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POV #5:
Zero
Latency: The Path to Fast Opporunity & Problem Detection
POV #4:
Elegant
Simplicity: Applying the Concept to IT
POV #3:
Elegant
Simplicity: Keeping Complexity Under Control
POV #2:
eBusiness is Business as
eUsual
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Some days, I think I created a monster. People frequently confuse
fast cycle time with simply acting fast. At times that's
certainly true. Better to make a decision, than to stand immobilized.
At the same time, the appropriate decision might be to not do something;
particularly if doing so enables your firm to focus on the completion of a
higher priority.
I'm
dismayed by the amount of action-reaction-correction-reaction that I find
in firms today. Like the drug, hyper-active speed appears
addictive. There's so much press (e.g. Fast Company) about the need
for speed that leaders are increasingly acting like plate spinners in a
Chinese circus. The goal has eroded to how many plates can I keep
spinning! When one starts to wobble, we run to it and tweak the
stick so it stays in play. Perhaps we'd be better off if several
crashed so that the ones that kept spinning really turned smoothly.
Maybe we could even have some bigger plates? What
are the symptoms of plate spinning? One of the most obvious is when
you hear yourself saying, "I can't stop. Everything is
important". At this point you're on a slippery slope for you've
lost your grip on priorities. The famous 80/20 Pareto rule holds
true...find your 20% that deliver the greatest value. As my wife
once said, I can do anything I want, I just can't do everything I want. Next,
test how well your using others. This starts with basic delegation
but this also includes outsourcing. Former Secretary of State George
Schultz used to test his own involvement by questioning his unique value
add. If he didn't offer something critical to the solution, it went
to someone else to do. Easy to say but when we're short of
resources (who isn't these days!), the first inclination is to squeeze in
another task. The logic is unassailable, we can do it faster
than we can explain or train someone else to do it. True but short
sighted. Think like an architect: what structures, process and tools
could you create that would enable others to all or most. Now,
look at your diary for the last month and the two going forward and test
where you're choosing to spend time and the size of the allocations.
If the task is personal and operational, use short intense chunks.
If the task evolves others and is also operational, keep the meetings
short. When the challenge is complex, use a mix of longer work
sessions combined with pulsed "check-ins" to monitor
progress. Bottomline: different tasks require different time
allocations. I see far too many leaders trying to redesign strategy,
systems and financing in one hour meetings. Make the time fit the
task. In
closing, take some time to reflect. At a Stanford colloquium I
happened to sit next to a Danish visiting faculty member who extolled the
virtues of being away from instant messaging. He commented
that he actually had time to think overnight before responding. As
simple as this sounds, he was really quite elegant. Those tasks that
dress up old ideas in new clothes are easy to do quickly but if you have
to create something new and valuable, it's difficult and time consuming
work.
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