From the Bad Design Files

What does this kiosk say about what the company thinks about it's employees?

Why? Why? WHY? This stuff is not that hard.

And I'll bet that the store manager complains that she can't get good help.

This store just remodeled so they have a giant sit down coffee area. Why not sit down over a cup of coffee and use a lap top to fill out the application?

Projects and Their Expectations

I've argued before that a team's performance is somewhat governed by the context within which it is placed. There are a lot of factors within the team's control and these are the things that move them up and down the team's performance curve. But, there are plenty of things outside of the team's control and it is these items that control where the performance expectations are placed.

What's interesting about this model is the fact that it explicitly acknowledges there are factors outside of the team's control that affect the team's ability to be successful. For instance, in case A, no matter what action the team takes it does not have the ability to meet expectations. These projects are called "good character builders."

In cases C and D it is shown that it is possible for a project team to over and under deliver against expectations. No surprise here. In case C the team's actual performance exceeds expectations and that is not always a good thing. If the team is charged with generating revenue or cutting cost then more is always better. But let's say that the team is charged with processing engineering change orders (ECO's) for the organization. If the team pulls out all the stops they can turn around an ECO in 24 hours, but it will require skipping lunch and breaks. If no one cares how long it takes to get an ECO turned around as long as it is less than a week then the team's effort and sacrifice is for naught. Eventually, feeling neglected the team will lower their performance level to meet expectations.

In case D the team is under preforming against expectations that are within their ability. Here it can be expected that there will be an intervention somewhere to get the team on track.

What's interesting is that while the model is rarely straightforward organizations rarely, formally at least, ask themselves if the performance expectations are appropriate for the context that the team is operating within. A simple way to counter this is to ask the team if they have everything that they need to be successful given the constraints and then believe their response.

Who Knew?

Technology is letting the masses create, and share, on a level not seen before in the history of the world. The following is a good case in point...Who knew Hitler was a Cowboys fan?

Bad Action Beats Good Ideas

Being right and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It's what you do with your knowledge that matters. Action moves you forward.

Every person that I have seen make it into the upper management makes it there because they work. I have yet to see, and maybe it does happen, the high ranking executive who works a forty hour work week. Being smart or stupid doesn't matter as much as your willingness to grind.

(The caveat here is that you should like what you do because the price of success is work.)

Having a good idea is meaningless until you've done the background work (and this includes the "soft" people stuff as well as the technical mumbo-jumbo) that will give the idea traction.

If you want a paycheck just smile and do what they tell you. If you want to make a difference with your right ideas, roll up you sleeves and work your ass off.

Neat Idea

Everyday, quietly, clever new products are coming into the marketplace that solve problems like nothing else before them. Exhibit A is the Swiffer Duster.

What makes this duster unique is not the fact that it picks up dust, an old t-shirt can do that, but rather that it does not require any force to pick up dust. This means that you can clean off the computer key board, with the computer on, and not drive the computer nuts with a string of nonsense commands. Also great for the tops of picture frames and the backside of monitors.

Upcoming Book Review

On Friday February 15th we'll be talking with Ramon Vullings, one of the authors of the book Creativity Today. The conversation is made possible by Paul Williams of Idea Sandbox through the Post2Post Virtual Book Tour.

ThinkCube

Sue Sampanthar of MetaMemes was kind enough to send me a ThinkCube to play with.

The ThinkCube is kit of cards that help to stimulate thoughts about how one might attack a current problem. Essentially the ThinkCube is a systematic way to think through solutions to current problems. Like any good process it is rooted in simplicity with the different steps being Define, Stimulate, Think, Evaluate, Incubate, and Elaborate. The objective is for the individual, or team, to use the cards to stimulate lateral thinking to develop novel solutions. The cards themselves are patterned such that they force thinking into unintended directions.

There's a lot to be said for a structured idea development process. In fact much of the gains attributed to Lean Manufacturing come from the Kaizen which is nothing more than a structured problem solving approach.

The neat thing about the ThinkCube is that it offers the structure required to produce an output, versus wandering in the weeds all day, but it also allows the flexibility required for the truly great ideas to peculate to the top. It is defintely a tool that works.

A word of caution though, if you are planning on using this at work you might want to consider the organizational context. Tools like the ThinkCube are on the leading edge of organizational processes that help drive creative thinking into the organization so it might not be fully appreciated by everyone. If that's the case just use the system by yourself and show them the results.

Image via MetaMemes

Neat Ideas

A wonderfully simple and effective, not to mention cheap, way to package firewood.

A handy child storage system for when you go to the gym.

Neat College Course

When I was taking my course work in Product Development there was a lot of emphasis on process tools. I even pulled together a neat tutorial to help introduce the concepts back at work.

| View | Upload your own

The problem as it turns out was that there weren't any courses in "The Boss Doesn't Listen", "What To Do When The Prototype Breaks","How To Fix a Machine When Your Technician Quits", or "No It's Not Fair, Do It Anyway."

Work, it seems, is rooted deeply in people, which means that it is a messy cacophony of posturing and preening sometimes resulting in unfair things happening.

Which is why I don't worry about which pre-school my kids are going too or how many numbers they know. These things, while important, are merely table stakes. What is going to set them apart is the ability to work with other people. To be able to build a network, trade favors, and build work-arounds. This coupled with the ability to grind (put in the hours), a hopeful outlook, and the ability to quickly rebound is what will position them for success.

Looking back, a college course in these concepts would have been a lot more useful than differential equations.

Why I Love Dick Juron

"Champions are champions not because they do anything extraordinary but because they do the ordinary things better than anyone else." —Chuck Knoll

Consider this from the Buffalo News:

"How did the Bills go 7-9 with the 30th-ranked offense and the 31st-ranked defense? One big reason is they did not beat themselves, one of Dick Jauron's big points of emphasis. They finished plus-9 in turnover differential. They tied for the fourth-fewest turnovers in the league. They also set a team record for fewest penalties (78) in a 16-game season. That broke the mark of 88 set last year under Jauron. The Bills tied for the seventh-fewest penalties in the league."

Link

P.S. I have a $100 bet that Buffalo wins the Super Bowl in 2010.

Neat Idea

Over the Holiday I saw these Hefty Zoo Pals cups for the first time. I thought that they were cooler than a moose; a cheap convenient way to keep milk in the cup rather than on the floor.


Alas, it seems that the cups came out in the Fall of 2005 and have already been replaced by another design. It seems that the convenience of the one piece cup lost out of the convenience of not having to clean up spilled juice. Still, the cups are a neat idea when traveling without a place to rinse out the milk ring.

Whale Facts

From a supplier fax notice of a price increase: "85% of the wire and wire products used in North America originate from Chinese wire mills."

From yesterday's Wall Street Journal: "In October of 2006, a Chinese submarine for the first time surfaced in the middle of an American carrier group."

From today's Wall Street Journal: "There were 631 passenger passenger fatalities below the average of 718.9 for the decade so far." Note this probably doesn't include the many third world crashes that are never reported.

Neat Idea

For the Doctor who has everything; syringe highlighters

(Link)

Special Teams Matter

There was an interesting moment last Saturday night in the Patriots quest to become the second team to go undefeated for the entire regular season. The Giants had just scored a touchdown to give them 35 points, three shy of the Patriots 38, and the Giants are going to kick an onside kick to try and get the ball back.

In that moment, before the ball was kicked, the fate of the entire undefeated season rested on the shoulders of the Patriots second string players.

As a business it's great to have the marquee talent but just like the Patriots-Giants game your second string will play pivotal roles in the success of the company's projects. That's why it's so important that company's system is set up to enable everyone to engage and contribute.

If the second string is not ready, or doesn't care, or doesn't know what do to on the on-sides kick it a good bet that they don't recover the ball.