Teamwork Archives - Page 15 of 32

Hard Stop

I have a hard stop at three. — I must leave at three, and I will.

Got a sec? Do you have a minute? — May I interrupt you? The question comes before the interruption.

Let me find time. Grab 15 minutes on my calendar. — Let us book a slot. Or: book the slot yourself.

Send me an invite. — Make it a calendar entry, so that it exists.

I’m back-to-back all day. — My day has no open slot.

I blocked off the afternoon. — I reserved the time in my calendar, so that no one else can book it.

I’ll let you go. — I know your time is limited, so I am ending the conversation.

When Alan Mulally became Ford’s chief executive in 2006, the company was losing billions. He held a weekly Business Plan Review where each executive reported the status of his area by color. At first every status in every meeting was green.

Then Mark Fields showed red. He had stopped production of the Edge over a problem with the tailgate. “When I showed that first red, there was a lot of tension in the room,” Fields said. “Then Alan clapped.” Mulally said: “Great visibility, Mark. Is there anything we can do to help you?”

If You Didn’t Document It

Nursing guidelines state a rule. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services begins it with a capitalized word in its documentation guidelines: “REMEMBER, if you didn’t document it, it didn’t occur.”

A nursing textbook explains why. “Legally only actions or care documented are seen as being completed.” It adds a reminder that the note may go to court and must be readable by a jury.

Ask for One

The Federal Trade Commission’s guide for homeowners hiring a contractor gives plain advice: “Even if your state doesn’t require a written agreement, ask for one.” The contract “should be clear and concise and include the who, what, where, when, and cost of your project.”

Changes go on paper too. “A change order is a written authorization to the contractor to make a change or addition to the work.”

Past Performance

When the federal government buys goods and services, the Federal Acquisition Regulation requires that past performance “shall be evaluated in all source selections” for negotiated competitive acquisitions above a set threshold, unless the contracting officer documents why it is not appropriate. A contractor’s record on earlier contracts becomes part of the score.

A newcomer is treated neutrally. In the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance, the offeror “may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance.”

The Noogler Hat

New employees at Google are called Nooglers. Each one wore a propeller hat when joining the company. In the early days the founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin introduced every new employee personally.

Doug Edwards, an early employee who suggested the hat, explained its purpose. Sergey wanted new people to be “easily identified” after the introduction, “and current Googlers could make them feel welcome.” The Computer History Museum keeps one in its collection.

Minnesota Nice

In 2012 Minnesota Public Radio ran a story on newcomers to the Twin Cities under the headline “Newcomers say it’s ‘nice,’ but not warm.” Todd Klingel, president of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, passed on a newcomer’s line: “Minnesotans are friendly. They just don’t want any more friends.”

Ken Charles, a vice president at General Mills, put it in working hours. “That gets you the 9 to 5,” he said. “The harder part is the 5 to 9.”

Natural, Frank and Open

In the chapter of Democracy in America titled “How Democracy Renders the Habitual Intercourse of the Americans Simple and Easy,” Alexis de Tocqueville describes Americans who meet by chance. “If they meet by accident, they neither seek nor avoid intercourse; their manner is therefore natural, frank, and open.”

In the same chapter he notes that Americans who meet abroad become friendly at once, for the simple reason that they are both American.

Swift Trust

In 1996 the organizational scholars Debra Meyerson, Karl Weick and Roderick Kramer described what they called swift trust. A later commentator notes that their main example is the film production crew. Strangers meet, take up their roles and start work at once, with no time to get to know each other.

The chapter describes contexts in which “swift judgments of trust are mandatory.” Such temporary systems “act as if trust were present, but their histories seem to preclude its development.” The theory describes the sequence. The team assumes trust first and checks and adjusts it later.

Topics for Small Talk

JobTIPS, an online guide to job skills, tells readers that “Small talk is a normal and expected thing that happens in almost every work environment.” Good topics include what you did over the weekend and television shows, movies or music.

Topics to avoid include politics, religion, salary, personal financial problems, personal questions about relationships and personal health issues.