Speed Is Still Not Everything

I wrote a week ago about the danger of thinking that (productivity) improvement is always about increasing speed.

I thought this week about an example that sums this up quite nicely.

I went recently to a performance by a small group of classical musicians  - playing a variety of materials from several composers.   (This is not really my primary choice of music but it does make a refreshing change to hear top class musicians playing sophisticated, complex music.)

However, my mind can wander when the music does not contain ‘tunes’ that I know.  On one such occasion, I thought about how little the concert I was watching would have changed from a similar concept 100 or even 200 years ago.

Was it better or worse?  Possibly the most important change is that classical music is now much more accessible to all members of society, rather than being the preserve of the very rich.  Recordings exist. Concert performances are relatively common and cheap. Instruments are much cheaper - although at the top end this is not true.

However the time taken to perform a specific piece is still the same.  Speed has not changed - nor is its likely to.

Speed is not everything!

Speed is not evrything

I have talked here before about the danger in concentrating on speed of operation as the primary focus of improvement efforts.  It can, for example mean a drop in quality…. and it can mean a team or line becomes unbalanced.  

What we should try to do is to improve the speed of an entire unit or process - making sure the trees is working with s single purpose in pursuit of agreed aims and objectives.

All members of three teams should share the same mindset - we work together and we support each other.

(If mutual support cannot be provided, you may have to put in some external stimulus)but make sure this is seen as encouragement rather than as punishment.)

Team development is one key to success.

The Creativity of Ignorance

Sometimes when looking at problems or searching for innovation, it is a handicap to have too much knowledge of the context of the problem.

For example, if you give the problem of spanning a river to a bridge-builder, you will get a bridge as the solution.  It might be a great-looking bridge and/or one with little bits of innovative engineering, but it will not be too dissimilar from past bridges. The advantages are that it will almost certainly be buildable and stable.  

If you give the same problem to a design student with  little or no engineering knowledge, you might get a fabulous, innovative design which looks little like any existing bridge.  It might be unworkable, unbuildable and even dangerous if it were built but it will look- and perhaps - act differently.  

If you combine the talents of a great designer with a great bridge-builder, you will perhaps get the best of both worlds - an innovative deign that is buildable and will prove effective in use.

The ‘ignorance’ of the designer is tempered by the ‘knowledge and skills’ of the bridge-builder.

This is true in other walks of life snd areas of technology - creative people ignorant of the technology can come up with idea which  someone with the appropriate knowledge and skills can turn into a workable solution without losing too much of the innovation snd flair of the original deign.

Ignorance can result in creativity.

An Opportunity or a Problem

I don’t like aphorisms such as “There are no problems, only opportunities”.    This Is sometimes true but is so vague as to encompass real problems and  disasters which require being treated as such.

However,I have identified one such problem/opportunity arising from the growth of remote and hybrid working which looks set to be around for some time.

Remote and hybrid working require improved communications  to ensure remote employees stay engaged and focused.  This can become a ‘chore’ for supervisors and managers. However, if communication sessions are treated as an opportunIty for coaching and mentoring, this ‘chore can be turned into an important, rewarding and performance-enhancing task.

It does, obviously (well, I hope its obvious)  require a full and proper strategy for, and approach to, coaching and/or mentoring - these things don’t just happen, nor are they ‘natural ’tasks that supervisors undertake because of existing abilities.  But taking the time and trouble to build appropriate processes, and deliver training to supervisors, means the problem of keeping remote employees engaged and focused becomes a key productivity snd performance development activity.

Work Hard, Like the Others

 If you work in an environment where everyone is busy and working hard you will tend to work hard yourself.  There will be fewer distractions and your work level will be visible to others.

At break time, you can take a trip to the water cooler or coffee machine and have some social interaction with others - discussing work issues or last night’s football.

If you work from home, you miss out on this collective, productive environment snd leave yourself open to lots of potential distractions.  If you are not naturally single-mined and laser focused, you need to find ways of keeping your mind on the task in hand.  (It helps, of course  if the task is inherently interesting and you have ready access to all the information and tools you need to complete the task.

If you need help with focus, try the 20 minute promise.  Set a timer for 20 minutes and promise yourself to maintain task focus until the timer runs out.  Then give yourself a tiny reward - a biscuit (or something less sugary.). Then repeat the process.

The simple answer is to put yourself in situations where distractions are minimised and hard work is the norm and the role model.

Does Money Notivate?

It is commonly accepted that money is a prime motivator for employed people [ie - they come to work earn money to live and will leave for another job if its pays more.

Of course, people work to earn money to live - but that is certainly not the only reason … not necessarily even the most important.

People work for a variety of reasons and are motivated by a variety of factors - and those two lists may overlap but not agree exactly.

The assumption that money is the prime motivator can lead to poor decision-making by some executives… and even  by boards of directors who continue to award CEOs ever higher salaries (and bonuses) assuming this will be reflected in performance.

Motivation is, however, a trickier art than simply throwing money at people.

One issue is that some factors can be short-term motivators.  People can, for example,  be motivated by ‘status’ though this is more than simply the job title they are given.  Otherwise all those people labelled as VPs and SVPs would be performing like crazy.   They might be motivated to achieve VP or SVP status but once there, with the key to the executive washroom, it no longer motivates.

What’s really important is to stop spouting the mantra ‘Our people are our greatest asset’ and start believing it.  

Develop staff skills so the=y can develop their role in, and contribution to, the organisation.

Then find out - at least in general terms - what makes them tick - and what they are looking for in their employment.

Trust them to take the small decisions that relate to their own work tasks.

Congratulate them when they perform well and praise them as individuals or as teams.  

You should find their motivation - and their productivity, rises.

Not Mere Minutes

I was talking to a distant relative the other day who has been working from home for more than 2 years - and loves it.  He told me about the various co-ordination meetings he had to make sure he was up-to-date in relation to his various projects.

I asked him how his firm managed the process of minute-taking and distribution and he looked at me blankly.  We all take our own notes, he said.

My experience tells me that whatever is recorded may be formal minutes or informal notes but there must be one ‘master copy’ which as a minimum includes actions agreed, due dates and those responsible.

Without this shared information, it is impossible for people to keep on the same page and coordinate their information and activity.

If this relative’s company does not maintain a master note, I am sure they will fail somewhere in the coordination process and I am convinced the productivity of all the various teams will suffer.

Some elements of productivity are obvious and simple.  Omit them at your peril.