Do You Have A Permanent Record?

One skill I wish I could acquire from someone else is to be more disciplined about writing things down.  OK - so I do write a lot of ideas and tasks down (thanks to GTD I’ve gotten much better at this).

What I mean is “bigger” things, and writing them down more explicitly and earlier.  I have a friend that is very good at writing ideas down even while they are vague, then refining and clarifying them over time.  I, on the hand, tend to wait until I think the ideas are almost “done” before I write them down.  That means a lot of things get thought about, talked about… but not recorded.

You’re only hurting yourself with this rambunctious behavior…Right?

As a consequence of this tendency to leave things open-ended, it seems a lot of my grand  ideas don’t go anywhere because I never finished developing them, or I just move on and forget about them.  This, I believe is caused by a combination of:

• my introverted thinking style (I’m an INTJ / INTP on Myers-Briggs),
• my love for “fluidity” in the options I pursue, and
• fear of failure (or dislike for being held accountable?), at some level.

Until recently, I didn’t think of this as a big deal.  However, I have been very introspective lately and thinking about a few problem situations where I can see the negative consequences of not writing things down…and it bothers me.  You see, I have seen situations where the lack of a written record of ideas, commitments, and such has led to ambiguity that caused problems later.

Revising Verbal History Is Pretty Easy

In my opinion,the problem lies in the fact that human memory is fallible, and is much weaker than the human ego.  In the situations I’ve observed, this inherent conflict has led to things like:

• people not getting credit for some great ideas, because others didn’t remember where the idea came from;
• people not being held accountable for commitments they’d made because the commitments were never documented;
• people “adjusting” what they committed to, bringing it more in line with where things actually ended up;
• people moving accountability to someone else, when that wasn’t the original intent (sort of a scapegoat maneuver);

and things like that.

In most of these cases, the “revisionist historians” weren’t malicious – they were just trying to turn things to their own advantage and, I believe, in some of the cases they actually believed the altered back-story was true.

Permanent Records Are Harder To Change

What do I take away from this?  Writing plans and “big ideas” down is important – even when they are in their formative stages.  That will help you hang on to your ideas so they don’t drift away, help you keep track of where the good ideas (and bad ones) came from, ensure accountability, and – perhaps most importantly – give you the means to compare what happened to what you thought was going to happen so you can learn from your successes and failures.

So – my question to you:  what’s your advice to someone trying to develop this habit?  How do you overcome a tendency to take life as it happens and move to a more concrete model where plans, goals, and intentions are actually written down? 

Do tell.   And in writing, please!

"The paper accepts everything"

The title of this post is something I heard from someone in a meeting today, and what it means is something like:  "You can write anything you want - but doing what you wrote is another story."

In a sense this is a double-edged notion - while it can be very liberating to create grand plans, they can also be very intimidating.  When it comes down to execution, what you wrote can be very hard to do.

Accountability is crucial in a team

This quote came out during a discussion in a team meeting, and was triggered when an "idea guy" was creating a wonderful vision filled with fantastic possibilities for our products. 

The "doer guy," whose team had to actually implement all of the ideas in our software is the one who said, "The paper accepts everything.  My team can't accept everything.  Now, let's get real about what we're going to do."  In other words, he wanted to take the possibilities down to a list he could commit to, and be held accountable for.

The interesting thing is that our team hasn't always been this way.  Typically, we would just say "yes" to everything (or at least to too many things), then try to make it fit during the product development cycle.  The consequences of this approach?  Disappointment in one form or another - either we fell short on product functionality or we missed our delivery date.

What changed?  Well, we agreed we'd be more resolute about creating specific commitments, and more diligent about enforcing accountability for those commitments.

We're not perfect at this yet, but the direction is right and the impact has been positive for us.

Even if "The paper accepts everything," that doesn't mean the team has to.

It's more than just the game

In watching my kids and the various sports teams they are involved with, one thing is apparent:  the athletes that put in extra time to develop their skills fare better in the game.

Some of the athletes on the team rely solely on scheduled practices to get them ready for the game.  In other words, they do what is required and not much beyond that.

In contrast, the "high performers" on the team tend to do more than that, such as practicing skills & drills on their own time, doing conditioning and weights to strengthen themselves, etc.  These “extra” activities make those players better athletes in general and you can see that in their performance on the field (and they also tend to experience fewer injuries).

There is something to be learned there about business, too.  Are you a “show up for practices and games” kind of person, or do you work on your skills, conditioning, and other aspects of self-improvement away from work? 

For me (while I’m not always consistent about it), this kind of extra conditioning involves reading, attending webinars / seminars, benchmarking with other people to share skills, and things like that.  It also involves trying out different skills in other environments such as some of the scouting, church, and other teams I’m involved in (it’s much safer to try out a new “influencing others” play in volunteer roles, and it can be fun).

What about you?  How do your sharpen your saw away from work?  If you have any best practices to share I’d love to hear them.

Heroes, supporting casts, and management

About 15 years ago, I was involved in a management situation that I still think about from time to time, because it made me so uncomfortable at the time.  Here is what happened:

As a call center manager in a large software company, I was tasked with finding a solution to a problem that was impacting customer satisfaction and increasing our support costs.  At the end of the project, I was to present my findings and recommendations to the company’s Operating Committee for their approval.

The project was a blast, and I pulled in several managers that reported to me to help with data gathering and analysis.  I also pulled in people from the product team to determine the feasibility of my product-related recommendations, and some financial analysts to help crunch the numbers to create a cost/benefit model.

At the end of the project, I was really proud of our results, and the Operating Committee funded us to act on my recommendations.

OK, sounds like a happy ending so what’s the problem?  In a word, the issue was “credit.”

One neck to wring?

You see, when I prepared my findings document and presentation, my first draft had a list of all the people who contributed to the research.  When I reviewed it with my VP, he told me to take those names off the report. 

“You own this – you’re the one throat to choke,” he said.  “I know they contributed to this, but you drove it and you are accountable so your name is the one that should be on there.”

I did what I was told, but it still bothers me to this day that they didn’t get their props in front of the Operating Committed.  If I had it to do over again, I’d probably add a section in the report listing the contributors and/or outlining the process I followed so I could mention them by name.  At least the VP knew who contributed, and most of them were in his division…

Remember the supporting cast

From this experience, I learned that I am uncomfortable taking credit for other people’s work.  Maybe it’s my desire for “fairness,” or perhaps it’s rooted in my own ego – I don’t like it when people take credit for my ideas, and I don’t want them to feel like I’m taking credit for theirs.

The “star” gets the limelight (and the big paycheck) in movies, but the people behind the scenes are still listed and recognized. I think that’s a good model for any team.

What do you think?  Are you a manager who’s cracked the code on this?  Share your secrets, please.

How Did That Happen?

I got an advance copy of a book called “How Did That Happen? (Holding People Accountable for Results The Positive, Principled Way),” and am pleased to see that it was released recently.  That means there is nothing stopping you from picking up a copy, right?

Roger Connors and Tom Smith, the book’s authors, have done a very effective job of grappling with some of the key issues that inhibit accountability, and provided some practical, prescriptive methods to help increase the level and consistency of accountability in your organization.

A lot of books about accountability are hard to act upon unless you are the “king of the world” – the head of a company, division, team, etc.  This book isn’t like that.  Sure, you can wield more might if you’re in charge, but there is a lot of advice in here designed to help you improve your own accountability, and to insist on more accountability from others – whether they are your peers, bosses, or even friends & family.

Rings of Accountability

The authors use a model that consists of an Outer Ring, which deals with setting appropriate expectations; and an Inner Ring that deals with managing unmet expectations.  This is all about having an effective “Accountability Conversation” that keeps people clear and aligned about what’s been committed, and what’s expected.

One of the things I really like about this book is the large number of “tests” you can use to determine where gaps exist that may negatively impact Accountability, each accompanied by specific processes and techniques to address any gaps.

There are also a number of stories of accountability in action, which help illustrate the points.  These stories helped crystallize the concepts for me throughout the book.

For example, I enjoyed the discussion of the difference between Complete Alignment, and “Complyment,” in which people aren’t fully bought into the mission.  I must say, I’ve seen the symptoms of Complyment far more than I should.

Likewise, there are tools to test for “Hands & Feet” and “Hearts and Minds” so you can gauge the level of buy-in and commitment to the things you feel are important.

My favorite new concept:  Phantom Reality

Of all the concepts in this book, the one I keep thinking about over and over is “Phantom Reality,” which is “an inaccurate description of how things really are.”  This is caused by things like misreading the situation, refusing to believe / acknowledge facts that don’t fit your world view, and poisoning your outcomes by expecting the worst.

I really want to get better at recognizing and dealing with the trap of Phantom Reality, since this is the phenomenon that causes you to get blindsided by things you should have seen coming, but chose to ignore.

It’s not easy to see your own blind spot, but this book provides some tools to increase your chances of catching yourself believing a Phantom Reality.

Customize the tools to fit your style

Before I wrap up, you might be wondering if these tools will work for you.  After all, each of us has our own style, preferences, and ability to tolerate ambiguity.  You’ll be pleased to know that there are also tools in the book to help you analyze your own management and accountability “style” and preferences, and that you can adopt and adjust the tools differently based on how you work.  For example, if you are a micromanager, there are tips to help you tone it down a bit and give people room to breathe; if you’re a hands-off manager, there are tips to help you exert a bit more active control.

I’ve just scratched the surface in this review, but I can confidently recommend “How Did That Happen?” to anyone who wants to up the level of accountability in their world – whether that’s by improving your own skills, or helping others work together in a more accountable way.