Joe's Jottings

Jottings Number 62, Reply C, Jim Long and Mark Levy

Date: Fri, 4 Oct 96 14:52:27 -0700

     

     The operation I'm in is experiencing the move from complacency via 
     having a "burning platform" lit for us.

     I have used some of the earlier message traffic to reinforce some 
     thinking here and I believe it has been beneficial. This particular 
     comment happened to hit one of my hot buttons, so I am now drawn into 
     the exchange.

     I believe that general policy decisions and deviations (like 
     "freezing" travel) stem from management decisions based on criteria 
     that don't allow the better decisions to evolve. Basically, we tend to 
     put decision data in the format of cost vs benefit. This approach is 
     flawed in that benefits are always hard to assess. Putting a value on 
     benefit requires a certain amount of faith in ability to predict 
     outcomes. 

     An approach that has worked well for me is to put financial decisions 
     in a framework that compares the cost of doing something to the cost 
     of not doing it. While it is still usually difficult to assess the 
     real cost of not doing whatever "it" is, the result is still more 
     concrete than assessing a "benefit". Using this methodology, travel, 
     for example, would be decided on a trip-by-trip basis of "what will it 
     cost to travel vs what will it cost to get the job done without the 
     travel?"

     I know I feel better!

     Best regards,
     Jim Long
     T795-6403 (Atlanta)
     

     From:  Mark Levi (Mark is a marketing vice-president at National 
     Semiconductor)

     Subject: Comments from McMinnville on  JJ #62

     Sounds like a problem of entropy. People, like nature seek a lower 
     energy state; one in which there is less tension. But that leads to 
     complacency, especially because the world keeps changing and requiring 
     high energy to react. 

     That causes the very tension we were trying to avoid. What to do? Find 
     people who are stimulated by having the tension of challenge in their 
     face. What to do with those that want to avoid the tension. Put them 
     in appropriate roles-we pay a premium to those who can stay in high 
     energy states. 

     Mark

....................................................................... TO: PODOLSKY_JOE/HP-PaloAlto_om4@opnmail1

Back to Joe's Jottings