Free Cool Down by Steve Prentice
Authors: Steve Prentice
agendas beforehand, and to allow time for follow-up? Yes. Both a right and an obligation. We must push through the dust cloud that the culture of speed has thrown up and recognize that far from being luxuries, these techniques represent a realistic follow-through and prioritization of the workload. When we donât cool down and prepare for meetings, they run longer and are less focused, resulting in reduced productivity and greater overall expenseâjust as it is with so many areas of life.
Though this chapter has used meetings and email as primary illustrations of the Silo Effect, the concept goes far beyond just these at-work scenarios It applies to the way we plan projects, the way we do homework, and the way we make purchases. It impacts greatly the life of professional relationships, such as between a manager and her employee, or a supplier and a client. There is a great temptation, for example, to hide behind email during situations of conflict, discomfort, or when we are just pressed for time, and to leave voice mails when a discussion would be more appropriate. Ultimately such shortcuts diminish the skills of clear communication that professionals of all stripes need to draw upon if they are to keep up.
KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
⢠Michael Eisner identified how technology is starting to erode the ability to understand human contact.
⢠The Silo Factor happens as a result of speed and results in significant intellectual isolation.
⢠Information Overload can lead to infomania , which results in lost productivity.
⢠We have a professional obligation to slow down and weigh the cost of immediate response against its benefits.
⢠The cost must be viewed in terms of all client relationships, not just specific ones.
⢠The need to stay in the loop is another human obsession based on a fear of being left out or of losing out.
⢠Presenteeism refers to people who expect to be able to work even though they are fatigued, ill, overstressed, or distracted.
⢠Intellectual isolation refers to the danger of ignoring or losing the sentient components of human communication, such as body language and speech rhythms. Teleconferences and videoconferences are somewhat less efficient for this reason.
⢠Pickpockets can teach us the value of not falling into reactive mode and being proactive whenever possible.
⢠The Tachometer represents the idea that peopleâs mental state of energy and alertness is not always where we think it will be. If we had actual tachometers on our foreheads to measure our effectiveness, our awareness of the cost of speed and the value of slow would be much easier to accept.
⢠Meetings are a day-to-day example where speed and event-to-event thinking diminish the productivity of the meeting itself.
HOW TO COOL DOWN : THE SILO EFFECT
Putting Email Aside
Though email is an essential tool of business, it comes with a false illusion of priority.
⢠How possible might it be for you to close down your email for an hour? Or two? Or two separate hours in the day?
⢠What benefits in productivity might this deliver to you?
⢠What dangers might this pose?
⢠What might the reaction be from colleagues?
⢠What might the reaction be from your clients or customers?
⢠What might the reaction be from your boss?
⢠How might you sell this idea to these different types of people?
Responding to Email After Hours
⢠Have you felt the need to respond to a client after hours?
⢠Have you ever stopped to consider the deeper implications of doing this? What message do you think it sends to the client?
⢠Have you ever asked your clients about the perception it gives them of you?
Consider the types of communications you send by email each day. How many of them might have come to a quicker resolution if a phone conversation had been arranged instead?
Staying in the Loop
⢠A wireless PDA can actually be turned off.
Though this chapter has used meetings and email as primary illustrations of the Silo Effect, the concept goes far beyond just these at-work scenarios It applies to the way we plan projects, the way we do homework, and the way we make purchases. It impacts greatly the life of professional relationships, such as between a manager and her employee, or a supplier and a client. There is a great temptation, for example, to hide behind email during situations of conflict, discomfort, or when we are just pressed for time, and to leave voice mails when a discussion would be more appropriate. Ultimately such shortcuts diminish the skills of clear communication that professionals of all stripes need to draw upon if they are to keep up.
KEY POINTS TO TAKE AWAY
⢠Michael Eisner identified how technology is starting to erode the ability to understand human contact.
⢠The Silo Factor happens as a result of speed and results in significant intellectual isolation.
⢠Information Overload can lead to infomania , which results in lost productivity.
⢠We have a professional obligation to slow down and weigh the cost of immediate response against its benefits.
⢠The cost must be viewed in terms of all client relationships, not just specific ones.
⢠The need to stay in the loop is another human obsession based on a fear of being left out or of losing out.
⢠Presenteeism refers to people who expect to be able to work even though they are fatigued, ill, overstressed, or distracted.
⢠Intellectual isolation refers to the danger of ignoring or losing the sentient components of human communication, such as body language and speech rhythms. Teleconferences and videoconferences are somewhat less efficient for this reason.
⢠Pickpockets can teach us the value of not falling into reactive mode and being proactive whenever possible.
⢠The Tachometer represents the idea that peopleâs mental state of energy and alertness is not always where we think it will be. If we had actual tachometers on our foreheads to measure our effectiveness, our awareness of the cost of speed and the value of slow would be much easier to accept.
⢠Meetings are a day-to-day example where speed and event-to-event thinking diminish the productivity of the meeting itself.
HOW TO COOL DOWN : THE SILO EFFECT
Putting Email Aside
Though email is an essential tool of business, it comes with a false illusion of priority.
⢠How possible might it be for you to close down your email for an hour? Or two? Or two separate hours in the day?
⢠What benefits in productivity might this deliver to you?
⢠What dangers might this pose?
⢠What might the reaction be from colleagues?
⢠What might the reaction be from your clients or customers?
⢠What might the reaction be from your boss?
⢠How might you sell this idea to these different types of people?
Responding to Email After Hours
⢠Have you felt the need to respond to a client after hours?
⢠Have you ever stopped to consider the deeper implications of doing this? What message do you think it sends to the client?
⢠Have you ever asked your clients about the perception it gives them of you?
Consider the types of communications you send by email each day. How many of them might have come to a quicker resolution if a phone conversation had been arranged instead?
Staying in the Loop
⢠A wireless PDA can actually be turned off.
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