October 2, 2006

"INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS TEAMWORK"

As you travel around corporate America these days, you hear a lot about "teams"; that groups, departments or whole divisions are trying to behave more as a team as opposed to a group of individuals. Its the latest catch phrase du jour. I guess someone finally figured out the power of teamwork. But just how much of this represents sincere efforts? My corporate contacts tell me its mostly facade. They contend they get some nifty new corporate shirts and some great pep talks, but aside from this, little else. As much as corporations tout the need for teamwork, most still encourage rugged individualism.

There is more to creating a team than simply saying you are one. New shirts and axioms are nice, but in order for this to work, people have to think and act as a team. In other words, success hinges on it becoming a natural part of the corporate culture.

CORPORATE CULTURE

Teachers, coaches, and drill instructors have long understood the value of teamwork. The intent is to turn a heterogeneous working environment into a homogeneous environment whereby everyone is working in a concerted effort towards common goals. But do corporate managers truly understand teamwork? Not necessarily. Many still create competitive environments in the hope that the strongest will rise to the surface. Teamwork is more about cooperation than it is about competition.

This brings up an important point: Teamwork is taught. It means developing a disciplined work environment where the participants must conform to a specific set of rules. Inevitably, it means breaking some work habits and creating new ones. This can be painful, yet necessary if you want to achieve the desired results. Basically, you are teaching people how to live and work together as opposed to apart.

In the United States there is more of a natural inclination to teach individualism as opposed to teamwork; perhaps this is because we are a nation based on freedoms. For example, our public school systems have minimal dress and hair codes; each student is allowed to look and dress as they personally see fit, many with some very questionable taste. This is permitted as it is believed the individual must be allowed to freely express him/herself. This may be fine, but it certainly does not promote a spirit of teamwork. Compare it to other countries, such as Japan, where students are required to wear school uniforms and are given group assignments, such as the preparation and cleanup of their daily lunch. In Japan, students are taught the value of cooperation at an early age which has the added benefit of improving their socialization skills.

As mentioned, teamwork requires the establishment of a working environment conducive to teamwork. It doesn't happen simply by making some platitudinous statements. A manager must do more, much more; some suggestions:

1. First and foremost: Lead. All teams need a leader who can articulate goals and give direction. The team must trust and believe in its leader. Without such confidence, the team will not likely follow the leader, particularly in times of difficulty. The leader should also be wary of leading by democratic rule. Soliciting input is one thing, as is having assistants, but there can only be one ultimate leader to guide the team.

2. Institute uniform operating practices that everyone will be expected to conform to, such as operating hours of work, dress code, office appearance, speech and conduct, etc. Such uniformity stresses the equality of the workers. As another suggestion, downplay job titles and put more emphasis on work assignments instead. Job titles tend to emphasize a person's stature in a company and can be disruptive in terms of equality.

3. Establish standard practices for executing work assignments, thereby everyone is following the same methods, and using the same tools and techniques in their work effort. This improves communications, provides for the interchangeability of workers, and promotes the development of quality work products.

4. Make sure everyone knows their responsibilities and assignments and understands their importance. Nobody wants to be regarded as the weakest link and, as such, the manager must be able to communicate their importance and carefully balance the workload. Yes, there will be those workers who will undoubtedly excel over others, but teamwork is a group effort. If a weaker worker needs additional training, either give it to him or replace him.

5. Routinely check progress. Whenever applicable, keep statistics on both team and individual performance. However, it is not important to publish such stats. It is important for the leader to know the team's strengths and weaknesses, but it is nobody else's business.

6. Be on the lookout for conflicts in working relationships. Some people will simply not get along and it is up to the manager to referee such conflicts. Either have the people work out their differences, keep them apart, or rid yourself of them. You want harmony, not contention, on your team.

7. Allow time for the team to meet and discuss issues as a group. This keeps everyone in tune with common goals, problems, and the team's general progress. It also allows the team to socialize and form a camaraderie (a bonding of unity).

8. Recognize individual achievement but reward on a team basis as opposed to an individual basis.

CONCLUSION

Are we really trying to promote teamwork or is this nothing more than the latest corporate fad that is being implemented more for public relations than anything else? Let's hope for the former and not the latter. Teamwork is a powerful concept, particularly when there is anything of substance to be done.

Shrewd managers intuitively understand the need for teamwork. Let me give you an example from the world of entertainment. Jack Benny, the famous comedian of yesteryear had a great appreciation for teamwork. His radio and television shows were consistently at the top of the rating charts for a number of years. When asked what his secret to success was, Benny simply said teamwork. To Jack, it wasn't important that he personally got the best lines and laughs week after week. In fact, he was often the butt of many of the jokes. Instead, he made sure his cast, guests, and writers all received the accolades they deserved. It was more important to Benny that people said they had tuned into "The Show" as opposed to tuning in to see "Jack Benny." He was right.

I realize there are instances in business when it becomes necessary to exercise individualism, but these are becoming a rarity. Instead companies can find greater glory as a team as opposed to a group of individuals.

"Individual glory is insignificant when compared to achieving victory as a team."
- Dot Richardson, M.D.
U.S. Olympic Softball Team
Two time Gold Medal Champions

OUR BRYCE'S LAW OF THE WEEK therefore is...
"There is more to building a team than buying new uniforms."

"BRYCE MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS" SERVICE INTRODUCED

We've just introduced a new free service for managers to perform a self-analysis of their style of management, including leadership and corporate culture. Check it out at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bma.htm

MBA DAILY PRODUCTIVITY ANALYZER INTRODUCED

Also be sure to check out our new "MBA Daily Productivity Analyzer" which is a free calculator to evaluate a person's personal productivity during the day. It is also available at our corporate web site.

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/mbaprod.htm

IN OUR "DOWN THE ROAD" SECTION

Verify 2006, the International Software Test Conference, will be held October 10th-11th in Washington, DC at the Crown Plaza Hotel Crystal City. For information, call 703/725-3051.

The Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) will be holding their 2006 International Conference and Expo in San Antonio, Texas, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on October 22nd-25th. For information, contact ARMA's headquarters at 913/341-3808 or 800/422-2762 or visit their web page at https://www.arma.org/

The International Institute of Business Analysis will be holding their World Congress for Business Analysts (in conjunction with ProjectWorld 2006) on November 6th-9th at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, FL. For information, call 212/661-3500 x 3702 or visit their web site at: www.iirusa.com/baw

The Association of Management Consulting Firms will be holding their 60th Annual Meeting on December 6th-8th at the Harvard Club in New York City. For information, contact AMCF headquarters in New York at 212/551-7887 or visit their web page at: http://www.amcf.org/

If you have got an upcoming IRM related event you want mentioned, please e-mail the date, time and location of the event to timb001@phmainstreet.com

NEW eBOOK: THE BRYCE IS RIGHT!

Folks, we've just released a new book on management entitled, "The Bryce is Right! Empowering Managers in today's Corporate Culture." This is a frank and candid description of the state of the art in management and includes essays on the problems in management today, along with some pragmatic advice on how to deal with them. Basically, this is a condensed course in management. As such, it is suited for managers, either those aspiring to become a manager or for those who need a refresher course. It will also be of interest to young people entering the work force, and is excellent for college curriculums.

Charles Cole of Lyndhurst, OH, said it is a "Very interesting book. Good work! It reminds me of some of the early works I read by W. Edwards Deming. Too bad the American corporate gurus of his day didn't pay him heed."

And Wolf Hager of Fort Myers, FL, says it is "A very impressive publication which requires careful reading and reminds me somewhat of Peter Drucker."

The price is just $20 plus tax. For more information on our book or to order on-line, see:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

We have also just produced a new one-day training program of the same name. For more information on both the eBook and course, please visit our web site at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

While there, look for our new MS PowerPoint presentation describing both the book and the training program.

MY "PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK" IS "HEAD HUNTERS"

I don't know about you but I still get a lot of calls from recruiting firms or as we like to call them "Head Hunters." I've noticed they have gotten bolder over the last couple of years, calling me directly at work. Its bad enough that I get bombarded with their junk mail, e-mails and see their postings in discussion groups, but to stop my day to answer the phone only to hear from a head hunter really sets me off. Their latest trick is to have a prerecorded message say to you "Please hold on for an important announcement," after which a human-being picks up the phone and starts his diatribe. Talk about uncouth! When this happens now, I change my voice to sound like a machine and reply, "Please hold while we page your party," after which I put the guy on hold. If they hold for more than three seconds, I'm surprised. I guess you have to fight fire with fire.

Such is my Pet Peeve of the Week.

AND FINALLY...

I received an e-mail from a Bernie DeMarco in Chicago who wrote me regarding last week's essay entitled, "The Elements of Cost/Benefit Analysis."

Bernie writes:

"Your article was a great refresher course for me. I'm making all of my junior people listen to it. Just what exactly are they teaching down at the college level these days?"

Thanks Bernie for your note,

Good question. Frankly, I believe the colleges are still embroiled in programming and the technical aspects of development. In terms of Project Management, I think they are still teaching nothing more than PERT diagrams. I hope I'm wrong. But what I sensed from the college kids I talked to, there is a genuine interest in doing things right, they're just not getting the right direction from their profs.

Again, Thanks for your e-mail. Keep those cards and letters coming.

MBA is an international management consulting firm specializing in Information Resource Management. We offer training, consulting, and writing services in the areas of Enterprise Engineering, Systems Engineering, Data Base Engineering, Project Management, Methodologies and Repositories. For information, call us at 727/786-4567. For a complete listing of my essays, see the "PRIDE" Special Subject Bulletins section of our corporate web site.

Our corporate web page is at:

http://phmainstreet.com/mba/

Management Visions is a presentation of M. Bryce & Associates, a division of M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. The program is produced on a weekly basis and updated on Sundays. It is available in versions for RealPlayer, Microsoft Media Player, and MP3 suitable for Podcasting. See our web site for details. You'll find our broadcast listed in several Podcast and Internet Search engines, as well as Apples' iTunes.

If you have any questions or would like to be placed on our e-mailing list to receive notification of future broadcasts, please e-mail it to timb001@phmainstreet.com

For a copy of past broadcasts, please contact me directly.

We accept MP3 files with your voice for possible inclusion in the broadcast.

There is no charge for adding a link to "Management Visions" on your web page, for details and HTML code, see the "Management Visions" web site.

Management Visions accepts advertising. For rates, please contact yours truly directly.

Copyright © 2006 by M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. All rights reserved. "PRIDE" is the registered trademark of M&JB Investment Company.

This is Tim Bryce reporting.

Since 1971: "Software for the finest computer - the Mind."

END

September 25, 2006

"THE ELEMENTS OF COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS"

I recently met with some college students who asked me about "PRIDE" Information Resource Management, and, specifically about Project Management. They were all somewhat familiar with concepts relating to Work Breakdown Structures, estimating and scheduling, but all were at a loss when I started to talk about the preparation of a Cost/Benefit Analysis. Evidently, this was not part of their curriculum. I described to them the importance of Cost/Benefit Analysis and how it was a critical part of Project Management in terms of determining whether to proceed with a systems development project or not. Perhaps it is time for a refresher course on the subject.

First, a Cost/Benefit Analysis is an analysis of the costs or expenses incurred by a project in comparison to the benefits derived from implementing the project. Its preparation begins with an estimate for an overall project.

Based on this, consideration is given to the one-time costs associated with the project (those costs incurred by the project). It is also customary to include the following items:

• Determine on-going staffing costs - an analysis of the operating costs (actual versus proposed). This is based on the rough design of the planned system and its anticipated impact on the company.

• Estimated savings and expenses by user department areas (e.g., Manufacturing, Marketing, etc.). This describes the on-going costs associated with the system, as well as the anticipated savings.

• Itemized benefits - both tangible and intangible. In the systems world, the biggest benefits are typically intangible in nature. A benefit is typically written beginning with a transitive verb, such as "improve," "maximize," "minimize," etc. Substantiate your claim; do not simply say "Improved cash flow"; instead, say something like, "Improved cash flow through tighter control over inventory and faster response from Production."

• Break Even Point - the calculated point in time where cost savings match accumulated development expenses. It is normally calculated as:

  Break Even Point = Investment / Average Annual Savings

  For example, where the project Investment was $49,215 and the Average Annual Savings was $22,861, the Break Even Point is 2.15 years (26 months)

• Calculate Return On Investment (ROI) - the ratio of projected cost savings versus amount invested. It is typically calculated as:

  ROI = (Average Annual Savings / Investment) X 100

  Using the figures from above, the ROI is 46.4%

For Break Even Points and ROI, some organizations may have in-house standards for developing these figures and include considerations for inflation, interest, depreciation, amortization, etc.

Other than the project estimate and schedule, the Cost/Benefit Analysis becomes the focal point from which management will make a decision to proceed with a project. I have also seen companies establish standards in this regard. For example, some companies will not touch a project if it doesn't show a minimum of 200% ROI or a break even point of five years or more (after all, they might have better things to do with their money than wait for a system to reap dividends).

To assist in the preparation of a Cost/Analysis, we offer the following worksheet.

For a sample of a completed worksheet, click HERE.

CONCLUSION

Performing a Cost/Benefit Analysis is critical to the continuation of a development product. Superficial attention to its development may result in erroneous conclusions which will lead a company down a path to disaster. It is important that both costs and benefits be thoroughly defined and scrutinized. After all, there is little point in throwing good money after bad. I have seen too many system development projects turn into mega-disasters simply because companies didn't take the time to study the basics as herein described. Because of this, the preparation of a Cost/Benefit Analysis requires someone who can accurately calculate figures, writes effectively, pays attention to detail, and possesses a sense of "salesmanship." The type of person performing this work is typically a senior project manager or senior analyst, and not a software engineer or programmer.

The worksheet mentioned above is helpful for recording calculations and benefits, but the final Cost/Benefit Analysis should be carefully packaged and explained, both as an executive summary, and in detail.

Bottom-line, the purpose for the preparation of a Cost/Benefit Analysis is to allow a company to "Look before you leap."

For additional information on "PRIDE" Project Management, click HERE.

OUR BRYCE'S LAW OF THE WEEK therefore is...
"It is important that both costs and benefits be thoroughly defined and scrutinized. After all, there is little point in throwing good money after bad."

"BRYCE MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS" SERVICE INTRODUCED

We've just introduced a new free service for managers to perform a self-analysis of their style of management, including leadership and corporate culture. Check it out at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bma.htm

MBA DAILY PRODUCTIVITY ANALYZER INTRODUCED

Also be sure to check out our new "MBA Daily Productivity Analyzer" which is a free calculator to evaluate a person's personal productivity during the day. It is also available at our corporate web site.

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/mbaprod.htm

IN OUR "DOWN THE ROAD" SECTION

Verify 2006, the International Software Test Conference, will be held October 10th-11th in Washington, DC at the Crown Plaza Hotel Crystal City. For information, call 703/725-3051.

The Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) will be holding their 2006 International Conference and Expo in San Antonio, Texas, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on October 22nd-25th. For information, contact ARMA's headquarters at 913/341-3808 or 800/422-2762 or visit their web page at https://www.arma.org/

The International Institute of Business Analysis will be holding their World Congress for Business Analysts (in conjunction with ProjectWorld 2006) on November 6th-9th at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, FL. For information, call 212/661-3500 x 3702 or visit their web site at: www.iirusa.com/baw

The Association of Management Consulting Firms will be holding their 60th Annual Meeting on December 6th-8th at the Harvard Club in New York City. For information, contact AMCF headquarters in New York at 212/551-7887 or visit their web page at: http://www.amcf.org/

If you have got an upcoming IRM related event you want mentioned, please e-mail the date, time and location of the event to timb001@phmainstreet.com

NEW eBOOK: THE BRYCE IS RIGHT!

Folks, we've just released a new book on management entitled, "The Bryce is Right! Empowering Managers in today's Corporate Culture." This is a frank and candid description of the state of the art in management and includes essays on the problems in management today, along with some pragmatic advice on how to deal with them. Basically, this is a condensed course in management. As such, it is suited for managers, either those aspiring to become a manager or for those who need a refresher course. It will also be of interest to young people entering the work force, and is excellent for college curriculums.

Charles Cole of Lyndhurst, OH, said it is a "Very interesting book. Good work! It reminds me of some of the early works I read by W. Edwards Deming. Too bad the American corporate gurus of his day didn't pay him heed."

And Wolf Hager of Fort Myers, FL, says it is "A very impressive publication which requires careful reading and reminds me somewhat of Peter Drucker."

The price is just $20 plus tax. For more information on our book or to order on-line, see:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

We have also just produced a new one-day training program of the same name. For more information on both the eBook and course, please visit our web site at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

While there, look for our new MS PowerPoint presentation describing both the book and the training program.

MY "PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK" IS "THE NEWS MEDIA"

I was a loyal reader of "Newsweek" magazine for at least thirty years, but I noticed the reporting was getting watered down and consequently I canceled my subscription. I haven't looked at a copy of it in quite some time, but I recently flipped through an issue at a doctor's office. I found it interesting that it took me about 40 pages until I finally got to the lead story. This was prefaced by a series of small fluff pieces aimed at celebrities in the media, cartoons and quotes, the latest technological devices, and, oh yea, some letters to the editor. Aside from the letters, everything else tried to convey a "hip" image, nothing truly journalistic, just something cute and meaningless. I guess this is one of the reasons why I drifted away from "Newsweek," their ability to report and analyze news has deteriorated considerably over the last few years. But frankly, I don't think "Newsweek" is alone in this regards. "Time" magazine, and television network news have also watered their reporting down. Accurate news reporting is sacrificed for what is considered "hip" or politically fashionable for the moment. I think Huntley/Brinkley would turn over in their graves if they knew what was going on at NBC news. But, in defense of today's news reporting, I think it says a lot about ourselves. For example, news is now reported in smaller, easier to digest, chunks. I guess Americans have the attention span of a gnat. I also question our set of priorities; since when has Brad Pitt's and Angelina Jole's baby been more important than the problems in the Middle East? Is Apples iPod more important than the problems in Detroit? Either the media is distorting our sense of priorities or, God forbid, they understand us too well. I hope it is the former and not the latter.

Such is my Pet Peeve of the Week.

FRAPPER MAP

Friends, I don't know if you've seen it yet, but we've added a Frapper map to the "Management Visions" web site. Frapper is a free mapping service offered by the folks at Rising Concepts, LLC, and allows you to plot yourself on a worldwide map. This is a great way to keep track of our listeners and I encourage you to try it out through our web page or by clicking HERE.

AND FINALLY...

I received an e-mail from an AC Kemper in Athens, Ohio who wrote me regarding last week's essay entitled, "Uncommon Sense."

AC writes:

"Try to get by in corporate America by trusting common sense, and down you'll go. Always watch out for the realities that plague even the most prestigious organizations. I found your piece to be humorous as well as honest."

Thanks AC for your note,

Yea, the absence of commonsense in the corporate workplace is very discouraging. I can only chalk it up to greed, ego, or some other human frailty. As much as we take pride in our ability to make logical decisions, most are based on emotions. Thank God we can laugh at ourselves through such things as Dibert and NBC's "The Office," otherwise I think we would go stark raving mad.

Again, Thanks for your e-mail. Keep those cards and letters coming.

MBA is an international management consulting firm specializing in Information Resource Management. We offer training, consulting, and writing services in the areas of Enterprise Engineering, Systems Engineering, Data Base Engineering, Project Management, Methodologies and Repositories. For information, call us at 727/786-4567. For a complete listing of my essays, see the "PRIDE" Special Subject Bulletins section of our corporate web site.

Our corporate web page is at:

http://phmainstreet.com/mba/

Management Visions is a presentation of M. Bryce & Associates, a division of M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. The program is produced on a weekly basis and updated on Sundays. It is available in versions for RealPlayer, Microsoft Media Player, and MP3 suitable for Podcasting. See our web site for details. You'll find our broadcast listed in several Podcast and Internet Search engines, as well as Apples' iTunes.

If you have any questions or would like to be placed on our e-mailing list to receive notification of future broadcasts, please e-mail it to timb001@phmainstreet.com

For a copy of past broadcasts, please contact me directly.

We accept MP3 files with your voice for possible inclusion in the broadcast.

There is no charge for adding a link to "Management Visions" on your web page, for details and HTML code, see the "Management Visions" web site.

Management Visions accepts advertising. For rates, please contact yours truly directly.

Copyright © 2006 by M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. All rights reserved. "PRIDE" is the registered trademark of M&JB Investment Company.

This is Tim Bryce reporting.

Since 1971: "Software for the finest computer - the Mind."

END

September 18, 1006

"UNCOMMON SENSE"

Probably the main reason why Scott Adams' "Dilbert" comic strip enjoys the popularity it does is because it is a clever parody of the corporate world. It now appears in 2,000 papers in 65 countries. As readers, we can relate to the corporate situations the characters are put in and the inevitable results. What is considered logical and practical is often sacrificed to suit petty personality traits. The underlying theme in the strip is that common sense is not common in the corporate world.

I have assembled a list of items as found in business and compare and contrast how they should be applied in practice (common sense) versus how they are applied in reality. This provides some interesting insight into the philosophy of our corporate culture. Who knows, this might be nothing more than fodder for Scott Adams.

APPEARANCE

Common Sense: Impressions make a difference. How we dress and act send messages to the people we meet and work with. But we must be wary of facade; an actor rarely assumes the characteristics of the people they portray. The same is true in business; looks will carry you for a while but you have to be able to produce results in order to achieve the confidence and respect you desire.

Reality: Appearances and conduct are no longer considered important. A lot of managers are grateful simply because employees show up for work on time.

BEHAVIOR

Common Sense: Our perceptions, right or wrong, dictate our actions. Whether we perceive a situation correctly or not is irrelevant; we will act according to how we see a situation. Knowing this, we should make every effort to correctly interpret a situation so we make the right decision and take the appropriate action.

Reality: We see only what we want to see. Little effort is made to clarify a situation.

BRAIN POWER

Common Sense: The brain should be fully engaged in order to strive to achieve.

Reality: Companies establish working environments that do not stimulate thought. They prefer to have human robots as opposed to people who will take a little initiative.

BUSINESS

Common Sense: The only good business relationship is where both parties benefit. The intent should be to create "win-win" situations where both parties prosper, not just one. This promotes cooperation and trust.

Reality: Its a dog-eat-dog world out there. Most companies have little regard for vendors and customers, let alone partners. "Win-loss" situations are still the norm today.

COMMUNICATIONS

Common Sense: Talk and write to communicate, not to impress. An eloquent vocabulary tends to alienate as oppose to recruiting support for your argument. As such, it is important to know your audience.

Reality: Pompous speeches using a seemingly cryptic language does, in fact, impress people. Your audience may not understand what you are talking about, but they will be buffaloed into believing you. Don't have any new ideas? Just change the vocabulary and make people believe you have invented a new idea.

CORPORATE CULTURE

Common Sense: All companies have a culture, a way by which their people think and behave. In order for new employees to succeed, they must adapt to the culture or face rejection (e.g., people refusing to work with them).

Reality: New people care little for the thinking and behavior of others. They believe they know better and act like loose cannons.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Common Sense: The customer is treated like a king. By providing excellent service, the customer will offer referrals (new business) as well as repeat business.

Reality: The customer is treated like sheep. By creating bureaucracy, consumers have learned not to expect too much and realize objections are exercises in futility. By vendors creating an aura that their products are "state of the art," people will react like Pavlov's dog and purchase the latest gizmo upon its announcement (usually sight unseen).

DECISION MAKING

Common Sense: Business decisions should be based on sound logical facts, such as a Cost/Benefit Analysis with "return on investments" and "break even points." People are typically not afraid of taking a risk if the facts are presented to them clearly.

Reality: Business decisions are based on emotions with an appeal to the frailties of the human ego, e.g., greed, stature, perks, etc. Politicians and marketers have known this for years, which is why Government initiates actions based on polls as opposed to what is really needed. People are not afraid of taking risks since they know liberal government bankruptcy laws will bail them out in case of failure.

DOCUMENTATION

Common Sense: If something is important, write it down. By doing so, we are providing the means for companies to carry on in the event of a catastrophe or a turnover in personnel.

Reality: Rarely is anything written down, particularly designs as it is considered a waste of time. Without documentation, people such as engineers promote job security; e.g., they cannot be fired since they maintain the designs in their heads.

INFORMATION

Common Sense: Information is not synonymous with data. Information is the knowledge or intelligence required to support the actions and decisions of a business. People act on information, not data. Data is the raw material used to produce information. Consequently, data should be cataloged so that it may be shared and reused to produce the necessary information.

Reality: Information and data are treated as being synonymous. Rarely is data shared and reused outside of a single computer program. As a result, data redundancy runs rampant in business causing end-users to question the integrity of information from which it is based.

INTEGRITY

Common Sense: Tell the truth; if you don't you'll eventually get caught in a lie which could potentially cost the company business.

Reality: Lying is considered an acceptable form of behavior. In other words, say or promise anything to secure a contract. Let the corporate lawyers figure out later what to do if entanglements ensue.

LEADERSHIP

Common Sense: Lead by example. Never ask someone to do something you are not prepared to do yourself. This will earn you the respect of your workers.

Reality: Most managers have little sensitivity for the type of work their people have to perform. In fact, they prefer a master/slave relationship thereby elevating their ego.

MANAGEMENT

Common Sense: Create an environment that empowers employees and treat them like professionals, thereby giving them a sense of purpose. An empowered employee will be more dedicated and loyal to the company.

Reality: Promise recruits anything, sweat them, then let them go at the end of the assignment. Let us also not forget, employees will jump from job to job. Free-agency saw to that.

ORGANIZATION

Common Sense: Insist on a clean work environment thereby forcing employees to be more disciplined and organized. By doing so, it will be easier to find and manage things, such as products, parts, and paperwork.

Reality: "A cluttered desk is the sign of a brilliant mind" is the normal cop out. By maintaining a pigsty, it is harder for managers to find out what the employee is up to.

PLANNING

Common Sense: Plan and set goals, but recognize that change is constant. As such, be flexible to adjust and adapt to changing conditions.

Reality: Plans are often cast in concrete thereby making it impossible to accommodate change. If a change is requested, blame the developers of the plan. Oh yea, don't forget to print plans on fancy paper so it might impress others.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Common Sense: Treat problems, not the symptoms. To get to the root of a problem, work backwards until you come to the starting point. Still can't find it? Work forward, from start to end. Better yet, have a second pair of eyes look it over.

Reality: Treat symptoms, not the problems. Apply Band-Aids where tourniquets are really needed (thereby pacifying the situation for the moment). Companies tend to develop a punchlist of symptoms and than take a shotgun approach to diagnosing them. Further, corrections are rarely delivered for free but, instead, are issued as updates (for a price).

QUALITY

Common Sense: Build quality into the product during development. By breaking the development process into stages, the product can be reviewed and inspected in increments. By doing so, it is rather easy to backup and correct the problem upon discovery. A quality-built product requires less time to maintain and, as such, reduces maintenance costs.

Reality: Companies inspect products after they have been built, normally by people unfamiliar with the processes and tools used to create the product. The rationale here is that it is seemingly cheaper to discard a product afterwards as opposed to during the development process. The cost of quality is normally bundled into the price of the product, thereby customers assume the price for corrections, not the company.

SHARING

Common Sense: Share and reuse parts of products. By doing so, it reduces development costs and promotes integration between products. Further, it simplifies maintenance of products through the use of standardized parts.

Reality: Sharing and reuse is avoided (primarily due to the "Not Invented Here" phenomenon). Consequently, considerable redundancy ensues, both in terms of parts and the labor required to redesign each part. The resulting overhead is buried in the price of the product.

SOLUTIONS

Common Sense: The best solutions are the simple solutions. Complicated solutions add to the expense of a project or a product (as well as the time to develop them). Do what is practical, not necessarily what is elegant.

Reality: Companies tend to prefer complicated solutions since they tend to pacify inflated egos or as part of a shell game in marketing the product. Complicated solutions inevitably add costs to the product (as well as markups).

TEAMWORK

Common Sense: A team of players can outperform any individual effort. As such, companies should be promoting teamwork and a spirit of cooperation.

Reality: Companies offer rewards for individual initiative (not teamwork), thereby resulting in a spirit of competition as opposed to cooperation. The thinking here is along the lines of "natural selection" as contained in Darwin's theory of evolution whereby the individual with the strongest characteristics climbs to the top of the heap.

TECHNOLOGY

Common Sense: Technology should be applied in business on a basis of cost effectiveness. An elegant solution to the wrong problem solves nothing.

Reality: Technology is purchased by companies to "Keep up with the Jones' or as a status symbol. Rarely is it ever purchased for practical business purposes. Companies have been so conditioned to purchase technology, it is like taking their morning vitamin pill; a habit they believe is good for them. This train of thought is so pervasive today that technology often supersedes management. In other words, we do not try to manage our way out of a problem, we throw technology at it instead (this way, when something goes wrong, we can blame the technology).

THEFT

Common Sense: Do our own work. Give credit where credit is due.

Reality: Piracy is an acceptable form of behavior. It is quite common for employees to take intellectual property from one company to another as they move from job to job. Let the lawyers fight it out if a problem ensues.

WORK

Common Sense: Stay focused on the work product (the result or deliverable) and doggedly see something through to completion with your best effort, thereby creating pride in workmanship. Further, accept constructive criticism so that we can learn and improve. Our goal, as employees, is to become craftsmen in our area of expertise.

Let us also not forget that everything begins with a sale. Without a sale, there is no customer service, no development, nada.

Reality: People will only work on those items they deem important, in no particular priority. Further, people like to "rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic" and, by doing so, try to make things look better on the surface than they really are. This is usually done by juggling the books. Companies avoid tackling major projects for two reasons; first, they no longer possess the management skills to accomplish the work, and second; rewards and systems of remuneration are based on a short-term mentality.

THE HUMAN SPIRIT

Common Sense: Since the inception of our company in 1971, the underlying theme in our methodologies and writings is the recognition of the vital role the human being plays in business. You have heard us say on numerous occasions:

• Everything begins and ends with the human being.
• Systems are for people
• Business is about people, not numbers.
• Information is for people, not for the computer.
• We accomplish projects through people.
• Our corporate slogan: "Software for the finest computer - the Mind"

Knowing this, there should be greater respect for the human spirit and, as such, we should be sharpening our people skills as opposed to our technical skills. Technology will always have a role to play, but humans should never become subservient to it.

Reality: The human element is too often overlooked or forgotten. Technology is having an adverse effect on our social skills. For example, we can now electronically contact just about anyone anywhere on the planet, but we do not know how to effectively communicate or work with others. Some people believe the ideal business is one run totally by machines and not by people, thereby affording us more leisure time, a sort of "business in a closet." But as long as we have people as customers, people as vendors, and need people to execute projects, we should always respect the dignity of the human spirit.

CONCLUSION

Some would suggest the Common Sense items listed above are naive concepts; that business doesn't work this way. They are probably right. But then again, this is what makes "Dilbert" so funny. We all look for Common Sense in the work place, but are no longer surprised when things go awry. Consequently, these Common Sense items are considered "Uncommon" in today's world.

I'll close with one final Common Sense maxim admonished by my grandmother years ago which I have always found to be true, "In every person's life, you must eat at least one spoonful of dirt."

OUR BRYCE'S LAW OF THE WEEK therefore is...
"There is only one problem with common sense, it is not very common."

"BRYCE MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS" SERVICE INTRODUCED

We've just introduced a new free service for managers to perform a self-analysis of their style of management, including leadership and corporate culture. Check it out at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bma.htm

MBA DAILY PRODUCTIVITY ANALYZER INTRODUCED

Also be sure to check out our new "MBA Daily Productivity Analyzer" which is a free calculator to evaluate a person's personal productivity during the day. It is also available at our corporate web site.

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/mbaprod.htm

IN OUR "DOWN THE ROAD" SECTION

The Society for Information Management will be holding their SIMposium 2006 on September 17-20 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas. For information, contact SIM headquarters in Chicago at 312/527-6734

Verify 2006, the International Software Test Conference, will be held October 10th-11th in Washington, DC at the Crown Plaza Hotel Crystal City. For information, call 703/725-3051.

The Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) will be holding their 2006 International Conference and Expo in San Antonio, Texas, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on October 22nd-25th. For information, contact ARMA's headquarters at 913/341-3808 or 800/422-2762 or visit their web page at https://www.arma.org/

The International Institute of Business Analysis will be holding their World Congress for Business Analysts (in conjunction with ProjectWorld 2006) on November 6th-9th at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, FL. For information, call 212/661-3500 x 3702 or visit their web site at: www.iirusa.com/baw

If you have got an upcoming IRM related event you want mentioned, please e-mail the date, time and location of the event to timb001@phmainstreet.com

NEW eBOOK: THE BRYCE IS RIGHT!

Folks, we've just released a new book on management entitled, "The Bryce is Right! Empowering Managers in today's Corporate Culture." This is a frank and candid description of the state of the art in management and includes essays on the problems in management today, along with some pragmatic advice on how to deal with them. Basically, this is a condensed course in management. As such, it is suited for managers, either those aspiring to become a manager or for those who need a refresher course. It will also be of interest to young people entering the work force, and is excellent for college curriculums.

Charles Cole of Lyndhurst, OH, said it is a "Very interesting book. Good work! It reminds me of some of the early works I read by W. Edwards Deming. Too bad the American corporate gurus of his day didn't pay him heed."

And Wolf Hager of Fort Myers, FL, says it is "A very impressive publication which requires careful reading and reminds me somewhat of Peter Drucker."

The price is just $20 plus tax. For more information on our book or to order on-line, see:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

We have also just produced a new one-day training program of the same name. For more information on both the eBook and course, please visit our web site at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

While there, look for our new MS PowerPoint presentation describing both the book and the training program.

MY "PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK" IS "BAITING"

Every once and awhile you run into a person who is determined to "get your goat." It doesn't happen often, but every now and then you run into someone who is hell-bent on antagonizing you. And it doesn't have to be over anything in particular, some people just contrarily want to pick a fight with you. You say "white," he says "black," not for any particular reason other than to just irritate you. Regardless how polite you might be or how rational your argument is, they want to fight you. In fact, most of the time they offer sardonic witticisms and perhaps some vulgarities to refute what you are talking about and try to bait you into a brawl in order to make you look bad. And they can be successful if you are suckered into such a confrontation.

For years I have run into such people; not too many, just enough to leave an impression on me. These types of people fall into the category of what I have been calling "Homo Sapien Ass*****" (HSA) whose perceptions of reality are distorted and there is no swaying them otherwise. In some cases, their perception of reality is fine, they are simply jealous of anyone else in the spotlight but themselves and argue just to make you look bad.

I've noticed this occurring more and more recently in Blogs and Internet discussion groups. I'll see someone write something valuable in such forums only to have someone else maliciously ridicule it, not because it is wrong, but because they simply don't like the person and want to discredit him. Its interesting, such forums offer the means to conceal your identity. People seem more inclined to criticize and ridicule when their identify is concealed, as opposed to when it isn't. They seem more apt to write a poison pen letter than to confront you face-to-face. These people are, of course, cowards. The negativity and sniping in some of these discussion groups is such that I am reminded of the old expression, "If you haven't got anything good to say, don't say anything."

Regardless, what is the best way to deal with such people? Well, having survived such attacks on the Internet perhaps I can offer some advice. First, never take the bait. Never dance to their tune. Never. Always take the high ground and maintain your dignity. Remember, other people will be watching your response. They already know there is a troublemaker trying to get to you, but do yourself a favor and don't lower yourself to their level. Remain calm and if you have to refute their arguments, due it respectfully and professionally, especially if they do not follow suit. Those watching will take note and think the better of you. Stay above the fray. Make the other person look like the idiot that he is. Inevitably, you will get more supporters than your antagonist. I am reminded of something Oscar Wilde said years ago, "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."

How you handle an antagonist in the public is one thing; how you handle such a person one-on-one is something else. Understand this, they are not interested in rational discourse, only making you look bad in some public forum. Always take the high ground in publicly refuting them, but for one-on-one confrontations, the kid gloves are off.

I write on a variety of topics and I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me all of the time, believe me they don't. But I'm simply trying to get people to think about things they normally wouldn't. I welcome all calm and respectful discourse, but if it turns malicious, I know how to hit the delete key and filter out such people from participating in future dialogues.

I remember one time when I was in a meeting and had an antagonist heckle me throughout the session. Despite my attempts to answer his questions, he kept badgering me to the point of irritating everyone in the room. Finally I looked at him and said, "Tell me, did your parents have any children that lived?" This resulted in a pregnant pause and gales of laughter (and finally broke the logjam).

Usually your antagonists will try to get in the last word on a subject. If you are lucky, you can get the last word in before they do, but that is uncommon. Its more likely they'll get the last word, but don't dispair, if you have done your job, they are the ones who will look like the fool, not you.

Remember, don't let yourself get baited; don't let them get your goat. Defuse the situation and stay in control.

Such is my Pet Peeve of the Week.

FRAPPER MAP

Friends, I don't know if you've seen it yet, but we've added a Frapper map to the "Management Visions" web site. Frapper is a free mapping service offered by the folks at Rising Concepts, LLC, and allows you to plot yourself on a worldwide map. This is a great way to keep track of our listeners and I encourage you to try it out through our web page or by clicking HERE.

AND FINALLY...

I received an e-mail from a Bob Carlson in Los Angeles who wrote me regarding last week's Pet Peeve of the Week entitled, "Reality Management."

Bob writes:

"I got a chuckle out of your idea for a Reality TV show entitled, "The Office Whisperer 911." I would hope that the first show would feature the problems of an I.T. shop."

Thanks Bob for your note,

Yea, I would love to see something like that myself. There are a lot of stereotypes in application development I would love to see addressed. As an aside, I was recently jousting with a couple of young programmers on the Internet who contended I have lost touch with programming. Well, I admit its been a long time since my first programming class, and a lot of nifty tools and techniques are now available to programmers, but you know what? There really isn't anything new in programming. I just find the latest generation of programmers generally lack a sense of history and, as such, really don't understand the psychology of programming. In fact, I find people make it more complicated than it needs to be. People still don't agree on how to specify requirements, or how to define the logic of a program, or how to test it. People say they believe in reusing software, yet I still find companies rewriting code year after year from scratch. And perhaps that's a good starting point for such a "Reality Management" TV show, that there is really nothing new in programming. The young people may think so, the rest of us know better.

Again, Thanks for your e-mail. Keep those cards and letters coming.

MBA is an international management consulting firm specializing in Information Resource Management. We offer training, consulting, and writing services in the areas of Enterprise Engineering, Systems Engineering, Data Base Engineering, Project Management, Methodologies and Repositories. For information, call us at 727/786-4567. For a complete listing of my essays, see the "PRIDE" Special Subject Bulletins section of our corporate web site.

Our corporate web page is at:

http://phmainstreet.com/mba/

Management Visions is a presentation of M. Bryce & Associates, a division of M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. The program is produced on a weekly basis and updated on Sundays. It is available in versions for RealPlayer, Microsoft Media Player, and MP3 suitable for Podcasting. See our web site for details. You'll find our broadcast listed in several Podcast and Internet Search engines, as well as Apples' iTunes.

If you have any questions or would like to be placed on our e-mailing list to receive notification of future broadcasts, please e-mail it to timb001@phmainstreet.com

For a copy of past broadcasts, please contact me directly.

We accept MP3 files with your voice for possible inclusion in the broadcast.

There is no charge for adding a link to "Management Visions" on your web page, for details and HTML code, see the "Management Visions" web site.

Management Visions accepts advertising. For rates, please contact yours truly directly.

Copyright © 2006 by M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. All rights reserved. "PRIDE" is the registered trademark of M&JB Investment Company.

This is Tim Bryce reporting.

Since 1971: "Software for the finest computer - the Mind."

END

September 11, 2006

"TODAY'S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICERS: THE UNTOUCHABLES"

It has been often said there should be two Presidents for the United States; one to deal with politics, and another to tend to the true affairs of government. The same can be said for today's Chief Information Officers (CIO). Although they should be tending to matters of state, they are all too often preoccupied with politics and gamesmanship.

Ideally, the CIO is the information keystone for a company. As chief architect and information broker, the CIO represents the catalyst between understanding business information needs, and the development organization who must satisfy them. Although the position often comes with much pomp and circumstance, it is all for naught if the CIO cannot effectively tend to this pivotal role.

As the focal point for a company's information resources, the CIO must deal with a wide spectrum of people: end-users concerned with the status of their development projects, as well as reporting problems to existing systems; technicians who argue over tactics of implementation; vendors marketing the latest technical panacea; and CPA's who scrutinize every penny spent by the CIO. Sound hectic? It is. Feeling harassed, the CIO tries to insulate himself, and herein lies the problem.

THE ELECTRONIC COCOON

The CIO begins his tenure as an "ambassador" between his department and the rest of the organization. But as demands close in, he builds a buffer around himself, an electronic cocoon of voice mail and E-mail. Though voice mail is designed to record messages while a person is away from the office, it is primarily used to screen out unwanted callers (both internal and external). Consequently, calls are not returned. E-mail is touted as a convenient way to enhance organizational communications, but the CIO finds himself besieged by a ton of memos and notes (most of which go unanswered). By coordinating these two technologies, it is possible to avoid human contact altogether. However, this would negate the need for the organizational cocoon.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL COCOON

After the electronic cocoon is in place, the CIO develops an infrastructure featuring several layers of management. This allows the managers to concentrate on the day-to-day operations of the department, while the CIO concentrates on hobnobbing with the corporate brass. As problems rise through the organization (as they invariably will), the CIO simply adds another layer of management to deal with the problem. In departmental issues, the CIO is more concerned with who gets to deal with the problem than what the true solution might be.

The CIO's final and crucial sentry is his secretary. Used properly, secretaries play vital roles as expediters for their managers. For the CIO, the secretary has more of a "pit bull" role, with explicit orders to redirect phone calls and mail, and to tell anyone foolhardy enough to try for a face-to-face encounter that the boss is "in a meeting" and cannot be disturbed.

POLITICALLY CORRECT

The CIO often speaks in a forked-tongue. On the one hand he is conversant in the latest catch phrase (i.e., "re-engineering," "enterprise architecture," "business rules," "extreme/agile programming," etc.), but on the other he must be politically correct when talking with his peers. Although he balks at technical discussions with his own staff, he loves to overwhelm executive management with his technical verbosity. Conversely, he dazzles the technical staff with management jargon, discussing the "global impact" and "bottom line strategies." As a consequence, the CIO fails miserably as translator between management and the technicians. He plays a different part for each group, making sure neither group can understand (or attack) his grandiose ideas.

LOSING TOUCH

Surrounded by the false security of e-mail and voice mail, protected by platoons of managers and his diligent secretary, the CIO can finally relax. However, due to poor communications with the CIO, executives and users do not know how their business information requirements are being satisfied. And since you cannot communicate with someone who is not there, they become frustrated with the elusive executive. Technicians, awaiting their marching orders, are following a leader who has lost touch with the real world. Impossible to communicate with, he cannot properly manage his department.

Without proper management, chaos reigns, and the CIO's tenure will be brief. Perhaps this is why the average life expectancy for a CIO position is between 6 and 24 months. How can an IS department plan for the future if there is a revolving door at the top? CIO's must shed their insular layers and become accessible to their own people and executives. Only then will information systems be synchronized with the goals of the business.

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS

The CIO is the pivotal player for satisfying the information requirements of an enterprise. The CIO, therefore, must recognize interpersonal communications as an inherent part of the job. Instead of avoiding it, he must master it. Some suggestions:

1. RESTRICT THE USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL - there are some merits to passing documents electronically throughout the company. However, legislate the distribution of junk mail (spam) as a felonious crime.

2. DUMP THE VOICE MAIL - its dehumanizing effect is perhaps the biggest irritant around. Instead...

3. HIRE AN EFFECTIVE SECRETARY - not just a clerk to chase people away on the phone. A real secretary can expedite problems when the boss is busy or away. The CIO's secretary can be one of the most powerful people in the IT organization.

4. FLATTEN THE ORGANIZATION - building an empire with layer upon layer of management only causes confusion in terms of responsibilities and slows the decision making process. Even worse, important decisions tend to fall through the cracks.

5. TALK IN PLAIN BUSINESS TERMS - using the latest catch phrases (technical or otherwise) may be trendy but they may also be misleading. Find out what you're talking about, and express it in simple terms. If your executives or technicians cannot follow what you are saying, you are not communicating. If they truly understand what you and your department are doing, you will have real backing and support, instead of a sign-off for the latest superficial offering.

6. Last but not least, ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE! People like to know there is a real person out there, not someone who is obscure and runs around the world answering messages by e-mail or voice mail.

OUR BRYCE'S LAW OF THE WEEK therefore is...
"If we lived in a perfect world, there would not be a need for managers; projects would be executed on time and within cost. However, the reality is, we live in an imperfect world."

"BRYCE MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS" SERVICE INTRODUCED

We've just introduced a new free service for managers to perform a self-analysis of their style of management, including leadership and corporate culture. Check it out at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bma.htm

MBA DAILY PRODUCTIVITY ANALYZER INTRODUCED

Also be sure to check out our new "MBA Daily Productivity Analyzer" which is a free calculator to evaluate a person's personal productivity during the day. It is also available at our corporate web site.

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/mbaprod.htm

IN OUR "DOWN THE ROAD" SECTION

The Society for Information Management will be holding their SIMposium 2006 on September 17-20 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas. For information, contact SIM headquarters in Chicago at 312/527-6734

Verify 2006, the International Software Test Conference, will be held October 10th-11th in Washington, DC at the Crown Plaza Hotel Crystal City. For information, call 703/725-3051.

The Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) will be holding their 2006 International Conference and Expo in San Antonio, Texas, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on October 22nd-25th. For information, contact ARMA's headquarters at 913/341-3808 or 800/422-2762 or visit their web page at https://www.arma.org/

The International Institute of Business Analysis will be holding their World Congress for Business Analysts (in conjunction with ProjectWorld 2006) on November 6th-9th at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, FL. For information, call 212/661-3500 x 3702 or visit their web site at: www.iirusa.com/baw

If you have got an upcoming IRM related event you want mentioned, please e-mail the date, time and location of the event to timb001@phmainstreet.com

NEW eBOOK: THE BRYCE IS RIGHT!

Folks, we've just released a new book on management entitled, "The Bryce is Right! Empowering Managers in today's Corporate Culture." This is a frank and candid description of the state of the art in management and includes essays on the problems in management today, along with some pragmatic advice on how to deal with them. Basically, this is a condensed course in management. As such, it is suited for managers, either those aspiring to become a manager or for those who need a refresher course. It will also be of interest to young people entering the work force, and is excellent for college curriculums.

Charles Cole of Lyndhurst, OH, said it is a "Very interesting book. Good work! It reminds me of some of the early works I read by W. Edwards Deming. Too bad the American corporate gurus of his day didn't pay him heed."

And Wolf Hager of Fort Myers, FL, says it is "A very impressive publication which requires careful reading and reminds me somewhat of Peter Drucker."

The price is just $20 plus tax. For more information on our book or to order on-line, see:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

We have also just produced a new one-day training program of the same name. For more information on both the eBook and course, please visit our web site at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/bryce1.htm

While there, look for our new MS PowerPoint presentation describing both the book and the training program.

MY "PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK" IS "REALITY MANAGEMENT"

As we all know, Reality TV shows rule the airwaves these days. What interests me lately are the shows aimed at applying basic management to our homes and pets, such as Fox's "Nanny 911," ABC's "The Supernanny," ABC's "Wife Swap," and National Geographic's "Dog Whisperer." These types of shows are getting some very good ratings. I guess our fascination with them is based on seeing what appears to be some rather simple household problems being corrected by some rather logical and commonsense management principles. We all laugh at kids running amok, a disorganized household, different lifestyles, and pets that lack discipline. The viewer watches these antics and chuckles at the ineptitude of the parents or owners. Specialists are then called in to advise the people how to bring control and harmony back into the household. Laugh as we might at these shows, they say a lot about ourselves.

I fail to see how these scenarios are much different than what is found in the workplace. For example, cluttered offices, project delays, budget overruns, and worker behavior problems are essentially no different than what is addressed by the nannies and the dog whisperer. "Wife Swap" is a thinly veiled analogy to implementing changes in the corporate culture. Whereas we laugh at the families in these TV shows over their incompetencies, we should probably take a closer look at our own offices and perhaps bring in a specialist to address the problems we are experiencing. From my perspective, its no different.

The common problems experienced in the office have not gone unobserved. For example, Scott Adams' "Dilbert" comic strip and NBC's "The Office" frequently portray the common incompetencies in offices today. The reason we laugh at them is because they hit so close to home.

Maybe we need a new TV show, such as "The Office Whisperer 911" who comes in, establishes the dominant worker, organizes the office, and sends socially dysfunctional workers to "time out." I wonder what kind of ratings this type of "Reality Management" program could get?

Such is my Pet Peeve of the Week.

FRAPPER MAP

Friends, I don't know if you've seen it yet, but we've added a Frapper map to the "Management Visions" web site. Frapper is a free mapping service offered by the folks at Rising Concepts, LLC, and allows you to plot yourself on a worldwide map. This is a great way to keep track of our listeners and I encourage you to try it out through our web page or by clicking HERE.

AND FINALLY...

I received an e-mail from a Martin Dimond in Ohio who wrote me regarding last week's Pet Peeve of the Week entitled, "Music in the Work Place"

Martin writes:

"I'm surprised, I would not have pegged you as any kind of micro-manager, which is what this is. If people are productive, what does it matter about music choice as long as no one else has to hear it? I have been listening to music at work for decades, since the first Walkman came out, so this is not an IPod thing either. My first office actually had 'white noise' to muffle sound, and when that went away and open-concept offices became the norm, I have used headphones just to maintain my own 'audio space', so other people's conversations don't interrupt and reduce my productivity."

Thanks Martin for your note,

Sounds like I hit a nerve last week. As a point of clarification, Theory X "micromanagement" deals with telling the worker what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. This means managers spend more time supervising as opposed to managing. As I have written on numerous occasions, I believe in managing from the bottom-up, which means empowering the workers and let them supervise themselves. This is more akin to Theory Y or Z.

However, the manager is responsible for creating the proper work environment. This includes influencing the corporate culture as well as the physical aspects, including music. If a manager sees no harm in allowing the use of iPods and CD players, that is his/her decision. As I mentioned in my essay, I question the validity of this decision as I have seen too many shops where workers are being distracted by such devices. Again, I believe music has value in the workplace and recognize it can have a positive impact, I just question letting everybody do their own thing.

Earlier this year I came upon an interesting study performed by Kings College in London for Hewlett Packard, the purpose of which was to study the effect of technology on worker performance. Basically, the study said that excessive use of technology can have an adverse effect on a person's brain power. Its a somewhat controversial paper but I believe they are correct.

Again, Thanks for your e-mail. Keep those cards and letters coming.

MBA is an international management consulting firm specializing in Information Resource Management. We offer training, consulting, and writing services in the areas of Enterprise Engineering, Systems Engineering, Data Base Engineering, Project Management, Methodologies and Repositories. For information, call us at 727/786-4567. For a complete listing of my essays, see the "PRIDE" Special Subject Bulletins section of our corporate web site.

Our corporate web page is at:

http://phmainstreet.com/mba/

Management Visions is a presentation of M. Bryce & Associates, a division of M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. The program is produced on a weekly basis and updated on Sundays. It is available in versions for RealPlayer, Microsoft Media Player, and MP3 suitable for Podcasting. See our web site for details. You'll find our broadcast listed in several Podcast and Internet Search engines, as well as Apples' iTunes.

If you have any questions or would like to be placed on our e-mailing list to receive notification of future broadcasts, please e-mail it to timb001@phmainstreet.com

For a copy of past broadcasts, please contact me directly.

We accept MP3 files with your voice for possible inclusion in the broadcast.

There is no charge for adding a link to "Management Visions" on your web page, for details and HTML code, see the "Management Visions" web site.

Management Visions accepts advertising. For rates, please contact yours truly directly.

Copyright © 2006 by M&JB Investment Company of Palm Harbor, Florida, USA. All rights reserved. "PRIDE" is the registered trademark of M&JB Investment Company.

This is Tim Bryce reporting.

Since 1971: "Software for the finest computer - the Mind."

END

MBA DAILY PRODUCTIVITY ANALYZER INTRODUCED

PALM HARBOR, FL, USA (September 5, 2006) - M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) is pleased to announce the availability of its new "MBA Productivity Analyzer," a free calculator for analyzing a person's productivity in the work place. The calculator is derived from a recent paper produced by MBA entitled, "How Effective Were You Today?" (published August 21, 2006) and is available either as a PDF file at:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/ss060821.pdf

Or as part of MBA's blog, "Moving IRM from an Art to a Science," see:

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/irm/archives/how-effective-were-you-today-11230

"The paper generated a groundswell of interest from the public," said Tim Bryce, Managing Director of MBA and author of the paper. "So much so, that we created a live calculator for people to use in studying their personal productivity."

The calculator is available in three forms:

1. As a Javascript calculator on a web page. (Note: Only available for use by MS Internet Explorer).

2. As an MS Excel spreadsheet.

3. As a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet.

"There is nothing magical about the analyzer," Bryce said, "It is only a simple demonstration illustrating the fact that there is more to productivity than efficiency. The analyzer begs the questions, 'Are we doing the right things?' and 'Are we doing things right?'"

People are free to use the analyzer at their own discretion. It is available at the company's web site, specifically:

http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/mbaprod.htm

Mr. Bryce is available to lecture on this subject. He can be contacted at the address below.

Notice distributed by: Tim Bryce
Managing Director
M. Bryce & Associates (MBA)
a division of M&JB Investment Company
P.O. Box 1637
Palm Harbor, FL 34682-1637
United States
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E-Mail: timb001@phmainstreet.com
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