Information-the Lifeblood of an Organization

by Angela Gallogly
Vice President of USA Operations, Advanced Team Concepts
http://www.atctraining.com

Picture this scenario: It’s been one of those hectic weeks at the office. People are busy, decisions are being made and changes are happening. There’s reorganization, renewed processes, and the resetting of expectations. “Buzz, buzz, buzz.” The rumors are flying and water cooler chat is at full throttle. It seems that something big is about to happen.

This is probably the time when we should be coordinating our efforts to meet the demands of a changing business climate, but instead, the place goes silent, at least in terms of information. We can still hear the “buzz”, of course. The stories and rumors are there – the sound that could mark a major decline in morale and productivity and a major increase in anxiety.

Let me tell you a little more about the “buzz” you’re hearing. It’s a bridge that our brains have built. It’s the way we humans fill in the blanks when we don’t have all of the facts or information. It’s the way we interpret reality.

Picture it this way:
___________________ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
The solid line is Information and the dashed line is Interpretation

I might take the limited information that I’ve been given and make up the rest. An example: Perhaps my manager wants me to delegate some of my weekly tasks to a team member. I might interpret that as a threat when in fact, my manager plans to assign me to an exciting new project.

Here’s a better scenario:
____________________________________________________ __ __ __ __
When we add Information, we reduce the amount of Interpretation and resulting “buzz” that takes place.

There’s an expression that’s been bouncing around my organization for years:

Information is the lifeblood of an organization.

If you want to have greater success in your work, business and life, try talking a bit more. Not by adding to the buzz, but by providing needed information. This doesn't mean that we should share everything. There will be times when information should and must remain confidential. But there are many times when we can and should provide more detail.

Here are some examples: Take the time to give complete instructions. Tell someone what your thoughts are about a project. Provide information around why changes are being made as well as what the changes are. There are many opportunities in a day to provide more and better information.

I'd love to hear some of your own examples. When has the presence or absence of information impacted your business?

The Lesson in New Year's Resolution Failures

by Scott Airitam

President, Scott Airitam's Leadership Systems, LLC

First of all, let me start out by saying that I sincerely hope that all of your new year's resolution are successfully implemented. For real.

Now, let me add that the odds are not with you. Bummer, right?

Think about past new year's resolutions. How many of them have you seen all the way through? For me, these goals represent a way of verbalizing how I want to be better in some way. There are some problems with new year's resolutions though. This is a lesson I learned years ago, and it's helped me to take on self improvement in a more a success-oriented fashion. Maybe this could help you too.

So, the problems with the old NYR...

1. They are often proclaimed without any sort of deadline.
2. They aren't specific enough.
   
3. NYRs often feel obligatory. Nobody wants to be the one in a conversation that doesn't have one.
4. We don't create a serious support system.

Each of those is a trap and the bulk of new year's resolutions fall right into one or more of them. Because of this, most of them never stand a chance from the very beginning. Without a deadline, it is easy to procrastinate or give into what's always been done instead of fighting through the discomfort of change. Unspecific goals don't describe what the "finish line" looks like. We need to know what we are working toward, right? When it feels obligatory or contrived, we don't fully own it. When we don't take it on as our own, it is easy to discard and throw away. Because most people have seen NYRs fail, they don't take them seriously anyway. So when one is proclaimed (at the same time as many other people) most let you to make the statement, but assume you are not serious about it. They do not push you through the tough times or encourage you to take that one extra step today. Instead, they leave it for you to accomplish all alone and are, usually, surprised to see a NYR completed.

So, when I am looking to improve myself, here is what I do. I really do write it down, and, I write it in the form of a SMART goal. Most people have heard of this, but for those of you who haven't, to me it means: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Framed. If I have those in place, I've covered the first two failings of NYRs and then some. I am adamant, though, about the last two of them. If it isn't relevant to where I am in my life, and doesn't seem necessary, it won't get done. I also make sure it is time-framed with a deadline and any intermediate goals I can slice up my big goal into. With it being relevant, I have covered most of the number 3 failing of NYRs, but I have to make sure I own it. In order to truly make sure it feels like my own, I never do this type of thing around New Year's Day. I don't do it then because everyone else is doing it at that same time. If I mix my serious goal setting in with many other people's throwaway goals, how will my support system know that mine is legit? I want to do this because I believe in it and want to see it done. So, I'm the guy who doesn't have a new year's resolution. But I have several improvement goals throughout each year, so I never feel bad about that. So, when I separate myself from the "everybody's doing it" timeframe, it is easier for me to generate a support system around me. When I am the only one declaring that I want to work on some aspect of me, people actually listen. Then I tell them that I want them to help me when I'm feeling weak or want to give in to old habits. People take it seriously and they do help.

There is a big difference between saying, "I want to run more to get in shape," on New Year's Day and saying, "I want to run a mile every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at lunch to improve my cardio-vascular system because I'm seeing friends/family that are having heart problems that I don't want to have," on January 24th.

At least it works for me.

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