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Subject:
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Pete Hady Discussion
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THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111-2496
415 781 5700
[Submitted via Internet]
August 25, 1997 03 00050 97082502
Mr. Merrill Malvini
Account Executive
Sales Department
Unisys Corporation
Street address
South San Francisco, CA Zip
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Subject:
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Communication Metrics, call to Pete
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Report, Mar 28, 1997
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- Telecon Pete/Rod Aug 25, 1997
b. Discussion Merrill/Rod Aug 21, 1997
Dear Merrill,
Thanks again for facilitating my call to Pete, per attached notes. Please
send them along to Pete as a demonstration of one way Communication Metrics
builds and maintains shared meaning. He asked how this is done.
Sincerely,
THE WELCH COMPANY
Rod Welch
Enclosures
THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602; San Francisco, CA 94111-2496; 415 781 5700
M E M O R A N D U M
FROM: Rod Welch
August 25, 1997 03 00050 97082502a
RE: Diary Report - August 25, 1997 11:47:40 AM; Monday
SUBJ: Called Pete Hady at Unisys about Communication Metrics.
CONTACTS
0201 - Unisys Corporation 510 613 1303 fax or 800...
020101 - Mr. Merrill Malvini; Account Executive =510 613 1303
020102 - Sales Department
REFERENCES
0301 - SDS records
030101 - 960205 Received AP article on management communications from meetings
030102 - 970509 Submitted COE Communication Metrics evaluation to various peop
030103 - 970523 Received call from Merrill re Communication Metrics at Unisys.
030104 - 970702 Received call from Merrill re Communication Metrics at Unisys.
030105 - 970703 Meeting with Merrill re Communication Metrics at Unisys.
030106 - 970821 Visited with Merrill about contact with Pete Hady at Unisys.
030107 -
0302 -
0303 - <----------------- DRP * Documents Received Prior ------------------>
0304 - Dr Project Yr Mn Filename <----------- Description --------->
030401 - f: 03 00050 60 97 05 2301 Comm Metrics to Unisys
030402 - f: 04 00065 60 97 03 2801 COE Evaluation Comm Metrics
030403 -
0305 -
0306 - <----------------- DIP * Documents Issued Prior -------------------->
0307 - Dr Project Yr Mn Filename <----------- Description --------->
030701 - f: 03 00050 61 97 05 2301 COE Comm Metrics, Unisys, Merrill
030702 - f: 03 00050 61 97 08 2101 Pete Hady call, planning
030703 -
0308 -
0309 - <----------------- DIT * Documents Issued Today -------------------->
0310 - Dr Project Yr Mn Filename <----------- Description --------->
031001 - f: 03 00050 61 97 08 2502 Communication Metrics, call to Pete
031002 -
0311 -
0312 -
*** I S S U E ***
0701 - SDS Marketing, Sales
0702 - Obtain Names of Prospects, Unisys
0703 - Unisys, Sales discussions
0704 - =============================
0705 -
0706 - Summary/Objective
0707 -
070704 - Reviewed benefits of Communication Metrics. Pete recognizes the
070705 - problems Communication Metrics fixes, but is concerned about how it
070706 - works and whether this is better than sending staff to classes on
070707 - interpersonal skills. He will try to review portions of the Corps of
070708 - Engineers' report, and I will call him in a few days to follow up.
070709 -
070710 - Submitted ref DIT 1 line 30 to Merrill to advise him of these results,
070711 - and suggest he pass along the email to Pete.
070712 -
070713 -
070714 -
0708 -
0709 -
0710 - Discussion Pete Hady 215 986 7417
0711 -
071101 - I explained discussions with Merrill that he talked to Pete about the
071102 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' report on Communication Metrics, ref DRP
071103 - 2 line 108, which he originally submitted to another Unisys executive,
071104 - Max Skaare, via ref DRP 1 line 21, per ref SDS 4 line 131.
071105 -
071106 - Pete said he has still not had time to review the report. He asked
071107 - about the basic idea.
071108 -
071109 -
071110 -
071111 - Communication Metrics Helps Managers "Be Prepared"
071112 - --------------------------------------------------
071113 - I explained findings in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' report that
071114 - Communication Metrics is a new business method to apply the Boy Scouts
071115 - motto:
071116 -
071117 - Be Prepared
071118 -
071119 - .., see page 6 para 2, ref DRP 2 line 346, ref DRP 2 line 180.
071120 -
071121 - This is a challenge for scouts who become managers, executives and
071122 - commanders. The military, for example, spends a lot of time preparing
071123 - to go to war. Similarly, a football team prepares 6 days a week for
071124 - the game on Sunday. Actors and musicians spend hours, weeks and months
071125 - preparing for performances.
071126 -
071127 - Yet managers do not have enough time to prepare for their work.
071128 -
071129 - Pete agreed this is a problem.
071130 -
071131 - I noted the Associated Press report that managers waste 70% of their
071132 - day in meetings. A major cause of poor productivity is that no one is
071133 - prepared, ref SDS 1 line 117.
071134 -
071135 - Like the "Mad Hatter" in "Alice in Wonderland," nobody has time to
071136 - prepare because everybody is late for an important date.
071137
Merrill - Comment
-----------------
I believe that you must give more than an example. But rather, I
think you need to give samples of the program that people can readily
see the benefits to their organization.
071138 -
071139 -
071140 - Benefits Discussion
071141 - -------------------
071144 - I explained the benefit of Communication Metrics to empower managers
071145 - to prepare so that meetings and decisions are effective.
071146 -
071147 - It supplements traditional project management methods of cost and
071148 - schedule control, by adding controls to communications. Since
071149 - communication is a predicate to performing the work, adding "metrics"
071150 - greatly reduces the mistakes that lead to cost and schedule overruns.
071151 -
071152 - General Hatch calls Communication Metrics "business intelligence," in
071153 - the Corps of Engineers report, and says this is a missing ingredient
071154 - in the way business is conducted.
071155 -
071156 - This can have a big impact on the success of Pete's team.
071157 -
071158 - Pete said his group is struggling to implement formal cost and
071159 - schedule control. At this time their work is managed more informally.
071160 - He feels reluctant to add another control system, until they can do a
071161 - better job with cost and schedule.
Merrill - Comment
-----------------
This is probably a reasonable objection on Pete's part. It may also
indicate that the place to market this is above Pete's head.
071162 -
071163 - We considered that communication is the informal means by which all
071164 - business is conducted. Therefore, improving communication could be
071165 - more useful and also support implementation of effective cost and
071166 - schedule control, as noted in the Corps of Engineers' report.
071167 -
071168 - Pete feels his Project Managers are highly focused, and that problems
071169 - in communication arise because others need better alignment of
071170 - understandings to follow through on their commitments.
Merrill - Comment
-----------------
I felt this was a very important point in the whole discussion with
Unisys. Pete may be correct in assessing the problems in our project
management communications as being with the sales.
071171 -
071172 - I explained Communication Metrics builds and maintains shared meaning
071173 - among all participants in meetings and calls by creating business
071174 - Intelligence that organizes and analyses information to discover cause
071175 - and effect and identify actions needed to maintain progress.
071176 -
071177 - Pete asked how the technology does this?
Merrill - Comment
-----------------
I commented that there must be an answer to this question so as to
effectively SELL the product and consulting.
071178 -
071179 - I explained SDS integrates the schedule function of keeping a list
071180 - action items, and a diary that keeps track of what gets done and
071181 - it aligns with requirements. Automated linkages in the technology
071182 - emulate human thought, but avoid the slippage in human memory that
071183 - causes the work to drift off course, as explained in the Corps of
071184 - Engineers' report.
071185 -
071186 - Pete asked if this might apply to the sales side. He feels
071187 - between customer requirements and objectives, and actual contract
071188 - language which the Project Management team must implement, is a
071189 - problem.
Merrill - Comment
-----------------
Rod and I discussed this evening the type of scenarios that Pete may
have been alluding to: The clarity of the requirements from time of
sale to time of implementation. Continuing problems arise just
because the customer feels that problems occured because the record of
promises were not kept accurately.
071190 -
071191 - I explained Communication Metrics applies equally to all aspects of
071192 - business. It would be helpful for sales; however, Project Management
071193 - is a good place to start with a pilot program to evaluate its wider
071194 - application, because projects are focused on particular objectives and
071195 - requirements that are specified in contracts.
071196 -
071197 - Pete advised that he wanted to send some of his Project Managers to a
071198 - class on interpersonal skills, but this had to be cancelled due to
071199 - budget constraints. He feels he does not have budget to try a new
071200 - method of Communication Metrics.
Merrill - Comment
-----------------
This may have been a failure to understand the measure of a problem.
Pete thinks that teaching our engineers and planners a better way of
talking, questioning, probing, creating rapport with customers etc. is
what will improve our performance. Rod believes that improving
communications is measured by how well the record is kept, processed
and evaluated. Their meanings were not on the same plane, however
discussing different aspects of the same problem.
071201 -
071202 - I suggested that Pete read the Executive Summary on page 1 of the
071203 - Communication Metrics report, and look at a couple of the one page
071204 - memos in Appendix A. Pete found the Executive Summary and said he
071205 - will read it.
071206 -
071207 - I will call him in a few days about whether he would like to see a
071208 - demonstration of the technology, or possibly he might suggest the
071209 - best place in Unisys to evaluate Communication Metrics.
071210 -
071211 -
071212 -
071213 -
Distribution: See "Contacts"