CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
SDS Marketing, Caltrans
Trust, Winning People Over Needs History Constructive Support
Change Requires Sponsor, Ambassadors
Documentation Bureaucratic Accountability
Documents Change to Automated Knowledge

2307 -    ..
2308 - Summary/Objective
2309 -
230901 - Follow up ref SDS 3 0000, ref SDS 2 0000.
230902 -
230903 - Ross is thinking of deferring Communication Metrics while he develops
230904 - a better foundation of trust on his team.  We discussed meeting with
230905 - his boss to build awareness of the Welch approach, and explore the
230906 - potential for effective sponsorship to try Communication Metrics on a
230907 - particular project.
230908 -
230909 - Submitted ref DIT 1 0000 confirming these understandings.
230910 -
230911 -     [See follow up on 971017, ref SDS 5 0000.]
230912 -
230913 -
230914 -
230915 -  ..
2310 -
2311 -
2312 - Discussion with Ross              916 654 2395
2313 -
231301 - Ross has received ref DIP 3 transmitting the record of our meeting on
231302 - 970926. ref SDS 1 5180  He has not had time to read it.
231303 -
231304 -     [On 971001 Ross corrected ref DIP 3 0000 per ref SDS 4 3974.]
231305 -
231306 -  ..
231307 - Documentation Breeds Miss-trust; a Helping Hand is Welcomed
231308 -
231309 - Ross has talked to two (2) of ten (10) functional managers, and told
231310 - them that SDS can do a good job of "documenting" progress by Caltrans
231311 - managers.  Ross said the managers were unreceptive to Communication
231312 - Metrics.
231313 -
231314 - Ross feels managers are worried about being accountable.
231315 -
231316 -     [On 971202 Jim Jones at HQUSACE CEMP-E made similar point. see at
231317 -     ref SDS 8 2837]
231318 -
231319 -     [On 980305 Tom Keesling related a similar concern at the San
231320 -     Francisco District Corps of Engineers. ref SDS 9 5456]
231321 -
231322 -     [On 980405 discussed Comm Metrics Web site to address this
231323 -     concern. ref SDS 10 5065]
231324 - ..
231325 - My sense is that the Caltrans team, like managers everywhere,
231326 - worry about injecting an outsider assigned to "document" problems.
231327 -
231328 - Our burden is to demonstrate these worries are unfounded by showing
231329 - that Communication Metrics is aimed at, and is able to, empower the
231330 - team to succeed faster, better, cheaper by providing a more useful
231331 - form of traditional documentation, which modern technology makes
231332 - possible.
231333 -
231334 - Communciation Metrtics provides...
231335 -
231336 -  ..
231337 -
231338 -                Anytime, Anywhere Intelligence
231339 -
231340 -     ...while many worry about "documentation," most people feel that
231341 -     more intelligence leads to better results.
231342 -
231343 -      [On 971021 researched applying Communication Metrics on the
231344 -      Internet. ref SDS 6 9999]
231345 -
231346 -      [On 971105 set project to deliver business intelligence via
231347 -      Internet. ref SDS 7 1459]
231348 - ..
231349 - Ross feels a stronger level of trust with team members is needed
231350 - before introducing Communication Metrics.  Miss-trust arises from past
231351 - project difficulties.  He feels team-building to repair group cohesion
231352 - is needed.  We also have to empower project success.
231353 -
231354 - We recalled that "trust" is explained as crucial to "Winning People
231355 - Over" in the article prepared for PMI, ref OF 3 8328, which was
231356 - submitted to Ross during our meeting on 970926. ref SDS 1 8444
231357 -
231358 -  ..
231359 -
231360 - Trust ultimately requires a history of conduct that is consistent with
231361 - promises, and being constructive without being accusatory.  Managers
231362 - at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initially opposed Communication
231363 - Metrics, ref SDS 1 8477.
231364 -
231365 - Strong leadership by Max Blodgett (415 977 8444) and Tom Keesling (415
231366 - 977 8701) gave a reluctant staff an opportunity to learn from
231367 - experience that Communication Metrics is a friend not a foe.  It made
231368 - their work easier.  Helping the District succeed enabled trust to
231369 - grow, as Max noted in approving the District's report on Communication
231370 - Metrics. ref DRP 1 1489
231371 -
231372 - The experience at the Corps of Engineers indicates that building trust
231373 - requires an opportunity to demonstrate trustworthiness by doing some
231374 - actual work.
231375 - ..
231376 - Ross plans to discuss this with his boss, Jack.
231377 -
231378 -
231379 -
231380 -  ..
231381 - Change Needs Leadership, an Ambassador of Change
231382 -
231383 - We considered scheduling a meeting with Jack to begin building sponsor
231384 - support for Communication Metrics.  If Jack concurs, we should meet
231385 - with the next senior person who is driving change at Caltrans so we
231386 - can ensure alignment with needs and objectives.  If we can develop
231387 - buy-in at that level, then there is a good chance leadership can aid
231388 - cross-functional team members in working with Communication Metrics
231389 - long enough to discover it is valuable and worthy of their trust.  We
231390 - are not asking for trust on-the-cheap, just the opportunity to earn
231391 - it.  This might take a week, a month, a year as Ross and his team
231392 - struggle with the realities of a changing business environment.
231393 - Starting a dialog about Communication Metrics positions Caltrans to
231394 - begin trying it when the team is ready.
231395 -
231396 -
231397 -
231398 -  ..
231399 - Information Overload Stifles Leadership, Requires Intelligence
231400 -
231401 - Changing an existing culture requires time to "think," i.e., plan and
231402 - analyse correlations and implications.  People do not have time to
231403 - think due to information overload, as explained in the article on
231404 - "Winning People Over," ref OF 3 3778.  Without time to "think," only
231405 - ephemeral, cosmetic change will occur.  The U.S. Army Corps of
231406 - Engineers found that adding metrics to communication provides
231407 - "intelligence" that makes leadership effective, ref DRP 1 6172.
231408 -
231409 -
231410 -
231411 -  ..
231412 - Can Jack Help Move Communication Metrics Forward?
231413 -
231414 - Ross will review the record of our meeting last week, ref SDS 1 0000.
231415 -
231416 - If he determines it would be helpful, he will submit it to Jack and
231417 - suggest a meeting with Welch to consider the level of support this
231418 - initiative needs and warrants.  It is critical to have strong buy-in
231419 - from Caltrans' leadership so there is sufficient political strength to
231420 - avoid succumbing to the lowest common denominator of personal agendas
231421 - and perspectives that otherwise inhibit progress.
231422 -
231423 - Ross seems to have a particular project on which he wants to try
231424 - Communication Metrics.  That would be an ideal way to evaluate it
231425 - while accomplishing needed work.
231426 -
231427 -     [See response on 971001, where Ross corrected ref DIP 3 0000, and
231428 -     ref SDS 4 0000]
231429 -
231430 -
231431 -
231432 -