One Name Archives - understand-culture

The GM Nod and the GM Salute

In 2014 General Motors recalled cars with a faulty ignition switch. Its engineers had first noted the problem in 2001. The Valukas report, released on June 5, 2014, described two habits inside the company. The “GM nod”: “everyone nods in agreement to a proposed plan of action but then leaves the room and does nothing.” The “GM salute”: “a crossing of the arms and pointing outward towards others, indicating responsibility belongs to someone else.”

CEO Mary Barra said: “No one raised the issues to the highest level of the company.” GM forced out 15 employees. At the time GM counted at least 13 deaths. Barra said: “We are better than this. But we own this problem.”

One Sponsor

In the House of Representatives, “a bill can have only one sponsor, but there is no limit on the number of cosponsors it may have.” Only the sponsor can ask to remove another member as a cosponsor. “Removing a cosponsorship requires the sponsor of the bill to make a unanimous consent request.”

Assign an Action Item

In October 2016 Google added action items to Google Docs. A user assigns one by mentioning a person in a comment. “The person you assigned the action item to will get an email.”

If meeting notes contain a line such as “Ryan to follow up on the keynote script,” Docs “will intelligently suggest an Action Item to assign to the right person.”

The Vocabulary of Volunteering

Who wants to take this? — The person running the meeting asks for one name.

I’ll take that. — The task is mine.

Put me down for that. — Write my name next to this task.

I can take a first pass. — I will produce the first version, and the others can comment on it.

Leave it with me. — You do not need to think about it again. I will handle it.

Consider it done. — I accept the task, and you can count on it.

Not a Committee

The Scrum Guide by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland gives every product one owner: “The Product Owner is one person, not a committee. The Product Owner may represent the needs of many stakeholders in the Product Backlog.”

“The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team.”

One A

A RACI chart lists, for each task, who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. It is a standard tool in the guidance of the Project Management Institute, based in Pennsylvania. Many people may do the work. “There should only be one ‘A’ for each activity.”

The A is “the person who will sign off on the work and judging its completion and how it meets quality standards.”

One Assignee

In Asana, the work-management software from San Francisco, a task can have only one assignee. The company explains why: “Having only one assignee per task ensures that there’s never a sense of ‘who’s responsible for completing this task?'”

It describes what happens otherwise: “Let’s say there were two assignees on a task, one person may think the other has the ball, and vice versa.” Other people can follow the task and be kept informed. Only one person owns it.

Whose Is It?

Who owns this? This is the first question about any task. The answer is a name.

Point person. This is the one named person who handles an issue.

Go-to person. This is the person everyone turns to for a certain kind of problem.

On the hook. A person on the hook is personally responsible for a result. If it fails, the blame is theirs.

The ball is in your court. The next move is yours, and nobody else can make it.

That’s on me. The speaker takes personal responsibility for a mistake.

Too many cooks spoil the broth. Work with too many people in charge goes badly.

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody

“You may have heard the story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.” An important job had to be done, and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry, because it was Everybody’s job. In the end, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. The story is passed around in offices, schools and churches. Its author is unknown.

Closing the Loop

Let’s close the loop on this. — Let us finish it and confirm that it is finished.

Check the box. Cross it off the list. — The task is done, and the list shows it.

What are the next steps? Who owns this? — The questions at the end of a meeting.

Let’s wrap up. Tie up loose ends. — Finish what is still open.

Get it over the finish line. — Complete it, even if the last part is hard.

One more thing off my plate. — One less open task.