{"id":2127,"date":"2012-09-29T11:18:51","date_gmt":"2012-09-29T11:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saasoft.com\/blog\/?p=2127"},"modified":"2012-09-29T11:18:51","modified_gmt":"2012-09-29T11:18:51","slug":"structuring-time-to-save-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hcse.blog\/?p=2127","title":{"rendered":"Structure Time to Fuel Improvement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The expected response to any suggestion of change is “Yes, but I am too busy – I do not have time<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

And the respondent is correct. They do not.<\/p>\n

All their time is used just keeping their head above water\u00a0or spinning the hamster wheel or whatever other metaphor\u00a0they feel is appropriate.\u00a0 We are at an impasse. A stalemate.\u00a0We know change requires some\u00a0investment of time and there is no spare time to invest so change cannot happen. Yes?\u00a0 But that is not good enough – is it?<\/p>\n

Well-intended experts\u00a0proclaim that “I’m too busy<\/em>” actually means “I have other things to do that are higher priority<\/em>“. And by that\u00a0we mean ” … that are\u00a0a greater threat to\u00a0my security and to what I care about<\/em>“. So to\u00a0get our engagement\u00a0our well-intended expert pours emotional petrol on us and\u00a0sets light to it. They show us dramatic video evidence of how our “can’t do<\/em>” attitude and behaviour is part of the problem. We are\u00a0the\u00a0recalcitrant\u00a0child who is standing in the way of\u00a0\u00a0change and we need to have our face rubbed in our own cynical poo.<\/p>\n

Now our platform is really burning.\u00a0Inflamed is exactly what we are feeling – angry in fact. “Thanks-a-lot. Now\u00a0#!*@\u00a0off<\/em>!”\u00a0\u00a0 And our well-intentioned expert retreats – it is always the same. The Dinosaurs and the Dead Wood are clogging the way ahead.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a different perspective might be more constructive.<\/p>\n

\n

It is not just how much time we have that is most important – it is how\u00a0our time is structured.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Humans hate unstructured time. We like to be mentally active for all of our waking moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To test this hypothesis try this demonstration of our human need to fill idle time with activity. When you next talk to someone you know well – at some point after they have finished telling you something just say nothing;\u00a0\u00a0keep looking at them;\u00a0and keep listening –\u00a0and say nothing. For up to twenty seconds if necessary. Both you and they will feel an overwhelming urge to say something, anything – to fill the silence. It is called the “pregnant pause effect<\/em>” and most\u00a0people find even a\u00a0gap of a second or two feels uncomfortable. Ten seconds would be almost unbearable. Hold your nerve and stay quiet. They will fill the gap.<\/p>\n

This technique is used by cognitive behavioural therapists,\u00a0counsellors and coaches to\u00a0help us reveal stuff about ourselves to ourselves\u00a0– and it works incredibly well.\u00a0It is also used for less altrusitic purposes by some – so when you feel the pain of the pregnant pause just be aware of what might be going on and counter with a question.<\/p>\n

\n

If we have no imposed structure\u00a0for our time then we will create one –\u00a0because we feel better for it. We have a name for these time-structuring behaviours: habits, past-times and rituals. And they are very important to us because they reduce anxiety.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There is another name for a pre-meditated time-structure:\u00a0\u00a0it is called a plan or a process design. Many people hate not having a plan – and to them any plan is better than none. So in the absence of an imposed alternative we habitually\u00a0make do with\u00a0time-wasting plans and poorly designed processes.\u00a0 We\u00a0feel busy\u00a0because that is the purpose of our time-structuring behaviour – and we look busy too – which is also important. This\u00a0has an important\u00a0lesson for all improvement scientists:\u00a0Using a measure of “business” such as utilisation as a measure of efficiency\u00a0and productivity is almost meaningless. Utilisation does not distinguish between\u00a0useful busi-ness and useless busi-ness.<\/p>\n

We also time-structure our non-working lives. Reading\u00a0a newspaper, doing the crossword, listening to the radio,\u00a0\u00a0watching television, and web-browsing\u00a0are all time-structuring behaviours.<\/p>\n

\n

This insight into our need for structured time leads to a\u00a0rational way to\u00a0release time for change and improvement\u00a0– and that is to better structure\u00a0some of our busy time.<\/p>\n

A useful\u00a0metaphor for a time-structure is a tangible structure – such as a building.\u00a0Buildings have two parts – a supporting, load bearing,\u00a0structural framework\u00a0and the functional\u00a0fittings that are attached to it.\u00a0Often the structural framework is invisible in the final\u00a0building – invisible but essential. That is why we need structural engineers. The same is true for time-structuring: the supporting form should be there but it should not not get in the way of the intended function. That\u00a0is why we need process design engineers too. Good process design is invisible time-structuring.<\/p>\n

\n

One essential\u00a0investment of time in all organisations is communication. Face-to-face talking, phone calls, SMS, emails, reports, meetings, presentations, webex and so on.\u00a0We spend more time communicating with each other than\u00a0doing anything else other than sleeping.\u00a0 And more niggles are generated by poorly designed and delivered communication processes than\u00a0everything else combined. By a long way.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>As an\u00a0example let us consider management meetings.<\/p>\n

From a process design perspective mmany management meetings are both ineffective and inefficient. They are unproductive.\u00a0 So why do we still have them?<\/p>\n

One possibkle\u00a0answer is because meetings have two other important purposes: first as a tool for social interaction, and second as a way to structure time.\u00a0 It turns out that we\u00a0dislike\u00a0loneliness even more than idleness – and we can meet both needs at the same time by having\u00a0a meeting. Productivity is not the primary purpose.<\/p>\n

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So when we do have to communicate effectively and efficiently in order to collectively resolve a real and urgent problem then we are ill prepared. And we know this. We know that as soon as\u00a0Crisis Management Committees start to form then we are in really big trouble. What we want in a time of crisis is for someone to structure time for us. To tell us what to do.<\/p>\n

And some believe that we unconsciously create crisis after crisis\u00a0for just that purpose.<\/p>\n

\n

Recently I have been running an improvement experiment.\u00a0 I have\u00a0 been testing the\u00a0assumption that\u00a0we have to meet face-to-face to\u00a0be effective. This has big implications for efficiency because I work in a multi-site organisation and to attend a meeting on another site implies travelling there and back. That travel takes one hour in each direction when\u00a0all the separate\u00a0parts are added together. It has\u00a0two other costs. The financial cost of the\u00a0fuel – which is a variable cost – if I do not travel then I do not incur the cost. And there\u00a0is an\u00a0emotional cost – I have to concentrate on driving and will use up some of my brain-fuel in doing so.\u00a0There are three currencies – emotional, temporal and financial.<\/p>\n

The experiment was a design change. I changed the design of the communication\u00a0process from at-the-same-place-and-time to just at-the-same-time.\u00a0I used\u00a0an internet-based\u00a0computer-to-computer link (rather like Skype or FaceTime but with some other useful tools like application sharing).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It worked much better than I expected.<\/p>\n

There was the anticipated “we cannot do this because we do not have webcams and no budget\u00a0for even pencils<\/em>“. This was solved by buying webcams from the money saved by not burning petrol. The conversion rate was one webcam per four trips – and the webcam is a one off capital cost not a recurring revenue cost. This is accpiuntant-speak for “the actual cash released will fund the change<\/em>“. No extra budget is required.\u00a0And combine the fuel savings for everyone, and parking charges\u00a0and the payback time is even shorter.<\/p>\n

There were also the anticipated glitches as people got used to the unfamiliar technology (they did not practice of course because they were too busy) but the niggles go away with a few iterations.<\/p>\n

So what were the other benefits?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Well one was the travel time saved – two hours per\u00a0meeting – which\u00a0was longer than the meeting! The released time cannot be stored and used later like the money can – it has to be reinvested\u00a0immediately. I reinvested it in other improvement work. So the benefit was amplified.<\/p>\n

Another was the brain-fuel saved from not having to drive – which\u00a0I used to offset my cumuative brain-fuel deficit called\u00a0chronic fatigue. The\u00a0left over was re-invested in the improvement work. 100% recycled. Nothing was wasted.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>The unexpected benefit was the\u00a0biggest one.<\/p>\n

The different\u00a0communication design of a virtual meeting required a different form of meeting structure and discipline. It took a few iterations to realise this – then click – both effectiveness and efficiency\u00a0jumped up. The time became even better structured, more productive\u00a0and released even more time to reinvest. Wow!<\/p>\n

And the whole thing funded itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The expected response to any suggestion of change is “Yes, but I am too busy – I do not have time.” And the respondent is correct. They do not. All their time is used just keeping their head above water\u00a0or spinning the hamster wheel or whatever other metaphor\u00a0they feel is appropriate.\u00a0 We are at an … <\/p>\n

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