I got a call from a client today about a problem with a direct report. Here’s the situation.
Situation
Bob, owner of a 25-person civil engineering firm, needs Joshua, a senior project manager, to drop what he (Joshua) is doing and call Marty at Topsoil Construction. It’s urgent—Marty has some concerns that need to be addressed right away. Topsoil is a major client, worth at least $500,000 of business each year. They also are a long-time, repeat client—an A-level client without a doubt.
Bob went by Joshua’s office at 8 a.m. today and explained the situation. Joshua said he would get on it.
At noon, Bob checked back in with Joshua, expecting to hear how the call went and that problems were resolved. Joshua said he hadn’t called yet and would get to it probably around 4 p.m.
Bob is furious. “What do I have to do to get Joshua to jump when I say ‘jump’? You know what I mean—get a sense of urgency about something.”
Insight into Joshua’s world
Joshua is a list-maker. Every morning he reviews yesterday’s list to make sure everything got done. Then he makes a to-do list for today. The items are numbered 1 through whatever. Then Joshua works his list. He does No. 1 until it’s done, and he can check it off. Then he moves to No.2, and so on.
Unfortunately, Bob didn’t get to Joshua before Joshua made today’s to-do list. So when Bob told Joshua to call Marty, Marty got added to today’s list. Marty is now No. 7 on what was a six-item list.
I joke that if the office were on fire and Bob yelled to evacuate, Joshua would keep working his list until he got to “No. 10--evacuate burning building.” The building could burn down around him—he’s only on No. 7 on his list.
Meticulous list-makers tend to be very efficient with their time until something unexpected pops up, demanding their immediate attention. Having to change their priorities and change them now throws folks like Joshua off track. They lose their concentration, and it takes them a long time to get it back. It also stresses them, because they are forced to switch gears quickly, which wasn’t part of the plan.
What can Bob and Joshua do?
Bob needs to recognize Joshua’s need to work his list. But emergencies do come up that need to move to the top of the list. Here are some ways to ease the situation.
a. Joshua can schedule planned crises time, maybe as No. 2 or 3 on his list. If no crisis comes up, he can check that off his to-do list and move to the next item. Some folks like Joshua may need to schedule “crises time” in the morning, right after lunch, and last hour of the day. That way, they will be able to adapt.
b. When a crisis comes up and Bob needs Joshua to act now, Bob needs to give Joshua perspective on why now. What’s at risk if nothing is done right this moment?
c. Bob can ask Joshua what he is working on that can be put off until later, so that Joshua can call Marty now. I have found that a lot of Joshua types often are working ahead of schedule; they are less likely than others to do things at the last minute.
d. Bob can explain how Joshua’s behavior comes across. Others may perceive Joshua as intractable, stubborn, dense, not driven, having no sense of urgency. If Joshua can become more flexible, and he can, others will credit him for his ability to respond in a crisis.
Remember: Numbers may drive the business, but people drive the numbers.® See you next week
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5 comments:
Pamela,
Great article. I am an Operations Director in an engineering company and I see this sort of thing everyday. I train our engineers to focus on their high priority tasks and to be flexible as new action items hit their desks. I also get them to focus in their areas of strength as much as possible and to bring in others to help in their areas of weakness.
David M. Taylor
www.strength-zone.com
Pam,
There are other possibilities:
1) Joshua is simply a procrastinator.
2) Bob's boss came in right after Bob, and gave Joshua and even more urgent request, which consume the remainder of Bob's day.
3) Bob had personal conflict that he thought he could work around (e.g., off-site medical appointment, training, etc.) but was outdone by Murphy's Law during the course of the day.
Jerry Kahn, P.E.
Nice... I'm also a list maker. I can't operate without them. This happens all of the time at work to me.
Good strategies for Joshua. Also, Joshua has to then tell Bob who WAS priority number one previously and inform priority number one that they were punted.
@Jerry - Bob's the owner so his boss most likely is his clients.
--George R
Everyone is being too nice. Did you the story about the blind man with a seeing eye dog that had one bad habit - not crossing the street when the light changed. People along the man's witnessed this everyday, and everyday the man would pat the dog on the head. One guy finally asked him, "Why do you pet your dog when he doesn't cross the street on time"? "I'm not petting the dog, I'm finding his head so I can kick his ass."
Joshua doesn't need help to "re-prioritize" his day; he doesn't need to ask permission to renumber his list and have his boss call his clients - he needs to get on THE BOSSES ORDERS - NOW!
Me, the boss guy, thinks Bob needs to get his "sense of urgency" back. (Full disclosure - that phrase is a too easy crutch for anybody that can't, of won't, do what needs to be done. Bob can't "drop by" and "explain this situation" and try to impart some urgency to some self-centered engineer.
Two alternative for this exchange:
1. Bob comes by, tells Joshua to grab his coat, phone and any files he needs for next few hours. WE'RE going to Topsoil's site right now. Josh- you can call or BlackBerry your clients on the way and reset his day.
2. Bob brings big cup of coffee to Josh's office with a pad, the note from Topsoil and the ALL client's phone numbers. "Josh" says Bob, "before you get into your other projects for today, WE'VE got to call Topsoil RIGHT NOW. I'm putting him speakerphone, we'll recap the problem (Bob wants to hear what's said) and set a plan. Then we'll re-organize your other projects. Punch up the speakerphone, the cell number is 678-...".
Bob is totally abdicating his role as owner, president, consultant AND mentor. You don't explain urgency - you act with urgency. In 10 minutes, the problem is getting attention, Josh has had senior guidance on handling those other pesky, but neatly ordered, clients. Bob requests updates on a time or milestone schedule during the day, then he engages in MBWA making sure everything is getting done.
A list in order without valid - and validated - priorites might as well not exist in business, especially consulting. The job is doing what MUST BE DONE, NOW, UNTIL IT IS UNDER CONTROL. Then working in the other stuff until its done. Engineering is an 8-hour day job. Project management and senior management is an unscripted exercise in firefighting - the hottest one first, until its done, up to 24 hours a day. Josh need to choose his career goal along with Bob, and Bob needs to mentor him into that job, whatever it is.
Article is very interesting !
Thanks for the Information
Regards Education Site
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