble for survival. Maynard is, well, back to school. He's going to try again at 10th grade. He heard about this new thing called "No dufus left behind" and figures it's better to be a head than to be a behind (yes, folks that's a not-so-veiled reference to the mud slingers out there, with thanks to Cousin Dave in Cally-forn-ya for that cutesy phrase). In Our Humble Opinion (slipped it in early this time), too many people are so busy running around like a dog in a butcher shop that they're missing the point. Buford has a little advice about how to stop doing useless stuff and get yourself focused. So our rant this month is about how to find the energy you need to do the Really Important things, which somehow never seem to get done. If you don't think you have that problem, try this test: How much time do you spend in meetings every week where no action decisions are made? Do you answer emails after midnight? How many calls do you think you still need to make after your work day is done? Get the picture? The way we see it you really need only two tools: WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use duct tape. So break out your WD-40 and the duct tape and let's take a long, hard look at how most of us get things done. First, let's set the stage. Why is all this so important? Well, in today's world more and more stuff comes at every one of us than ever before. And there are more useless things to do because no one has the gumption to say, "Stop it, just stop it!" We all just smile, groan, stare at the clock, and wish that whatever it is would just go away so we can get to the real stuff. Well, wishin' ain't managin', so we've got some advice you might find actually worth listening to. There are really only five things you can choose to do when faced with an impossible amount of activity going on. As an aside (thinking in parentheses here), there's a whole poopload of difference between activity and action. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic is an activity, signing up a dozen new customers is an action. So the meaningful actions you can take are: 1. Stop doing it. Just quit doing things that don't get you anywhere. Example: you get invited to a meeting. Be sure to ask "What's the purpose of the meeting?" And, "What exactly will we get done?" If no one can answer those questions, Just Say No (to coin a phrase) and don't go to the meeting. 2. Slow the process down. You know that sometimes things simply resolve themselves if you leave them alone. You don't really have to respond to emails within five minutes (and who said you have to answer every one you get?). The world ain't coming to an end if you just left stuff sit there for a while. There's a natural cycle to a lot of things, especially when it comes to people changing their habits. We all know you can't put three women on the pregnancy project and get er done in three months. Come on, some things just take time. Chill out and let it happen. 3. Keep on truckin'. Probably 40% or so of what we do just does need to get done. The trick is sorting these things out from everything else. If your work puts you in the middle of a process that involves you getting something from someone, doing something to it, and handing it off to someone else, you probably ought to just keep it going (assuming you know why you're doing it and what value it produces). If you're in Nawlin's during Katrina and fillin' sand bags, you probably ought to just do that and hand the full ones off to the next guy. The gang down at FEMA (the "Failure to Effectively Manage Anything" folks we hear they're doing a heck of a job) missed that one. Their focus: "Let's get the paperwork straight before we actually send anything down there." Talk about bass-ackwards. 4. Start doing something. Okay, so what is it you had better start doing? You know, things like pre-ven-a-tive maintenance. Back to the WD-40 and duct tape. Patch the roof before it rains, for example. Check the gas in the airplane to see if it has water in it. It'll be too late when you're at altitude headed into a flock of geese. In other words, figure out what matters and Just Do It (to highjack another good idea). 5. Create whole new activities. Duh! It ain't yesterday and it isn't over there. It's now and rat-'chere in yo face. If you take all the energy you gain from stoppin' stupid things and what you save from slowin' down others, you should have enough left to keep on keeping on, ramp up the maintenance, and even do some totally new stuff. Buford finally figured out that if he stopped beatin' the dead horse and started plowin' a new field he was actually going to have somethin' to eat come harvest time. Try this. Use this little diagram, and as you go through next week, or next month, or whatever, list the things you want to stop, slow down, keep doing, ramp up, or start from scratch.
Now this is all well and good, but a dollar to a doughnut some wise butt in the office is going to say, "You can't do that." Just go hide and watch. Some cultures just keep hammerin' away and never stand back to look at what they're building. Our favorite candidates today are in the automobile industry. This would be a good test for their "stratergery" planners. If you run into that kind of resistance you should sit right down and have a serious talk with yourself. If where you work is all about activity and not about action, it may, In Our humble Opinion, (slipped a second one in this month), be time for you to put out the fire and call in the dogs, if you get Buford's drift. Or, as they say in corporate-world, start working on the old resume'. Give this approach a try and let us know what happens. While we can't tell you how to decide which things to stop, which to slow down, which to keep on doin', which to ramp up, and which new things to start, we can tell you how important it is to make those decisions every single day. Focus, focus, focus. That's the only way to get ahead (and not be left behind). Lastly, November is coming up, so those of you who are here in the ever-lovin' U-Ess-of-A, please get out and vote. Remember that even a blind hog can find an acorn once in a while (in all seriousness, please do vote, and do it thoughtfully, not blindly. It's an important opportunity for each of you to be accountable as a citizen and let those Beltway Bandits know what they should be stopping, slowing down, keepin' on doing, ramping up, and starting up). Please direct your comments to comments@thefutureofwork.net. We'd love to publish your reactions and suggestions. And thanks for listening. This issue of Future of Work Agenda was produced by Jim Ware and Charlie Grantham of the Work Design Collaborative. We encourage your comments, suggestions, and submission of materials for possible future publication. Please contact us at: Charlie Grantham, charlie@thefutureofwork.net, +1 928 771 9138 To subscribe to Future of Work Agenda, register on our web site. Please pass this newsletter on to other interested individuals and encourage them to subscribe as well. The newsletter is free, and will remain free as long as possible. To end your subscription, send a message to newsletter@thefutureofwork.net and write Unsubscribe in the Subject line. For republication rights, contact Jim Ware at jim@thefutureofwork.net.
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