CONTACTS 
0201 - Dep Natrl Recrs & Consrvtn         406 444 6699 fax 6721
020101 - Mr. Wayne Wetzel; Deputy Director =406 444 6722; Director's Office

SUBJECTS
DNRC, SDS Updates, June 6, 1994 (corrected on 940620)
Evaluation; Capturing the Record
Writing "everything" down, Discipline, Redundant, Lazy, Lack
Knowledge v. Information, Feel Good Management v. SDS
Feel Good Management Lets Small Problems
Overkill, SDS Detail is Not Necessary for
Fools Gold, Talking and Pictures, Fools
Accountability is Burdensom for Executives
Cost/Benefit, Fear, Faith
Time Needed Build Faith Power of Knowledge Opposed by Fear Defferred
Faith in Power of Knowledge Opposed by Fear Defferred Rewards
Foraging Garden Eden Too Much Fun Money Masks Need to Improve or Try
Discover Matters Overlooked Anger Frustration Record 1-sided Interpre
Laziness Overwhelming Tendency Bad Management Feel Good Management Fo

4016 -    ..
4017 - Summary/Objective
4018 -
401801 - Follow up ref SDS 16 0000.
401802 -
401803 - Wayne said the update fixed the problems he encountered.
401804 -
401805 - He has not heard from Sherrill McDonald, per ref SDS 17 0000.
401806 -
401807 - Wayne left the SDS disk at Mike's desk the other day.  He understands
401808 - from Walt that Mike is not using SDS.  We reviewed notes of my
401809 - discussion with Mike at ref SDS 5 0000.
401810 -
401811 - I suggested that Wayne consider asking Mike to download his records so
401812 - Wayne can see the plant status; or, he could request an evaluation
401813 - from Mike on the effectiveness of SDS relative to Mike's report on Jan
401814 - 27, 1992 at ref SDS 1 line 34.
401815 - ..
401816 - I guess Mike may be a lost cause.  If DNRC could provide some
401817 - data entry support so Mike could tape record his understandings while
401818 - traveling to the plant, then the time burden might be reduced.  This
401819 - solution is likely politically not possible.  I am willing to help
401820 - Mike get his work done, but that too is politically not possible.
401821 -
401822 -
401823 -     ..
401824 -    Grazing on Information Good Enough to Get By, Laziness
401825 -    Lazy Intelligence Convert Information into Knowledge Not Needed
401826 -    Getting By on Information Not Enough Time for Adding Intelligence
401827 -
401828 -    Wayne says there is a tendancy to avoid using SDS for good
401829 -    management when things are going well, because it seems redundant.
401830 -    Why write things up if there is no evident problem.  When there is
401831 -    a problem, it seems like there is not enough time to write things
401832 -    up, because the time should be devoted to expediting problem
401833 -    handling, not writing about it.
401834 -
401835 -         [On 010908 overwhlming tendency to use bad management driven
401836 -         by laziness. ref SDS 35 YF5O
401837 -    ..
401838 -    Wayne feels people are lazy, doing just enough to get by with
401839 -    wits, charm and style, relying on remembering the gist of things,
401840 -    rather than using SDS to rely on the actual record.  This aligns
401841 -    with review on 950508 showing resistance to improving management.
401842 -    ref SDS 7 1926
401843 -
401844 -         [On 990625 CEOs fail because they don't feel like using good
401845 -         management. ref SDS 33 4914
401846 -
401847 -    Without strong leadership, when people complete a call, a meeting
401848 -    or a letter, they want to do the next task, call, email or meeting
401849 -    by relying on remembing the gist of things, i.e., what pops into
401850 -    the mind at the moment, instead of organizing the record, creating
401851 -    alignment, analysis and summary essential for effective
401852 -    "intelligence," ref OF 1 0367, that debugs the last task,
401853 -    ref OF 1 1108, to be prepared for doing the next task, per the
401854 -    Welch Management Cycle. ref OF 1 6649
401855 -
401856 -         [On 960103 Dave Vannier reported executives rely on summary
401857 -         and style because there is not enough time to understand
401858 -         content. ref SDS 26 8409
401859 -
401860 -         [On 950327 defined Communication Metrics, ref SDS 23 0001,
401861 -         that makes it fast and easy to be prepared using SDS.
401862 -         ref SDS 23 8822
401863 -
401864 -         [On 990525 Morris gave a similar explanation why engineers
401865 -         can't be helped by Communication Metrics. ref SDS 30 0966]
401866 -
401867 -    "Laziness" derives from lack of faith in the power of investing
401868 -    time to generate intelligence, because the reward is deferred to
401869 -    the future.  Investing in deferred rewards takes faith, like in
401870 -    farming, reviewed on 950426. ref SDS 25 4404
401871 -
401872 -         [On 950202 knowledge that "knowledge" is tenuous drives effort
401873 -         to capture record and add intelligence. ref SDS 21 0550]
401874 -
401875 -         [On 990625 CEOs failing because they are not investing time to
401876 -         generate "intelligence." ref SDS 33 4914]
401877 -
401878 -         [On 990817 managers need commitment to improve management in
401879 -         order to use tools that improve management. ref SDS 34 5837]
401880 -
401881 -         ..
401882 -        Discover Correct Small Errors to Avoid Big Problems Later
401883 -
401884 -        This is part of the "discipline" or "diligence" issue raised by
401885 -        Mark at Lillick and Charles o 940107, ref SDS 6 8804; also by
401886 -        Jeff Ghilardi on 941201, ref SDS 20 0777.  It is also part of
401887 -        the cost/benefit equation discussed at the Cal Tech seminar on
401888 -        921021. ref SDS 3 1661
401889 -
401890 -        "Murphy's Law" results from aversion to front-end investment
401891 -        for adding intelligence that converts information into
401892 -        knowledge.  Without discovery through deliberative analysis,
401893 -        small errors in understanding escalate into problems, crisis,
401894 -        conflict and calamity, see analysis of PMI meeting on 941026,
401895 -        ref SDS 19 6925, and POIMS. ref OF 1 1298
401896 -        ..
401897 -        Therefore, it is essential to write things up, when there
401898 -        is no problem in order to discover and correct small errors
401899 -        that will otherwise escalate into problems, absent correction,
401900 -        as noted by Aristotle, see NWO. ref OF 2 4564
401901 -
401902 -           [On 970818 Max Wideman describes the issue of "discipline"
401903 -           in relation to "crisis management." ref SDS 27 1897
401904 -
401905 -           [On 980307 reviewed Andy Grove's book "Only the Paranoid
401906 -           Survive" says managers need diligence to take notes in order to
401907 -           understand daily details. ref SDS 28 3101
401908 -
401909 -           [On 990625 article says CEOs fail to execute because they
401910 -           fail to write up the record. ref SDS 33 4914
401911 -
401912 -           [On 990505 airport executive said "attitudes" have to change
401913 -           in order to improve communication. ref SDS 29 4732
401914 -
401915 -           [On 990527 Morris cited strong cultural forces that prevent
401916 -           using Communication Metrics. ref SDS 31 1233
401917 -
401918 -
401919 -
401920 -     ..
401921 -    Managers Need Faith in Power of Intellectual Capital
401922 -
401923 -    Reluctance to use SDS shows lack of awareness, i.e., ignorance,
401924 -    that information is not knoweldge, and that converting information
401925 -    into knowledge (explained in the POIMS paper, ref OF 1 2300) yields
401926 -    power and other things people want, as discussed at the Cal Tech
401927 -    seminar on 921021. ref SDS 3 7486
401928 -
401929 -    Wayne's explanation that people want to take immediate action to
401930 -    fix problems, because there isn't enough time to write about the
401931 -    problem, ref SDS 0 0550, overlooks distinction between information
401932 -    and knowledge.  Literacy is a process that discloses correlations,
401933 -    implications and nuance of context essential to guide effective
401934 -    action.  Lack of understanding, i.e., knowledge, about the scope of
401935 -    problems results in continual bumbling, where spontaneous action
401936 -    that feels good in the moment puts dynamics into play that escalate
401937 -    problems to crisis, conflict and calamity over weeks, months and
401938 -    years.
401939 -
401940 -        [On 990615 submitted proposal to NSF and cited building "faith"
401941 -        as goal of project. ref SDS 32 2808]
401942 -    ..
401943 -    Absent awareness, belief and faith in Communication Metrics
401944 -    (see Covey reviewed on 921205 ref SDS 4 8493), people believe they
401945 -    have the knowledge needed to succeed when they leave a meeting.
401946 -    But, their knowledge soon fades (see 950204, ref SDS 21 0550)
401947 -    because there are no links between new information, related sources
401948 -    and history, i.e., experience, as reviewed on 950417, ref SDS 24
401949 -    6821 and ref SDS 22 8593  They wind up with information and
401950 -    impressions, but no knowledge.  Henry Kissinger calls this "Alice
401951 -    in Wonderland" management in the record on 940609. ref SDS 13 4238
401952 -
401953 -
401954 -     ..
401955 -    Eternal Vigilegence Does Not Feel Good
401956 -
401957 -    Great nations forget history and repeat past mistakes at great
401958 -    cost.  New generations lack perspective (i.e., respect for the
401959 -    past) because they lack the experience of their forebears, ref SDS
401960 -    24 line 97.  Since knowedge (links between cause and effect and
401961 -    objectives) is fundamentally derived from experience.  People who
401962 -    do things and are impacted have "knowledge."  Those who are told
401963 -    things, have "information." People are not inherently lazy, but
401964 -    rather act on things that seem to achieve desirable results.  The
401965 -    relationships and implications of human conduct can be complex like
401966 -    organic compounds.  Without experience, it is difficult to see that
401967 -    apparent simple solutions, won't work.
401968 -
401969 -       [Yet attractiveness of simple solutions are overwhelming, as
401970 -       seen in subsequent discussions with Mike Near at PG&E ref SDS 18
401971 -       7404; see also analysis of Robert MacNamera's book at ref SDS 24
401972 -       8840.]
401973 -          ..
401974 -       Emotional stamina to be continually alert to difficulties
401975 -       and fixing them before they become major problems is discussed
401976 -       at ref SDS 2 5903.
401977 -
401978 -
401979 -     ..
401980 -    Feel Good Management Intoxicating
401981 -
401982 -    Often those who can see the future and are willing to act, are
401983 -    politically barred, because others feel uncomfortable.  Doubtless
401984 -    when the Pied Piper blew his horn, there were some who urged taking
401985 -    a different path, but they were overwhelmed by those rushing to
401986 -    follow the sweet sound of the Piper's horn.  The nexus between
401987 -    "feel good" management and ignorance is intoxicating.  Religion is
401988 -    powerful because it offers an alternate vision about feeling good
401989 -    that solves the problem of ignorance by forcing a baseline of
401990 -    conduct that has a good chance of success, regardless of whether
401991 -    anyone knows why or feels good about it.  They feel good about
401992 -    doing "God's will" rather than having to figure out what to do (see
401993 -    also ref SDS 4 line 270 on power of religious faith).
401994 -
401995 -  ..
401996 -
401997 -    The advantage of financial interest earned on a savings account at
401998 -    a bank, is that it returns immediate incremental rewards for
401999 -    investing, and thereby encourages people to do something that will
402000 -    bring larger long term rewards, like building a railroad, a dam, or
402001 -    a new factory.  Without interest, there would be much less
402002 -    investment, for the same reason people are reluctant to invest in
402003 -    their own knowledge and ideas, through SDS. Results that are
402004 -    delayed, seem disconnected from causal factors days, weeks, years
402005 -    earlier. [See also analysis of "delayed reinforcement" and value of
402006 -    religion at ref SDS 4 line 227.]
402007 -
402008 -    The answer is to make "doing" the work part of "reporting" and
402009 -    "planning" so these historically separate functions, are intercon-
402010 -    nected.  Doing one does much of the other.  Using SDS linking and
402011 -    citations also encourages "reporting" because in order to link, you
402012 -    need the stuff out there.  When we begin going back and finding out
402013 -    our momentary recollection is different from what actually happen-
402014 -    ed, this further encourages creating the record, so we are able to
402015 -    get back more correct information.  To get a reward, we must
402016 -    invest.
402017 -
402018 - ..
402019 - Told Wayne I will send an updated version of NWO paper, to get
402020 - his reaction to edits on the attractiveness of pictures and dialog
402021 - relative to writing.
402022 -
402023 -
402024 -
4021 -