Secret of the Interruption

Have you ever hear statements like these:

"As soon as we can afford it we'll . . .

• get married
• have children
• retire
• take a vacation
• etc."

or, "As soon as things calm down . . . "

You know what's coming, don't you?  If you wait until you have enough money to do any of the things listed above, you certainly won't do any of them.  Same thing with waiting until things calm down - they don't (calm down), in fact if anything things seem to keep moving faster and faster.

This the secret of the interruption - There will ALWAYS be interruptions!  You can moan and complain about them or you can learn to manage them for success.  Here are four ways to manage your interruptions.

1. This is first on purpose:  Of all that you do, do you know which pieces or parts are used by others (customer, peers, and supervisors) to gauge your competence and success?  I call these the Non-Negotiables.  In one of my previous positions, among the many responsibilities I had was the responsibility to schedule faculty for classes.  My perspective was that if an Instructor was incorrectly scheduled or not scheduled, students might forgive the first time, begin to suspect incompetence the second time, and start looking for another institution the third time.  My goal was '0' instances of scheduling errors; this was a Non-Negotiable.  Because of this I knew of the many things on my plate which one to push up to the front, even if other things didn't get finished.  There are not enough hours in a day to finish everything, even without interruptions.  When you know which parts mean the difference between success and failure you can better focus yourself to make sure those parts always get done, regardless - and that may mean coming early, working late, etc.
2. Make the interruptions an opportunity for enhancing relationships.  All of life can be reduced to relationships.  Instead of making those who have interrupted you feel like time-wasters and annoyances which you have to put up with, change your perspective and welcome the opportunity to build a stronger relationship.  I admit there is a balance in this but people who feel valued are more likely to be fully engaged themselves and it definitely creates a better work environment for everyone.  When you are working against a time-line and are interrupted, be candid about the time-line and setup a time for a later meeting.  If the interruption is unavoidable, keep in mind number one above and make sure you deliver the non-negotibles . . . without damaging relationships in the process.
3. Look for opportunity in every interruption.  I'm a big beliver that all things happen for a purpose (Rom. 8:28), even when we can't see or understand what that purpose might be.  Instead of whining about the interruptions, look and see how the interruption might bring a benefit to you, or the circumstances, or the company, etc.  Sometimes the interruption may truly be described as a catastrophe, even here, for those with the right attitude, there is the possibility of opportunity.  This perspective also has the effect of allowing some calming energy to come into what might otherwise be stressful.  Let's face it, the interruption has happened, very little you can say or do will change that, so instead of wasting emotional energy on what can't be changed, focus instead on what might come of the interruption.  Many of the major breaktroughs in science might be considered interruptions, e.g. Penecillin, post-it notes, etc.
4. Be aware that you cause interruptions for others! Try to make sure your interruption isn't just a gripe session but brings some kind of value.  Keep in mind that your interruption may be impacting their Non-Negotiable and be sensitive to the demands on their time.  If you need to vent, be careful to do that appropriately.  If you believe that whatever you say, no matter how good the friend you are speaking with, will eventually come back to you from another source, you will be wise.

These are the four ways to manage interruptions.  Since I'm sure you will be interrupted soon, practice them and let me know how it goes.

Interrupted

Interrupted again!  I began to think I was never going to get this job done.  It seemed like every time I started to make some progress something always interrupted me.  I was sooooo frustrated and beginning to let it show to everyone.  Why couldn't they just leave me alone and let me do my job!  First my boss wanted something and then one of my direct reports needed some guidance on another project.  Throughout the day various peers from other offices stopped in to ask questions or talk.  Before you know it the day was slipping away and my good intentions on getting this project done were nothing more than good intentions.

Did this sound like you?  Did it describe too many of your days?  Do you feel as if most of your projects are always nearing but not quite completed?  Worse, are you getting a reputation for NOT getting your projects done, or with a complaining, negative attitude?  Have you ever wondered how your co-worker seems to get all her jobs completed on time and still have time to talk to everyone, and actually seems to enjoy her job?

If so it is possible you may not have discovered the secret of the interruption.  Probably not many know it by this name but those who understand this secret, and have reasoned through the implications, are usually identified as:  "those who get the job done," "doers," "leaders," "highly competent," etc.  In fact they may not be as capable or competent as you are BUT they have figured out the secret of the interruption.

Would you like to know the secret?

The Difference

A few weeks ago my wife and I met my extended family for a week's vacation.  We all met at a rented house in Monticello, KY, near where my Mother was born.  Altogether there were 18 of us including brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, parents . . . you get the picture.  Everyone came and we enjoyed an amazing week where everyone go along and laughed and had a wonderful time.  For nearly a year before the event I had been working on a family story from my Mom and Dad's rememberances, with contributions from an aunt and my brother and sister.  This was no mean feat since everyone in our family has terrible handwriting!  Included with this was the inclusion of a selection pictures which Mom had been collecting all her life which had to be scanned and edited. 

Prior to the family vacation I had a draft version of the story printed and bound in book fashion at Office Depot.  I had formatted it with the page numbers on odd and even pages so the numbers would be at the outside margins.  The individual at Office Depot took my file, printed my book and I picked it up and brought it on vacation.

As I opened the book I realized that it was printed so that the page numbers were located on the inside margin and obviously wrong.  While we were in Kentucky we read portions of the story in the evening and then during the next day actually went to see some of the sites mentioned in the story.  This was interesting and made the history of my parents come alive for the grand- and great-grandchildren who had never visited any of these places or were aware of what being in the hills of Kentucky meant.  This made a great experience, i.e. being family and renewing relationships, even better!

When I got back home I made several changes to the story which had been mentioned while on vacation, added some pictures from the trip, and took my book back to Office Depot.  I didn't mention the pages being printed off, but there was a different individual at the print station who took my file and while I shopped around, printed the book.  When I came back to get it she told me that it had printed with the pages wrong but she re-printed it the correct way and asked what color I wanted for covers and the wire.  In other words, she was engaged in her job and concerned about providing a good experience to her customer.  I later found out she was a manager . . . and I wasn't surprised they had promoted someone who had these qualities.

So what was the difference in the printing experience?  The fact that one clerk was a manager and one wasn't?  That one was observant and one wasn't?  I think the difference is that one perceived the job as a job, nothing more and nothing less, while the other perceived the job as an opportunity to enrich someone else through a positive attitude and attention to detail.  That attitude and attention to detail impressed me.

So what is the difference in how you do your job?

Assuming can make an A_ _ out of U and ME.

I stole this from an old sitcom, The Odd Couple, staring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall where, as I remember it, Tony Randall was presenting an argument to a judge regarding a traffic accident and in the course of the argument made this classic statement using a white pad:  ASS/U/ME means to make an ASS out of U and ME.

I know I make a lot of assumptions, and because of my nature, most of the time my assumptions are positive.  This can be good, but it can also cause me to ignore signals that things aren't as positive as I have assumed them to be.  On the other hand I know someone whose basic assumptions are, for the most part, negative.  In this case everthing is cause for "doom & gloom."  The classic glass half full / half empty personality types.

Regardless of where you stand on how full the glass is, making assumptions can truly accomplish what Tony Randall described.  Because of this it behooves us all to be more attentive to recognizing and acknowledging the contributions of others, as well as confronting poor performance when in our area of responsibility.  It means being sure to articulate more clearly our expectations as well as our accomplishments.  It means participating.  It mean engaging.

At one point I had a Dilbert cartoon taped to my computer monitor where the Boss was saying to Alice at her annual review something like "I'm pretty sure I remember telling you last year you were doing a good job."  The look on Alice's face isn't one of appreciation but frustration at only getting feedback annually (or less) on her performance and "fit" within the organization.  I don't want to be guilty of that kind of leaderhip, but it means that I have to participate.  It means I have to be engaged.

Being engaged, at least from my perspective, means to fully be present in the NOW with clear values of Relationship, Excellence, Leadership (see my other posts about the principles of life).  When I do this, I value the people around me and communicate that value; I set a standard of high performance, and I model that for others to see. 

Of course, being human, all too often I assume I'm doing these things . . . .

Dashboard Design

According to Stephen Few, every dashboard should have a clearly designed purpose.  This is so basic I'm sure I don't need to mention it . . . on the other hand, sometimes it is possible to get so excited about creating this "flashy" thing, that not enough thought is put into what is the purpose, as you can see at the end of this post, I've made that mistake.

Effective design begins with questions.  Here is a short list of questions which, according to Few, are common to getting started in the design with most dashboards.  Note, this is not an exhaustive list and I refer you to his book mentioned in a previous post.

• How frequently should the information be updated?
• Who will use the dashboard?  Is it for a single person, a single group, or people in several different departments?
• What will the dashboard be used to monitor, and what objectives will it support?
• What questions should the dashboard answer?  What actions will be taken in response to these answers?
• What specific items of information should be displayed on the dashboard? What does each of these tiems tell you and why is that important?  At what level of summary or detail should the information be expressed to provide the quick overview that's needed?

Few lists a few more questions in the book which are also useful.

Interestingly he says a dashboard is not a report and it is not a tool for exploring and analyzing data - it is an information display to keep relevant parites aware of what's going on in their specific realm of concern.

This was a new thought for me.  I realized dashboards weren't reports, but I hadn't thought about them separate from tools for exploring and analyzing data.  I think I have been confusing the two and need to go back and provide some better answers to the questions above.

Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath - review

I posted earlier about Decisive, by Chip and Dan Heath.  Actually that post was really a link to a thorough summary and if you are looking for a summary of the book you should check out that post.

I've generally enjoyed the other books by Dan and Chip Heath.  Switch is probably one of my favorite books and I recommend it often to others.  I also liked Made to Stick and found some useful tips in it which I think have improved my ability to communicate. (I think it ought to be required reading for Pastors).

In both of these books and now Decisive, the Heaths tackle a complex subject and attempt to reduce it to a formula.  Because I am analytical by nature this appeals to me.  I like to believe that almost everything can be reduced to a formula, if you can just figure out the right components.   Switch certainly accomplished this in my mind and I feel the information and the formulas provided are useful paradigms for confronting my world.

In Decisive, however, I'm not as convinced.  To find the right formula for making decisions is a complex process and the Heaths' have provided some components which certainly seem to be part of a formula,  The problem is that making decisions is so complex to begin with and while there are some commonalities there are also distinctive components which defy the ability to put it into a formula.  I had a friend who always used to say to me "Hindsight is always 20/20." and that's what this book feels like.  Looking back I can spot where I should have thought of "this" and did "that" and I had done so I would have definitely made a better decision in the long run . . . but I didn't, even though I did think of "that" and did "this," which at the time I thought was the right thing to do

Still, there are some interesting techniques in this book which I will incorporate into my decision making process, and perhaps that is all the authors were striving for in the first place.  Things like:

• Avoid a narrow frame:  don't neglect other options outside the narrow frame of obvious options
• Find someone else who has solved your problem (or a similar one) and adapt their solutions
• Consider the opposite of your initial instinct
• Ooch: "construct small experiments to test one's hypothesis." 
• Overcome short-term emotion: "We need to downplay sort-term emotion in favor of long-term values and passions."  Use Suzy Welch's model of 10/10/10 (How will we feel about the decision in 10 minutes? in 10 months? in 10 years?)
• Honor your core priorities.  - For me this might be the most important one for reasons cited in earlier posts
• Bookend the future:  Think about the worst case scenario (one bookend) and the best case scenario (other bookend) and the ramifications of each so that you won't be totally surprised when either happens.  I have a friend who likes to say to his subordinates, "Does that surprise you?" meaning if you had followed this process you would have prepared for the worst and the best and not be caught off-guard.
• Set a tripwire.  This concept of  setting deadlines or partitions is pretty much second nature to me at this point but still a useful concept if you aren't aware of how to do it.

Overall, I'd say it was worth reading, however, it doesn't flow as well as the other two books and probably won't have the same impact on the large scale, however, implementing even one of these techniques could have a profound impact on an individual's life.

Dashboards

I received some sample "dashboards" the other day which literally made me sad.  I think the intent was genuine, i.e. find the right information which will facilitate decision making, however, the execution was so poor that it was depressing.

If you are really serious about dashboard design, you should check out the new edition of Information Dashboard Design by Stephen Few.  This one book will change your perception of dashboards and give you insight into how to construct a dashboard which will be truly useful.  Few provides a definition of dashboards, which I think helps guide the conversation:

A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives, consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.

The book provides a lot of examples of both good and bad dashboard design along with sufficient commentary to begin to understand what it takes to put together a dashboard that can be used to inform decisions.  I especially like that he devotes chapter 2 to the "Thirteen Common Mistakes in Dashboard Design." (see the article at the link)  This is a carry-over from his first edition and articles but well worth repeating.  Those thirteen common mistakes are:

1. Exceeding the boundaries of a single screen
2. Supplying inadequate context for the data
3. Displaying excessive detail or precision
4. Expressing measures indirectly
5. Choosing inappropriate display media
6. Introducing meaningless variety
7. Using poorly designed display media
8. Encoding quantitative data inaccurately
9. Arranging information poorly
10. Highlighting important information ineffectively or not at all
11. Cluttering the display with visual effects
12. Misusing or overusing color
13. Designing an unattractive visual display

Obviously, dashboards are tools and should not be considered an end unto themselves.  A well designed dashboard should draw attention to the pertinent data.  However, for this to happen some serious consideration has to go into the design.  If this is of interest, get Few's book and begin to explore the wide diversity of what an effective dashboard design looks like.