CONTACTS 
0201 - Wideman, R. Max                                                                                                                                                    O-00000665 0101
020101 - Mr. R. Max Wideman

SUBJECTS
Ambassadors for Change, PMI, Wideman, Max
Keesling Evaluation
Documents Change to Automated Knowledge
Alphabet Primary Knowledge Tool Improved by
Failure to Communicate Analogy
Information Data Not Knowledge, Wisdom, Vision
Documentation Bureaucratic Accountability, Different from Intelligenc

1209 -
1209 -    ..
1210 - Summary/Objective
1211 -
121101 - Follow up ref SDS 25 0000, ref SDS 23 0000.
121102 -
121103 - Max submits notes from a discussion with Tom Keesling.  Tom indicated
121104 - Communication Metrics to "document" the design phase of a project
121105 - would add value to using it for construction.  Work is needed to help
121106 - supporters of Communication Metrics distinguish it from documentation,
121107 - by using "business intelligence" and "knowledge space."  Tom noted a
121108 - specialist is needed for Communication Metrics because, like other
121109 - professions, it is labor intensive.  Work is needed to help supporters
121110 - of Communication Metrics cite technological breakthroughs that make a
121111 - new management science possible, practical and essential. Max relates
121112 - Tom's point that aversion to accountability requires leadership to
121113 - support Communication Metrics in order to makes leadership effective.
121114 -
121115 -      [Submitted response to Max at ref SDS 29 0001.]
121116 -
121117 -
121119 -  ..
1212 -
1213 -
1214 - Progress
1215 -
121501 - Received ref DRT 1 0000 from Max responding to my letter ref DIP 2
121502 - 0000 that reviewed Max's letter, ref DRP 1 0000, received at ref SDS
121503 - 25 0000.
121505 -  ..
121506 - Max reports a discussion with Tom Keesling about Communication
121507 - Metrics, per ref SDS 21 4483 and our telecon on 970818, ref SDS 22
121508 - 2277, and the idea at ref SDS 21 4483.
121510 -  ..
121511 - Max found Tom's remarks illuminating, ref DRT 1 9774.
121512 -        ..
121513 -     Max does not indicate whether Tom's description of
121514 -     Communication Metrics reflects or is conflicting with the
121515 -     District's report.
121516 -
121518 -  ..
121519 - Communication Metrics Used In Design Phase Adds More Value
121520 -
121521 - Max reports Tom feels Communication Metrics should be started from the
121522 - beginning of a project, particularly to document design decisions and
121523 - the reasons therefore. ref DRT 1 4077
121525 -      ..
121526 -     Intelligence, Knowledge Space are Different from Documentation
121527 -
121528 -     Communication Metrics is not intended to "document" the work.
121529 -
121530 -     Communication Metrics improves management by adding "intelligence"
121531 -     to information. ref OF 1 0582
121533 -      ..
121534 -     This replaces the use of "documents" with a new paradigm of...
121535 -
121536 -
121537 -                            Knowledge Space
121538 -
121539 -
121540 -        ..., ref OF 2 4212, developed on 960620, ref SDS 11 3516, for
121541 -        the paper Dave Bounchristiani was to deliver to PMI's Asilomar
121542 -        Conference in 1996.
121543 -        ..
121544 -        Paradigm shift is discussed below. ref SDS 0 0140
121546 -      ..
121547 -     Adding 10 or 100 engineers, or MBAs, to "document" design and
121548 -     other processes would not be Communication Metrics nor would it
121549 -     add value to management.  It would only add congestion and noise
121550 -     that increases errors from "guess and gossip."  We have enough
121551 -     documents.  We need more intelligence to generate useful
121552 -     knowledge.
121554 -      ..
121555 -     The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that Communication Metrics
121556 -     is more useful than traditional "documentation."  It adds value to
121557 -     people, ref DRP 2 4502, that improves productivity by adding
121558 -     "intelligence" (ref OF 1 0582) to information.  This provides...
121559 -
121560 -       •  Metrics to align understandings with objectives, ref DRP 2
121561 -          0539, ref DRP 2 3156; and ref OF 1 0582.
121562 -
121563 -       •  <PD73 Organize, analyse and position information from
121564 -          communication in documents and dialog in a new structure
121565 -          called "Knowledge Space" (ref OF 2 4926) that connects
121566 -          summary to detail and tracks controllable action items linked
121567 -          to original sources. ref OF 3 0582
121568 -
121569 -       •  Automated integration of the mental process that relates time
121570 -          and information, per the PMBOK (initiate, plan, execute,
121571 -          control, close, ref SDS 7 4012), ISO 10006 (Conception,
121572 -          Development, realization and termination, ref SDS 7 4032), by
121573 -          Deming (plan, do, study, act, ref OF 1 0336), and Welch
121574 -          (plan, perform, report, ref OF 1 6649) -- yield the power of
121575 -          the Microcosm, per George Gilder. ref SDS 7 3291
121576 -
121578 -      ..
121579 -     Consistent Use of Good Management Improves Results
121580 -
121581 -     It is hard to remember how to differentiate Communication Metrics
121582 -     from "documentation," per above, because that term is ingrained in
121583 -     our culture.  In sum,
121584 -
121585 -         Communication Metrics uses technology to apply good management
121586 -         practice consistently.
121587 -
121588 -     "Documentation" and adding more people cause congestion and
121589 -     complexity through "guess and gossip" leading to Murphy's Law.
121590 -     Human biology makes it difficult to implement management practices
121591 -     "consistently" because it is too psychologically demanding.
121592 -     ..
121593 -     Communication Metrics solves this when supported by
121594 -     leadership.
121596 -      ..
121597 -     Obviously, consistent use of good management practices cited in
121598 -     the PMBOK, etc., for the design phase will produce better results
121599 -     than if applied only for construction, or closeout, including
121600 -     claims support.  So, wider use of Communication Metrics should
121601 -     produce better results, as Tom suggested, ref DRT 1 line 46.
121603 -      ..
121604 -     It also follows that adopting Communication Metrics to implement
121605 -     good management practice consistently at any time will improve
121606 -     results, including construction and/or claims support, even if
121607 -     good practice was not used during design.
121608 -
121610 -      ..
121611 -     Alphabet Improved by Integrating Time and Information
121612 -     Improving Communications Improves Management and Earnings
121613 -
121614 -     Increasing benefits of Communication Metrics by use throughout the
121615 -     project life cycle, including design, ref DRT 1 4077, reflects the
121616 -     key role of communications in management. In the same way that the
121617 -     alphabet helps sales, execution and operations, Communication
121618 -     Metrics, which, by integrating time and information, is an order
121619 -     of magnitude advance on power of the alphabet to create knowledge,
121620 -     should help all managers in every setting.
121622 -      ..
121623 -     Review on 970525 of articles in PM Network shows communication is
121624 -     the primary cause of poor management and the biggest factor in
121625 -     project success, ref SDS 18 8888.  Since communication is the
121626 -     primary task of management, doing it better improves every phase
121627 -     of managing the work.  Better management yields better results.
121628 -     ..
121629 -     Tom's point on wider application of Communication Metrics is
121630 -     under consideration at Unisys Corporation.  The Sales Department
121631 -     wants Project Managers to align performance of the work with
121632 -     contracts developed by Sales. ref SDS 17 7592  The Director of
121633 -     Project Management says project managers are good communicators
121634 -     and are intelligent, but the Sales Department needs to align
121635 -     customer requirements and the contracts which Project Management
121636 -     must implement. ref SDS 26 4774  Something is needed in every
121637 -     organization to synthesize these diverse perspectives.  In
121638 -     simplest terms it is "communication."
121640 -      ..
121641 -     But, too often there is a...
121642 -
121644 -  ..
121645 -
121646 -                       Failure to Communicate
121647 -
121648 -
121649 -     ..., per ref SDS 8 0451, and ref SDS 6 line 141, because there is
121650 -     a failure to realize that communication is more than leadership,
121651 -     i.e., giving an order, convincing people to act, getting and
121652 -     sending information.  Communication also requires understanding
121653 -     and follow up, and in the modern environment of the Information
121654 -     Highway, this is the hardest part because increasing the amount of
121655 -     dialog and documents merely produces "noise" that causes
121656 -     misunderstanding, absent a system of "metrics" that create and
121657 -     maintain the connections that comprise understanding in the human
121658 -     mind.  People don't realize that understanding slips away. Even
121659 -     where it seems to have been established, later it is gone because
121660 -     truth is a moving target on the Information Highway without
121661 -     metrics.  Therefore, Communication Metrics support for design will
121662 -     greatly improve that process and also dependent processes,
121663 -     including construction, closeout and operations.
121664 -
121665 -
121666 -
121667 -
1217 -

SUBJECTS
Describe SDS in 25 words
Intellectual Bridges From Known to New
Paradigm Shifts
Cultural Resistance to New Methods
Expediting Slippery Slope to Murphy's Law

2007 -
200801 -  ..
200802 - Introducing a New System of Knowledge Requires Using New Language
200803 -
200804 - How can we help people see advantages and differences of Communication
200805 - Metrics relative to traditional "documentation" and other management
200806 - methods, as explained above? ref SDS 0 4775
200807 -
200808 -      [On 980405 this was discussed again for Web site. ref SDS 36
200809 -      5065]
200811 -  ..
200812 - Introducing a new system of knowledge requires getting people to think
200813 - differently.  This means changing the language of management.  How can
200814 - we "reengineer" management to meet the challenge of a faster paced
200815 - world in the 21st century?
200817 -  ..
200818 - We need to discuss Communication Metrics by using intellectual
200819 - (mental) bridges from the familiar to the new.
200820 -
200821 -      [On 991108 changing from orality to literacy using writing
200822 -      entailed a similar paradigm shift. ref SDS 38 4788]
200824 -  ..
200825 - For Communication Metrics, we need language that reflects the paradigm
200826 - shift from "documents" and filing cabinets to "Intelligence" and
200827 - "Knowledge Space," discussed above. ref SDS 0 4775  It is hard in the
200828 - beginning to avoid, but using "documentation" to explain Communication
200829 - Metrics is incorrect because people are buried in documents,
200830 - ref SDS 27 line 229. Documents are dull and uninviting to executives
200831 - who do not have time to "document," and who associate it with
200832 - bureaucracy and conflict, lawyers and formalities, as set out in the
200833 - POIMS paper, ref OF 1 line 265.
200834 - ..
200835 - Familiar goals of executives are to "expedite" and avoid
200836 - problems.
200838 -  ..
200839 - They feel that "expediting" reduces costs and improves earnings.
200841 -  ..
200842 - However, "expediting" conflicts with the rule "Haste makes waste!"
200843 - cited in the Corps of Engineers' report, ref DRP 2 line 127, because
200844 - as, Peter Drucker points out, that as the pace of communication and
200845 - information increase, the business environment is becoming more
200846 - complex, and this new reality is challenge managers must prepare to
200847 - meet. ref SDS 5 1855
200849 -  ..
200850 - Therefore, familiar goals of executives to "expedite" cannot be
200851 - accomplished using conventional management practice of relying solely
200852 - on conversation to get things done, ("guesss and gossip"), because
200853 - there isn't enough time on the Information Highway to convert a
200854 - constant stream of information into useful knowledge, per example on
200855 - 970110, ref SDS 15 3351.
200856 -
200857 -      [On 970910 PMI presentation reported executives do not have
200858 -      enough time to think. ref SDS 30 3479]
200859 - ..
200860 - Communication Metrics is a Risk Management method that expedites
200861 - the work and avoids mistakes by using technology to improve both the
200862 - speed and accuracy of daily work.  Nothing else can do this.
200864 -  ..
200865 - Where is language that explains Communication Metrics?
200867 -  ..
200868 - The report issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says:
200869 -
200870 -    "We have described [Communication Metrics] as a new form of
200871 -    'documentation' because that term is familiar to commanders and
200872 -    executives who use information." ref DRP 2 line 185; and,
200873 -
200874 -    "Communication Metrics could be described as 'extensive
200875 -    documentation.'" ref DRP 2 line 583.
200876 - ..
200877 - The report then distinguishes the aim, process and results of
200878 - Communication Metrics from traditional documentation.
200879 -    ..
200880 -    Communication Metrics is business "Intelligence" to organize
200881 -    and analyze information, so that cause and effect, and needed
200882 -    actions are revealed to make leadership effective, ref DRP 2 line
200883 -    113.
200884 -
200885 -    ... aimed at discovering the correlation of events that make up
200886 -    human understanding and testing it for accuracy (i.e., alignment),
200887 -    thus "metrics;" and then using the resulting record as a constantly
200888 -    expanding resource to measure future understandings in the way
200889 -    "experience" is used by the mind. It supports the management cycle
200890 -    of "plan, perform, report" to produce "intelligence," ref DRP 1
200891 -    line 187.
200893 -     ..
200894 -    SDS replaces the paradigm of information as "documents," with the
200895 -    concept of a continuously expanding "knowledge space." ref DRP 2
200896 -    line 544.
200897 -
200898 -    ... a more powerful process of investing intellectual capital to
200899 -    convert information into knowledge. The speed and synergy of
200900 -    automated integration provides timely "intelligence" which ... adds
200901 -    value to our people.., ref DRP 2 line 584.
200902 - ..
200903 - Somehow, we have to get people to use this language in the Corps
200904 - of Engineers' report that distinguishes Communication Metrics from
200905 - "documentation."  Of course, as Dave Bouncristiani said the other day,
200906 - this is not easy, ref SDS 23 line 70. "Documentation" has a 5,000 year
200907 - history that draws people to use that term instead of "intelligence"
200908 - and "knowledge space."
200910 -  ..
200911 - Since "intelligence" has been prohibitively expensive, it is a foreign
200912 - term to business people.  Lou Gurstner at IBM, Andy Grove at Intel,
200913 - Bill Gates at Microsoft use documentation and filing cabinets.  They
200914 - sense this does not work very well.  They try "Cyberspace," but find
200915 - it is missing a key ingredient, ref OF 3 line 453.  They have not
200916 - discovered what that ingredient is, nor how to use it.  These people
200917 - have made a paradigm shift from "records management" to Data Base,
200918 - LAN, MIS and Internet.  How was this leap possible?
200919 - ..
200920 - They read about new terms in the WSJ, HBR, Fortune, Forbes,
200921 - Byte, PM Network, and so on, and they heard about it on television and
200922 - in seminars.  They discussed it with friends and colleagues.  How can
200923 - we help people who have made one shift that is not helpful, make
200924 - another shift that is helpful by moving from information (IT), to
200925 - Knowledge Space (history and wisdom)?
200927 -  ..
200928 - People say "time is money and knowledge is power."  So, nominally we
200929 - are ready to make an important paradigm shift.  Only a little help is
200930 - needed to step over the rubicon from "documents" to "intelligence,"
200931 - from Cyberspace to Knowledge Space.
200933 -  ..
200934 - How can we help people take this step in the march of civilization?
200936 -  ..
200937 - It begins with asking the right questions and using over and over the
200938 - vocabulary that builds new knowledge.
200939 - ..
200940 - Thus, inquiry about Communication Metrics, might ask how it
200941 - differs from documentation?
200942 -
200943 -     We could say:
200944 -
200945 -     "Well, as it says in our report, it is the linkages that show
200946 -     traceability to original sources, correlations and deviations
200947 -     between information from different sources at different times.
200949 -      ..
200950 -     There is also analysis and organization that show patterns of
200951 -     conduct and understandings that reveal implications of future
200952 -     results and point to actions needed to obtain results and meet
200953 -     requirements.  It is too labor intensive to obtain linkages,
200954 -     analysis, and patterns of understandings from documentation and
200955 -     other computer applications.
200956 -     ..
200957 -     Fast access to information is another major difference.
200959 -      ..
200960 -     The integration with time through the SDS schedule permits keeping
200961 -     track of everything that needs to be done.  Action Items are
200962 -     linked to history. Meaning is linked to documents.  So "documents"
200963 -     are an important, but only a small part of the "intelligence"
200964 -     produced by Communication Metrics, which is a broad based
200965 -     thinking, planning and decision making environment.
200967 -      ..
200968 -     Another distinction is that "documents" generally tell others what
200969 -     the writer knows.  Communication Metrics is about discovering what
200970 -     we know and what we need to know more about and then planning to
200971 -     do so, then doing it, and then using the new knowledge to perform
200972 -     the work rather than rely on whatever pops into our head at the
200973 -     moment.
200974 - ..
200975 - Obviously, these descriptions don't just spring up easily.  We
200976 - wrote a report to empower people to focus their discussion on the
200977 - language of Communication Metrics, and continually test its
200978 - application with our perceptions of reality.
200979 -
200980 -
200981 -
200982 -
2010 -

SUBJECTS
Keesling Evaluation
Feedback Provides Metric
Productivity of Management
Feel Good Management Lets Small Problems
Accounting Analogy
Wriggle Room Uncertainty Resolved
Accountability Avoided, Turn Out the Lights
Fears Accountability of Metrics, Destroy
Second Guessing Avoided by Maintaining
Wiggle Room Avoid Accountability Turn Out the Lights People Hate Bein
Accountability Feared Avoided Excused Claim Intelligence Overkill Cos

4513 -
451401 -  ..
451402 - Leadership Must Support Accountability - Wriggle Room
451403 -
451404 - Max explains Tom's comment that some people do not like seeing what
451405 - they said put on the record.  Or they questioned the accuracy of the
451406 - record and would not spend the time to correct it afterwards. (Max
451407 - suggested that people like to have 'wriggle room'.) ref DRT 1 XK7J
451408 -
451409 -    Note:  wiggle means to move or cause to move from side to side
451410 -    with short irregular twisting.
451412 -     ..
451413 -    Wriggle means to worm or "wiggle" one's way into or out of a
451414 -    situation; to extricate or insinuate oneself or reach a goal by sly
451415 -    or subtle means.
451416 - ..
451417 - Thus, Max could have meant "wiggle room", but in this case
451418 - "wriggle room" likely means opportunity or flexiblity to maneuver that
451419 - in management is called "deniability."  People avoid being pinned down
451420 - in the record so that there is flexibility to maneuver later for
451421 - avoiding accountability, as discussed with Tudor Engineers on 890324.
451422 - ref SDS 1 6894
451423 -
451424 -      [On 971202 discussed this point at HQUSACE. ref SDS 32 2837]
451426 -       ..
451427 -      [On 980305 Tom mentions this again. ref SDS 34 5456
451429 -       ..
451430 -      [On 980403 USACE expressed concern. ref SDS 35 4129
451432 -       ..
451433 -      [On 980405 discussed with Bill DeHart. ref SDS 36 5065
451434 - ..
451435 - This is a leadership issue.  It is a standards issue.  It is an
451436 - educational issue.  People need experience to overcome ignorance, fear
451437 - and denial.  The Corps of Engineers' report states:
451438 -     ..
451439 -     Communication Metrics adds value to our "Lessons Learned"
451440 -     process because the SDS schedule is used to manage the work each
451441 -     day based on linkages to the diary and contract requirements.  We
451442 -     found it takes experience to learn what this means; but, it seems
451443 -     to improve performance, because relevant parts of the record, over
451444 -     days, weeks or years, can be assembled instantly, ref DRP 2 line
451445 -     161.
451446 -
451448 -  ..
451449 - Risk Management Requires a Process to Identify Uncertainty
451450 - Communication Metrics Identifies Research to Reduce Uncertainty
451451 -
451452 - "Wriggle room" has one connotation of "Feel Good" management that
451453 - takes action based on momentary feelings, and then maneuvers to avoid
451454 - accountability, per above, ref SDS 0 0995, by attributing problems to
451455 - "Murphy's Law" explained in....
451456 -
451457 -          POIMS................................... ref OF 1 0307
451458 -          NWO..................................... ref OF 2 28A4
451460 -  ..
451461 - This common practice requires deniability that is accomplished by
451462 - destroying records and preventing intelligence from being developed.
451463 - ..
451464 - It is part of the concern reviewed with LTC Thompson, Commander
451465 - of the San Francisco District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on
451466 - 970624, about being "second guessed," which is addressed by
451467 - Communication Metrics in helping ensure that the "first guess" is
451468 - adequately supported, ref SDS 19 1461, based on theory in NWO.
451469 - ref OF 2 4711
451471 -  ..
451472 - Risk management that requires wriggle room for deniability is shown in
451473 - the record on....
451474 -
451475 -   Good management gold plated, overkill....... 890324, ref SDS 1 6894
451476 -   Avoid pinning everybody down................ 890809, ref SDS 2 0880
451477 -   Feel good management avoids accountability.. 911123, ref SDS 3 1331
451478 -   Destroy record avoid accountability......... 911123, ref SDS 3 8934
451480 -      ..
451481 -     [On 970919 example from work with USACE. ref SDS 31 2348
451483 -      ..
451484 -     [On 980405 people fear accountability. ref SDS 36 5065
451486 -  ..
451487 -
451488 - "Wriggle room" (equivocation) can be a constructive reflection of
451489 - uncertainty under Risk Management.  It is used in the record when
451490 - appropriate by avoiding absolute declaratives and assertions of fact
451491 - when the record is unclear.  Communication Metrics shows uncertainty
451492 - so that timely research can be performed to reduce doubt on needed
451493 - action.  Therefore, "wriggle room" per se is consistent with
451494 - Communication Metrics to support effective Risk Management.
451495 -
451497 -  ..
451498 - Communication Requires Leadership and Metrics
451499 -
451500 - Project Management is generally described in articles and seminars as
451501 - "leadership."  The project manager leads a cross-functional team to
451502 - improve communications, coordination, etc.  Better communication is
451503 - the primary rationale for "project management."  Project managers must
451504 - communicate across diverse skills, interests and perspectives.  This
451505 - has two dimensions:
451506 -
451507 -    1.  Building shared meaning/vision that motivates people to act.
451509 -         ..
451510 -    2.  Maintaining shared meaning through follow up, i.e., metrics.
451512 -  ..
451513 - Most managers are good at the first part, but give no attention to the
451514 - second part, because it entails "feedback."  Feedback takes time, it
451515 - is hard, it is labor intensive to drill down into the details of the
451516 - record to do research, it causes acrimony, and it requires special
451517 - skills to perform.  Using SDS takes less time, makes it easier and
451518 - less labor intensive, but it still requires special skills to minimize
451519 - acrimony, and strong leadership to withstand cries to "turn out the
451520 - lights."
451521 - ..
451522 - Avoiding conflict by "turning out the lights" means suppressing
451523 - defects that create a pressure cooker that eventually blows up under
451524 - "Murphy's Law."
451526 -  ..
451527 - The PMBOK says "leadership" is aligning people through communications,
451528 - ref SDS 7 line 745.  It is unlikely that the person who wrote that
451529 - line, knows what it means, since none of the writings elsewhere in the
451530 - PMBOK support or otherwise reflect this definition.
451531 -
451532 -
451534 -  ..
451535 - Truth is a Moving Target, Needs Feedback Metrics
451536 -
451537 - Similarly, the PMBOK calls for a system of feedback to ensure accuracy
451538 - of understandings, ref SDS 7 line 724.  ISO criteria also call for
451539 - communication feedback, ref SDS 7 line 812.  Dr. Tom Landauer in his
451540 - paper on knowledge acquisition points out that "meaning" in the mind
451541 - is in constant flux.  As a result, it is to be expected people will
451542 - draw different understandings from common events.  In simpler terms,
451543 - truth is a moving target.  Nobody "knows" its.  We have to work at
451544 - capturing and growing it everyday.  That is why feedback is critical
451545 - to good management.  However, the PMBOK, ISO, Landauer, Deming, Covey,
451546 - Drucker, Peters, Hammer, et al, do not offer guidance on how to get
451547 - feedback without investing time, and also maintain "wriggle room."
451548 - Under Landauer's point accuracy can only be obtained by getting
451549 - feedback, which is why management standards call for it.  Notice
451550 - provisions of contracts reflect thousands of years of human experience
451551 - dealing with mental frailty which provides a simple rule:  if you
451552 - receive notice of an understanding and do not offer a correction
451553 - within a reasonable time, then that constitutes "feedback" on which
451554 - everyone can rely to proceed.  If you do not have time to respond, you
451555 - can give notice requesting more time.
451556 - ..
451557 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave notice at the meeting on
451558 - 961015 that it would follow this feedback process, ref SDS 12 line
451559 - 187.  This notice was confirmed in serial letter #0010 dated 961028,
451560 - distributed at the progress meeting on 961029, ref SDS 14 line 207.
451561 -
451562 -
451564 -  ..
451565 - Feedback Metrics Save Time and Money
451566 -
451567 - The plus side is that early feedback through Communication Metrics
451568 - uncovers deviations when they are small so that very little effort is
451569 - needed to correct them.  Another plus, is that since humans can align
451570 - understandings for only a minute, adding metrics to communication
451571 - presents a significant opportunity for improving performance by
451572 - avoiding the morass of errors that occur each day, but are hidden from
451573 - the conscious mind by a busy schedule of guess and gossip.
451574 -
451575 -
451577 -  ..
451578 - Front-End Investment to Save Time is Viewed as Accountability
451579 -
451580 - The downside is that accountability is unpopular; it is disparaged as
451581 - "bean counters."  When problems are small people want to ignore them,
451582 - rather than fix them.  It is more fun to work on big problems that
451583 - were ignored when they were small, and to look at the big picture and
451584 - the bottom line, rather than examine the details that reveal defects
451585 - in the picture and explain imbalances in the bottom line that require
451586 - correction.
451587 -
451588 -      [On 971202 discussed this point at HQUSACE. ref SDS 32 2837]
451589 - ..
451590 - Accountants are charged to apply metrics to finances.  The
451591 - profession must account even for a one cent deviation from alignment,
451592 - called "balance" in accounting, per meeting with Denis Hemni, ref SDS
451593 - 9 line 248. Leadership insists accountants use double entry methods to
451594 - accurately measure results.  Leadership is supported by company policy
451595 - and force of law to meet ignorance, fear and denial that careful
451596 - accounting is needed, saves money and time.  Why does leadership,
451597 - company policy and the law require accounting for a one cent
451598 - deviation?  Because experience over thousands of years shows that
451599 - small deviations lead to larger problems (see Aristotle cited in
451600 - NWO... paper. ref OF 2 0853  Without leadership, policy and community
451601 - support through law, people will ignore small deviations because it is
451602 - no fun to work on small problems.  They feel there isn't enough time
451603 - to discover the cause and make corrections. Our culture has discovered
451604 - this short term perspective is incorrect, that in fact fixing small
451605 - problems saves time and money.
451606 - ..
451607 - Accounting metrics do not improve marketing, planning,
451608 - engineering nor construction management.  Accountants are generally
451609 - isolated.  They turn in the report and go home.  How to make a better
451610 - report next time and what to do about the current report are left for
451611 - others.
451612 -
451613 -     [Drucker calls for applying accounting principles to make other
451614 -     information systems useful. ref SDS 33 1368]
451616 -  ..
451617 - Communication Metrics Avoids Acrimony of Traditional Accountability
451618 -
451619 - Experience shows that investing time, to discover mistakes and
451620 - opportunities, permits making minor adjustments that cost nothing, but
451621 - avoid huge losses and lead to better solutions. For the uninitiated,
451622 - seeing their expressions for the first time as someone else understood
451623 - them, is shocking.  They recoil in fear of accountability.  Upon
451624 - explanation that the aim is to build common understanding and discover
451625 - differences so they can be fixed to avoid taking a wrong path, most
451626 - people support the process. ref SDS 13 5832
451627 -
451628 -      [On 971202 discussed this point at HQUSACE. ref SDS 32 2837]
451630 -       ..
451631 -      [On 980405 discussed with Bill DeHart. ref SDS 36 5065]
451632 - ..
451633 - Since communication is integral to all human activity, and is
451634 - the primary activity of management, Communication Metrics improves all
451635 - community activity, even accounting.  Since it is proactive it can use
451636 - the project life cycle process (identify, plan, execute, report), to
451637 - discover and correct deviations in understandings that otherwise cause
451638 - delay and extra cost.  Therefore, it saves more time and money than
451639 - does accounting which only reports losses after the fact.
451641 -  ..
451642 - Since accountability is psychologically demanding, Communication
451643 - Metrics requires a specialist and it requires the same leadership that
451644 - insists on accurate accounting, even though it is unpopular, because
451645 - it is essential to discover deviations early so they can be fixed
451646 - before they cause damage that harms the organization and those who are
451647 - otherwise fearful of accountability.
451649 -  ..
451650 - Peter Drucker says communication is the most difficult task of
451651 - management, ref SDS 5 2855.  This reflects Landauer's explanation that
451652 - "meaning" is in constant flux. ref SDS 10 3734
451654 -  ..
451655 - A moving target of "meaning" in the human mind, compounds complexity
451656 - as the pace of information increases.  Drucker says this increased
451657 - complexity is a new reality which managers must prepare to meet. see
451658 - ref SDS 5 1855
451659 -
451660 -     [On 980412 CBS News reported on 60 Minutes that more inforamtion
451661 -     reduces the time to think that is essential for the human mind to
451662 -     produce useful knowledge. ref SDS 37 2025]
451664 -  ..
451665 - Drucker also says management productivity is primarily a matter of
451666 - quality, i.e., avoiding mistakes, ref SDS 4 3416.  Mr. Drucker thereby
451667 - identifies the Rosette stone, or more precisely the "Achilles Heel" of
451668 - management.  The natural conflict between accountability for
451669 - communications, with attendant urge to suppress, and its pervasive
451670 - contribution to results, presents a huge opportunity to improve
451671 - earnings by adding "intelligence."
451672 - ..
451673 - The Communication Manager role satisfies the need for a
451674 - specialist, which Tom cites.  This meets the demands for a labor
451675 - intensive new work role to ensure that metrics are applied to
451676 - communication, in order to meet Drucker's definition of management
451677 - productivity.
451679 -  ..
451680 - How, though, can we give leadership the support it needs to withstand
451681 - the pressure of "Feel Good" management that avers accountability, in
451682 - order to use a method that produces a better balance sheet?
451683 -
451684 -
451685 -
451686 -
4517 -

SUBJECTS
Cost/Benefit, Labor Intensive
Labor Intensive Intelligence Saves Money

4904 -
490501 -  ..
490502 - Communication Metrics Expedites Business Intelligence, Saves Time
490503 -
490504 - Max relates Tom's view that "intelligence" from Communication Metrics
490505 - is labor intensive, ref DRT 1 line 51, which seems to align with Max's
490506 - observation that creating SDS records is a lot of work, ref SDS 20
490507 - line 219.
490508 -
490509 -     "Intelligence" is a foreign term to the business community because
490510 -     it has been prohibitively labor intensive.  SDS now empowers
490511 -     people to perform business intelligence faster, so it is not as
490512 -     labor intensive as it once was, as for example the CIA, and the
490513 -     Information Highway makes it more necessary to perform for routine
490514 -     daily business.  As a result of being able to perform intelligence
490515 -     faster, and because the business environment has changed in a way
490516 -     that increases the need for "intelligence," it is now practical
490517 -     and urgent to focus labor and technology on providing a business
490518 -     "Intelligence" function.
490519 -     ..
490520 -     Since intellectual capital is the engine of enterprise, as
490521 -     well as civilization, intensifying labor and technology, which SDS
490522 -     makes possible, on investing time to grow new knowledge from daily
490523 -     communiation, that otherwise becomes mere "straw in the wind,"
490524 -     "water under the bridge" and "guess and gossip," results in
490525 -     expediting the work and reducing costs.  This follows from the
490526 -     central role that communication plays in business success.  More
490527 -     information requires more work to produce better management, more
490528 -     opportunity and higher earnings.
490529 -
490530 -
490531 -
4906 -

SUBJECTS
Saleable Name
Operating System for People & Organizations
Communication Metrics
Evolution Writing Scribe, Need New Scribe New Knowledge Tool
Para Manager Aide to Collaborate Research Prepare Case
Executive Aid Ensures SDS Record Prepared from Military Practice
Analyst Ensures SDS Record Prepared
Com Manager Title Name Other than Com Manager
Explain SDS
Difficult to Explain SDS/POIMS

5912 -
591301 -  ..
591302 - Communication Metrics Needs Better Name
591303 -
591304 - Max relates Tom's feeling that perhaps a more salable name might help
591305 - people understand the role and need for Communication Metrics,
591306 - ref DRT 1 0001
591307 -
591308 - There are three (3) parts of automated management:
591309 -
591310 -         * Science........... Communication Metrics
591312 -            ..
591313 -           Technology........ Personal and Organizational Integrated
591314 -                              Management Support (POIMS)
591316 -            ..
591317 -           Application....... Schedule Diary System (SDS)
591318 -
591319 -     * Science relates to management process, like accounting, project
591320 -       management, CPM that requires special skills, responsibilities
591321 -       and methods, and produces specialized work product.
591323 -  ..
591324 - Over the past 15 years, other titles for the management science have
591325 - been considered:
591326 -
591327 -          Communication Control        Gatekeeper
591328 -          Communication Director       Para Manager
591329 -          Communication Manager        Communication Engineer
591330 -          Management Agent             Project Analyst
591331 -          Process Analyst              Administrative Assistant
591332 -          Communication Analyst        Secretary
591333 -          Communication Agent          Librarian
591334 -          Communication Aide           Knowledge Navigator
591335 -          Executive Aide               Executive Assistant
591336 -          Leadership Aide              Business Intelligence
591337 -          Project Administrator        Operating System People/Organz.
591339 -  ..
591340 - Any of these terms, plus many more will do.  I do not favor creating a
591341 - "Business Intelligence" department, because it is only one part of the
591342 - Communication Metrics work product.
591344 -  ..
591345 - We could put Communication Metrics in the Project Office, but how will
591346 - it support senior management, accounting, research, operations and so
591347 - on.  On the other hand, the rationale for a Project Office is to
591348 - facilitate communications among other functions, that could be a place
591349 - to evaluate Communication Metrics, as was done in the San Francisco
591350 - District Corps of Engineers, and with PG&E.
591352 -  ..
591353 - The Corps of Engineers has invested considerable time and effort to
591354 - publish a report that defines Communication Metrics.  It explains the
591355 - SDS program facilitates adding "metrics" to communications that
591356 - supplement controls used for cost and schedule.  The symmetry of this
591357 - formulation seems attractive, and makes the objective of the process
591358 - easy to explain.  The District developed a scope of services for
591359 - Communication Metrics.  So now there is an official government
591360 - definition for Communication Metrics.
591362 -  ..
591363 - As Communication Metrics gains wider exposure, others will be able to
591364 - formulate other names and descriptions that suit their experience and
591365 - organizational cultures.  There will still be a need to define a scope
591366 - of services.
591368 -  ..
591369 - This, however, will not alleviate fear of accountability.  Only
591370 - leadership can solve that problem by demanding the light of knowledge
591371 - rather than succombing to the bliss of ignorance.  There is no system
591372 - of management that can produce better results without improving
591373 - communication, and the only way to do that is to add feedback metrics.
591374 -
591375 -     [On 001219 steps using SDS new way of working. ref SDS 39 QT6F
591377 -  ..
591378 - Feedback metrics must be performed professionally to minimize impact
591379 - on sensitive feelings.  It is unclear how deviations from requirements
591380 - will not either result in small hurt feelings in the beginning, or
591381 - major injury later.
591383 -  ..
591384 - My feeling is that we just need wider exposure of a counter-intuitive
591385 - idea.  If the Commander of the San Francisco District had been able to
591386 - experience Communication Metrics in the way that Tom , Max, Marc,
591387 - Leonard and others have, he would be supporting the name and
591388 - everything, else because he would understand it.  Since he is the
591389 - leader and he does not understand it, he cannot overcome his own
591390 - common sense.
591392 -  ..
591393 - Now that we have the report, our next objective is support a commander
591394 - or other executive who has ultimate authority over use of management
591395 - systems in an organization.  At the San Francisco District it was
591396 - thought that this had been accomplished, but it turns that it was not.
591397 - So, now we turn to finding an opportunity to accomplish the next step.
591398 -
591399 -
591400 -
591401 -
591402 -
591403 -
5915 -