CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
SDS, Marketing, Sales
Developing Leads
Asilomar Seminar, 900714

0505 -
0505 -    ..
0506 - Summary/Objective
0507 -
050701 - Follow up ref SDS 5 0000, ref SDS 3 0000.
050702 -
050703 - Russ cited Dan and AT&T as examples of applying the methods he
050704 - explained in the session today.  He feels Dan is open to trying new
050705 - ideas.
050706 -
050707 -
050708 -
050709 -
050710 -
050711 -
0508 -

SUBJECTS
Personnel, Training, Management,
Leadership & Change; Change & Buy In
TQM; Project Management, Methods, Procedures
Executive Training; Project Planning & Oversight, Teamwork
Meetings, Welch Management Method
Feel Good Management - Social Constraints
Facilitator Improves Meetings Without
TQM Made Practical with SDS Metrics

1910 -
191101 -  ..
191102 - Bob Gillis and Russ Archibald showed how to conduct planning meetings
191103 - in order to accelerate project completion.  This supports the
191104 - conference theme...
191105 -
191106 -
191107 -                Management Communications
191108 -                Trends, Tools, and Techniques for the 90s and Beyond
191109 -
191110 -
191111 - ...in the brochure. ref OF 5 5838 ...
191113 -  ..
191114 - Their ideas are formalized in papers provided to attendees via
191115 - ref OF 5 0000, beginning with Gillis' paper at ref OF 5 5838 ...
191116 -
191117 -                Management Communications
191118 -                Trends, Tools, and Techniques for the 90s and Beyond
191120 -  ..
191121 - The conference brochure generally presents papers on how to conduct
191122 - planning meetings with a facilitator, advantages of getting key people
191123 - together going off-site, using large scale flow diagrams for mapping
191124 - reasoning, etc., although the Gillis' paper covers some theory on how
191125 - human memory works relative to "communicating" with others (discussed
191126 - in the next record segment, ref SDS 0 7402).  Evidently remarks were
191127 - delivered on "communications", per se, according to the schedule of
191128 - speakers at ref OF 5 9277, but there is nothing in the documentation
191129 - on this.  The papers offer important ideas on how to achieve effective
191130 - communications in planning meetings.
191132 -  ..
191133 - Russ Archibald credits Bob Gillis with pioneer work on this subject.
191134 - ref OF 5 0700
191135 -
191136 -            [On 911009 used this method on Broadwater Dam. ref SDS 6
191137 -            7308
191138 -
191139 -            [On 960308 scope of service published by Dialogos offers
191140 -            similar ideas. ref SDS 16 0000
191142 -             ..
191143 -            [On 950618 called Bob about presenting his ideas for 1996
191144 -            Asilomar Conference. ref SDS 15 6883
191145 -
191147 -  ..
191148 - TQM Goals and Methods Supported by Conference Presentations
191149 -
191150 - TQM is only mentioned once in this material, ref OF 5 8222, and there
191151 - is no general explanation or citation to Deming or these methods.
191152 - However, the focus of the Conference and the papers presented is on
191153 - "team building," "planning for change," and leadership through
191154 - consensus decision making, using a facilitator, which falls within the
191155 - mantle of TQM.
191156 -
191158 -  ..
191159 - Strengths of Papers
191160 -
191161 -
191162 -       •  Directed planning is essential for complex undertakings.
191163 -
191164 -       •  Planning must be conducted at different levels and phases.
191166 -           ..
191167 -       •  Planning benefits from integrating different levels (shared
191168 -          vision, understanding, cross-fertilization), see "comparison
191169 -          with other planning methods at ref OF 5 line 500.
191170 -          ..
191171 -       •  Defining objectives, methods and terms is essential.
191172 -
191173 -       •  "Impact" methods, including a "Facilitator," developed by B.
191174 -          Gillis, ref OF 7 3449, improve the chances of effective
191175 -          planning.
191177 -  ..
191178 - Limitations of Papers
191179 -
191180 - There is not an evident presentation on:
191181 -
191182 -       •  Other forms of communications via observations, discussions,
191183 -          phone calls, documents, records management.
191185 -           ..
191186 -       •  Integrating communications at planning meetings with other
191187 -          sources, i.e. checking the record, as discussed in reviewing
191188 -          Covey's work on "emphatic listening" at ref SDS 10 5903.
191190 -           ..
191191 -       •  Implementing the results of the meeting, i.e. updating the
191192 -          record.
191194 -           ..
191195 -       •  Applying the communications ideas for planning meetings, to
191196 -          plan and carry out the follow up.
191197 -
191199 -  ..
191200 - Feel Good Management and Group Think Do Not Establish Truth
191201 -
191202 - This approach seems to rely on conversation to build the job, rather
191203 - than the record.  It therefore falls prey to the very thing it seeks
191204 - to avoid:  transitory human memory. ref SDS 0 2299  Merely because
191205 - everyone agrees that something is so, does not make it true.  Often
191206 - organizational "group think" has a negative effect of creating an
191207 - "official view of reality" that conflicts with the actual record of
191208 - events.
191210 -             ..
191211 -            [On 921021 problem analysed at Cal Tech seminar.
191212 -            ref SDS 9 5692
191214 -             ..
191215 -            [On 911123 Feel Good management defined. ref SDS 8 1331
191217 -  ..
191218 - Practices for Impact planning meetings might be strengthened by
191219 - setting out that once consensus is reached, participants will meet
191220 - later after investing time to verify agreed upon understandings by
191221 - finding support in the record.  The impression conveyed today is that
191222 - after a common understanding is acheived, it is acted upon without
191223 - verification.
191225 -  ..
191226 - I don't think this is part of the intended process though because
191227 - the "planning theater" concept implies this is a one time event.
191229 -             ..
191230 -            [On 911009 applied "planning meeting" idea. ref SDS 7 7308
191231 -
191232 -
191234 -  ..
191235 - Meetings and Communications
191236 -
191237 - Better meetings and other communictions is a goal of SDS, as set out
191238 - in POIMS. ref OF 2 V8P1
191240 -  ..
191241 - The seminar presentation today seemed to recognize the traditional
191242 - problems of hierarchy, ref OF 3 8274, and the discursive, amorphous
191243 - character of speech, ref OF 3 8555, which impedes careful analysis,
191244 - and good decisions; but seminar speakers did not offer an adequate
191245 - "communication metric," which is central to the theory of POIMS, where
191246 - participants write out their understanding of what transpired, and
191247 - connect it up to organizational objectives, history, and support
191248 - sources. ref OF 3 8208
191249 -
191250 -      ["Communication Metrics" was later considered at the Cal Tech
191251 -      seminar, ref SDS 9 7200; and evolved into the concept of
191252 -      "converting information into knowledge", in an article on the
191253 -      "Knowledge Revolution" at ref SDS 11 4757, which was then applied
191254 -      in the SDS & POIMS scope statement at ref OF 1 8551.]
191256 -       ..
191257 -      [The weakness as well as the dominance of speech, as the primary
191258 -      management medium, was later developed in the SDS & POIMS scope
191259 -      statement at ref OF 2 4079.]
191261 -       ..
191262 -      [On 950426 executive training teaches conversation skills for
191263 -      communication. ref SDS 14 4392]
191264 -
191266 -  ..
191267 - Investing Intellectual Capital
191268 -
191269 - There is a clear recognition of the need to create a "shared visual
191270 - memory" ref OF 5 9358, as a means to capture and identify (keywords,
191271 - diagrams) information and ideas that can be re-arranged to create
191272 - "understanding" and new ideas.  See also below. ref SDS 0 2299
191274 -  ..
191275 - These ideas were used during the presentation.  Large size sheets of
191276 - paper were pasted to the walls with lists of ideas presented by the
191277 - speakers, and questions raised by attendees, as a form of common
191278 - notetaking that comprised a form of "shared meaning". I asked Roger
191279 - Bush if this information would be provided as a seminar deliverable to
191280 - attendees, so that the ideas could be captured and assessed more
191281 - carefully in attendee notes.  Roger said this information would be
191282 - provided.
191283 -
191284 -    [PMI never provided this information.]
191286 -  ..
191287 - This supports the POIMS notion of investing intellectual capital, see
191288 - also SDS Theory at ref OF 2 0793, ref OF 2 1101.
191290 -  ..
191291 - The author's do not explain the scope, deliverable and disposition of
191292 - the "shared visual memory trace."  How is the "memory" applied after
191293 - the planning meeting is over?  Where is the follow up?
191294 -
191296 -  ..
191297 - Plan, Perform, Report
191298 -
191299 - Another quibble I have with this approach is that it presents an auora
191300 - of planning as a separate and special activity performed by a select
191301 - cast of characters, requiring special facilities, that produces a
191302 - "plan" which is then implemented.
191303 -
191304 -      This is really a "project" to produce a macro plan, that fosters
191305 -      in some a mind set after the planning meeting is over, that there
191306 -      is no need for more planning.
191307 -
191309 -  ..
191310 - Welch Management Method
191311 -
191312 - POIMS supports planning as an essential step of every activity
191313 - undertaken by every human being, everyday, all day long.  It is mainly
191314 - performed by automatic pilot, subconsciously relying on our experience
191315 - and view of the world, personal values, biological drives and lastly
191316 - work objectives (taken together - paradigms).  If we can each do a
191317 - little better job of doing this micro-planning, productivity will
191318 - improve.  SDS provides tools to enable everyone to "automatically"
191319 - apply many the concepts advocated by Gillis and Archibald, without
191320 - assembling special meetings and facilities.  Plus it adds the new
191321 - ingredient of integrated scheduling and reporting, that leverages
191322 - intellectual capital.
191324 -  ..
191325 - This does not mean that directed planning efforts are not needed, but
191326 - it does mean that the conclusion of such efforts do end the planning
191327 - function, but merely give guidance.  Elements of a macro plan become
191328 - the subject of detailed planning in SDS, i.e. we plan the work with
191329 - CPM, WBS and Org charts; then we work the plan with SDS.
191330 -
191331 -      Actually, Russ Archibald makes this point as well, noting this is
191332 -      a top down involvement to launch the planning process, and
191333 -      achieve some buy-in, ref OF 9 1538.  I don't think however that
191334 -      most people have the sense that their everyday lives can be
191335 -      enriched by continuing the planning process at the level of
191336 -      performing their work day-in and day-out.
191337 -
191338 -
191339 -
191340 -
1914 -

SUBJECTS
Human memory limitations and theory
Communications

2304 -
230501 -  ..
230502 - Human Memory is Transitory - Needs Help
230503 -
230504 - A principal idea advanced by Bob Gillis is the transitory nature of
230505 - memory, ref OF 5 9388, and the consequent need to develop means to
230506 - "capture" ideas, ref OF 5 9358, and also at ref OF 6 3888, which is a
230507 - central theme of POIMS technology.
230509 -  ..
230510 - These ideas are  similar to Jeremy Campbell's book....
230511 -
230512 -                       The Improbable Machine
230513 -                       Simon & Schuster, copyright 1989
230514 -
230515 -     ...analysed at ref SDS 1 0000.
230516 -
230518 -  ..
230519 - The challenge of discussion is to achieve shared "meaning",
230520 - ref OF 5 7834, which the seminar tried to accomplish per above,
230521 - ref SDS 0 2770,
230522 -
230523 -      This perspective is reflected in POIMS technology as a derivative
230524 -      of knowledge and human memory, see ref SDS 2 0702.
230526 -       ..
230527 -      [Note:  subsequent analysis of Peter Drucker's book on Management
230528 -      Responsibilities, reviewed at ref SDS 13 6150, further identifies
230529 -      the distinction between information and knowledge, though Drucker
230530 -      uses the term "communications" to mean "understanding".]
230532 -       ..
230533 -      [Subsequent review of Stephen Covey's book:
230534 -
230535 -              The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
230536 -
230537 -      ...proposes "emphatic listening" to achieve better "understand-
230538 -      ing," which is reviewed at ref SDS 10 5903.]
230539 -
230540 -
230541 -
230542 -
230543 -
2306 -