Category Archives: Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Communication Maturity

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The maturity theme continues.

Todays focus is on humans most critical skill.  Whether living your life to the fullest, striving to be best or just seeking basic satisfaction, communication underlies everything you do.

Communication is simply the providing or recieving of information.  There are a multitude of ways to exchange information (i.e., communicate).  My blog, of course, is an outstanding example of this.

Of course once sent or recieved the information must be processed, always the tricky part.  Whether in an  individual or organizational context, the processing (which includes filtering) is most impacted by both parties maturity levels.

What is Communication Maturity.

One person tells a story to another.  They understand the information they have shared and check with the reciever “Got that”, “Yup” is the affirmative response.

Oh if it were really so simple.  In this example the receiver certainly got information, that was confirmed, but was it what the sender intended.?  Who knows?

Interpretation of information can be influenced by your personal filters, bias and most of all experience.  Maturity is all about experience and when applied as objectively as possible to information exchanges it can increase the likelihood of consensus understanding.

Consensus does not mean agreement rather common understanding.  For mature dialogue that is the goal.  A key attribute of successful  exchanges is understanding not agreement. This is the ultimate goal.

It is far more important that all parties view the base information the same way even if they don’t agree.  Without exception this leads to better outcomes.

Developing conversational maturity takes time (you need experience afterall) but it also take focus and effort. Experience is of little value if not applied.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Define, communicate, practice

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In the 1980’s the Software Engineering  Institute of the Carnegie Melon University formed and partnered with the US Department of Defence (DoD) to develop a model that could be used to assess how likely a software development contractor was to deliver a quality on time product.

Software development at the time was notorious for being late, over budget and not satisfying all the requirements.  The DoD was eager to find a tool that would help them select vendors that could deliver.

Price matters, but a product that works  can trump price when the result of defects and failure can be catastrophic. (e.g., the software in a jet fighter).

Capability Maturity Model Integrated

The current version of the original model is called the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI).  The model comes in three flavours now and can be used to assess organizational maturity on a scale of 1 (chaos) to 5 (highly capable, consistent and sustainable).

The key feature of this methodology is the requirement to define, communicate and practice.  With consideration to continuos improvement, reviewing and updating ongoing is a critical aspect.

Does it Work

I have had the good fortune to be exposed to the model on a number of occassions in different ways.  I have implemented the processes from definition to practice as well as observed the outcomes from organizations operating  at both high and low maturity levels.

In every case,  with successful implementation and certification as a level 3 maturity or better, I have observed significant  material improvements. (For lower maturity organizations it’s never clear what the outcome will be.)

Three key benchmarks in software or product development projects (on time, on budget, on scope) typically change from being achieved less than 40% of the time before CMMI is implemented to over 80% after.

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Maturity

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The concept of maturity is about behaviour.  In essence, the greater ability to respond to the environment in an appropriate manner, the higher level of maturity.

Maturity responses are generally learned/ experience based rather than instinctive or emotionally driven.   Mature behaviour is reasoned and results are usually positve.

Capability and Maturity

The ability to perform effectively (skill/capability) does not in and of itself equal maturity.  That being said, mature actions require capability to execute.

Ability is easier to measure objectively.  For example a high jumper who has the ability to jump higher than all others in a particular competition is clearly demonstrating strong ability.

If their winning high jump is followed by a dropping of shorts and waving a bare bum at the crowd in a victory salute, many might question the maturty of their behaviour.  On the other hand a slight bow and gracefull acceptance of the applause might be considered more mature.

Both these assessments of matuity level are subjective,  based on perceived acceptability of the given behaviour.

The Value of Maturity

Albeit a subjective assessment, on the whole,  mature behaviour coupled with average or better capability will generally produce better results.

The principle basis for this derives from the fact maturity is experience based (i.e., learned behaviour) and so the results are predictable.  That is based on past experience you know what to expect.

Maturity does not just apply to individual behaviour  but can be applied to a collective whole.  As a group behaves at a higher maturity level the results improve are more consistent and sustainable.

Sadly even with a wealth of experience, behavioural maturity can still be average or even low.  Maturity is gained through experience but having experience does not necessarily mean your behaviour is mature.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Structuring for Success

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Groups of  people bonded together by a common purpose require a defined organizational structure.  This applies whether it is a large corporation, charity, non-profit, government agency, to name just a few of the numerous  types of groups, right up to just a simple family.

The structure can develop organically (e.g., the parent child relationships in a family) or can be very complex requiring a lot of time and effort to develop.Outside consultants may be hired to provide guidance in the more complex cases.

Whether, organic, intuitive or intracately detailed the purpose of the structure is to guide the organization toward efficient and effective achievement of it’s purpose.

This is quite different from the individual goals and objectives that may cascade throughout the organization.  The organization structure enables seemless integration of disparate operations all focused on the overriding purpose of the organization.

Every Piece is Critical

Many years ago, I heard the story of a janitor at one of the Boeing aircraft factories whom, when asked what his work was clearly stated ” I build airplanes”.

The point is clear.  Boeing  builds airplanes and everyone who works there, regardless of their own specific role, plays a part in the companies ability to achieve their outcome.

Well crafted organization structures are a critical tool in making this happen.  Like a school of dolphins or military aircraft in close flight successfull completion of the journey requires every part to fully understand not only their role and accountabilities but all the others as well.

Everything must operate in perfect synchronization to ensure success.

So organization structure is critical, what next?

Hopefully I have set the frame in this post for how critical your structure is to your operations overall success.  In future posts I will explore key aspects to consider while developing that structure.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

I am right

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Occassionally I have participated in discussions where assumptions are presented as facts.  Even worse, those assumptions can frequently take the form of an attack.

For example, “you are not listening to me”.  In fact these statements typically represent a subjective opinion , albeit presented with factual authority.

These are the worst kind of conversation.  Rarely do they achieve anything beyond creating animosity and bad will.  Which leads to the questions like why does this happen?

Seeking Something

Logic dictates conversations, discussions and meetings have purpose.  Whether it just be a cheerful discourse to make you feel good, exchange of information, plotting actions or a myriad of other things, ultimately there is a reason.

Animosity and bad will are probably seldom the goal.  Why would anyone initiate and sustain a discussion that could lead to  sadness or disappointment.  What is the point?

Feeding the Ego

Everyone is important.  Sometimes people get the feeling you don’t understand their importance.  This is one of the triggers of these difficult conversations.

The fictional Vulcan race from the Star Trek franchise are founded in logic.  By removing emotion from the equation, like the Vulcans do,  the type of discourse I have described here does not occur.

That is, assumption based attack focused conversations require strong emotions to be present.  With emotions removed from the equation,  solely reacting logically rather than how you feel (or a combination thereof) eliminates the possibility of a bad conversational experience.

In these cases the focus is on the outcome.  The objective is far more likely to be attained.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Risk Adjusted Return

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I read an amusing article on on the weekend in which an investment advisor noted he finds many clients and even other advisors struggle with the concept of risk adjusted returns.

The greater the risk an investment might not be returned, the higher the return expectations.  Why would anyone  make a high risk investment without motivation; ( e.g., a higher return).

For Example

The article was about a typically Canadian investment vehicle, the Mortgage  Investment Corporation (MIC).  Created years ago by the Federal government to entice some alternate funding into a generally highly regulated sector (retail mortgages).

The advisor in question noted how a number of high net worth investors crowed to him each year how they were invested in a low risk high return mortgage investment corporation.

He asked these investors why the borrower took a mortgage loan from the MIC at 9% when all the major banks were offering mortgages at around 3% or less.

Do you think maybe the banks considered the loan too risky with a higher potential for loss.   That is the borrower represented a high risk investment.

In that case, the borrower took a mortgage from the MIC because they were the only ones that would take a chance on him.  And for the privilege he paid a premium (i.e., 6% above mortgage market rates).

Smarter than the Banks

It is doubtful those that invest in MIC’s have a good understanding of risk adjusted return, but these mortgage investment corporations are a great example of the principle.

Unfortunately there are far too many ill informed investors (and the MIC salesman isn’t going to tell them). It is not unusual for someone to make a large investment in an MIC only to be stunned when they can’t get their money back.

So, while these funds sell well, probably only a small number of the investors won’t be surprised if they suffer a risk event.  Sadly many are potentially in for a shock.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Hindsight

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“If I knew back then what I know now , then I could have ………”. Ah, what a sad lament.  The logic of the statement rings true.  For example if I knew shares In Apple were going to appreciate the way they have before the price began to rise.

Or that Nortel would go bankrupt.  That Bre-X was a fraud.  That Donald Trump would get elected.  The pain I could have avoided, the profit I could have made.

Lamenting the Unknown

The benefit of hindsight is fairly obvious .  There is none.  The probability that you will ever know what the future will bring with absolute certainty is nil.

Recognition that the unknown exists is key to making good decisions.  Attempting to predict the unknown and acting on those predictions can be a risky business.

A better practice is to quantify what you know and where possible what you don’t know.  In some cases of course you won’t even know what you don’t know.   Those cases cannot be quantified.

Knowledge Based Actions

Knowledge is a combination of the things you know and those you don’t know.  That is, you know of them, but don’t know the answer.  (Obviously things you don’t know of at all cannot be included)

Knowledge based decision making is  based on known information (included those with an unknown quantity but which you are aware of).  This method provides better results than hindsight or historical data.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Do it yourself

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One of the hardest task a leader faces is achieving goals and objectives while using the available resources.  Sometimes just doing it yourself can be very appealing.

Leading by example, certainly involves a “do it yourself” element but at its heart, this a  balanced technique to build empathy and set a overall cultural tone.  It is an example not actually doing it yourself.

Undertaking a task and doing it, particulary when the assigned resource is not working out, typically turns out to be unsustainable.  This can be an influencing factor behind  personal “burn out”.

Is It Worth the Effort

For a truly effective leader the ability to use all your available tools, (human, machine, or otherwise) is crucial.  It just takes common sense to realize a single person cannot achieve the results of 3000 by themselves (or even just 10).

This is not just managing resource utilization but most importantly guiding all the resources to success.  That is, after all,  a key function of leadership, creating an environment for success.  Doing it yourself can appear easier, but this is a false view.

How?

The fundamental attributes of leadership are almost exclusively focused on enabling the leader to unleash the power of others.  That is enabling others to achieve their best.

Essentially leaders perform truly a catalytic role.  You are not involved or used up by the reaction but you are instrumental in the reaction occuring at all.  Without a leader the chances for success are diminished.  The risk of failure looms.

I have posted about specific leadership attributes in the past (self awareness, confidence, empathy, vision, achievement orientation, to name a few) and I will post more specifics in the future.

Todays takeaway is an understanding of the linkage between these atrributes and not doing it yourself.  That leads to success.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Sharing Information

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When I was a child we used to play a game called broken telephone Or some called it just the telephone game.  It was an educational exercise geared to demonstrate how easily verbal communication can go off the rail.

It’s a simple exercise where a group of five or ten people whisper a word or phrase to each other down a chain.  The original information (the word or message) rarely (probably never) survives intact to the end of the chain.

The last person states what was passed to them and everyone has a good laugh.  For example start with lock and don’t be surprised to see it morph through several whispers as clock,block, rock , and finally emerge as possibly love (where did that come from).

The confusion grows with the use of phrases ,for example try ” Two tiny toads ate flat flying flies.”

The point

This exercise  clearly show how small misconceptions can end up making a huge difference.  It is  a fun way to highlight the  importance of active listening.

Most importantly though it shows just how hard it is to share information accurately.  The last person in the game thinks they are replicating the information, it was just the simple sharing of a word or phrase, after all.

Don’t be fooled

You may be positive your information share was clear, however, more often than not this is not true.  Don’t assume the meaning of your message (communication, information share) is interpreted the way you understand it.

There are many techniques associated with good and effective communications but the most important one is restating.  When you have finished communicating, ask the other party to repeat the message.  Don’t be surprised at how often this leads to the need for clarification.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

What language do you think in

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Thinking is an individual process centric to the human brain.  Basically the construction or development of a particular opinion, belief, or idea about someone or something constitutes thinking.

Artificial intelligence represents the ability to think without a human brain.  As the description of thinking is very broad, measuring if it is occurring can be a very subjective practice.

Alan Turing, British computer scientist, academic (among other things) postulated a test (the turing test) for artificial intelligence . It is however a somewhat subjective test.

Do you think in language?

Thinking is more a concept, that is thoughts are conceptual (e.g. think of sound or smell).  Language is a communication method associated with the thoughts but some  cognitive experts argue language is used more as an internal monologue tool than as a requirement for thought.

I have a number of multi-lingual friends, colleagues and family within my personal network and the simple question, “What language do you think in?” often leads to puzzlement.

Most, in fact initially everyone I asked was not sure what the question meant, hence the puzzlement.  On the whole, my conclusion is language is not required for thinking.

That being said, the ability to communicate is a key requirement for assessment  that artificial intelligence (thinking without an organic brain) exists and that thinking is occurring.

Still I wonder?

  • Can thinking exist without language, even if that is sign language
  • does a computer or device need to be able to communicate to prove the presence of intelligence
  • does thinking require the ability to comprehend and is language required to do this
  • if  I am multi-lingual and having a internal monologue, which language do I use.

And the questions continue.