Productivity Management 555 for Today

This advice was written for my son as he entered his first management job, as a managing editor of an e-zine. Shortly it went under in the dot com bust, but the content still is sound.

A. Flow chart for a process, or system, or project
Visually sketch out the system components; on large pads (better because you can keep them) or whiteboard draw what happens and when, sequence of events, prerequisites before a task. Initially use charts to analyze the overall scheme of things, then to consider if each action is necessary in the first place. Then list the components of each action, set the correct sequence, and set a completion date, perhaps with intermediate milestones.

B. Linear responsibility
Prevent things from falling through the crack with no one responsible, or two people each thinking they have a responsibility. For major functions and tasks, make clear who is to: do the job; approve in progress and completed work; be consulted beforehand always; be consulted for special purposes; be advised of in progress and completed work; receive the completed task for the next step.

C. Project management
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. A written plan, well communicated, will assure that all concerned have the same expectations for content, responsibility, and timing.

Use the earlier information in A and B to create a comprehensive project plan, action, responsibility, timing. Build in a projection of the costs, on your books and outsourced work. At this point you can stop at a summary level, but you should see that the people who work for you complete a more detailed plan for their tasks. That way you are not micromanaging but you are monitoring the big picture.

A plan is step one. Follow up the plan by asking for regular reports of activity, cost and timing; in other words performance compared to the plan. Follow up with participants individually and occasionally as a group, sometimes with the boss.

D. Critical Path Method, CPM
CPM is a subset of project planning. When you have a comprehensive plan, eyeball it for potentially troublesome steps that will affect or control the timing. They may be any of several categories; long in calendar or labor days, technology intensive in your or someone else’s shop; dependent on a boss’s travel schedule; a sequence of events that must be consecutively and closely scheduled.

After you have the overall plan, highlight the critical path within the framework starting at today and monitor it especially.

Conversely, many tasks can be done in parallel; they still take the same workdays but may not affect the calendar. Avoid putting these off until they become the critical path.

E. ABC, Pareto, 80 / 20.
Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian nobleman a century ago who first quantified that in Italy a few people had most of the money. Everybody knows that, he quantified it. 15 to 20% have 80% of the money. It turns out that the ratio is more or less universal, not only with cash but also inventory, or which 20 % of the items have 80% of the value; of work elements in which 20% take up 80% of the time.

If you don’t watch out, you will spend your time on the very large number of items, which don’t contribute much value. Go out of your way to label the important things as A items, and spend most of your and your people’s time on them. You have already thought of “For want of a nail a … kingdom was lost” although the writer was not in your century. A nail is a C item and a kingdom is an A item. Nevertheless.

Now, since even the smallest article may keep you from going to press, you have to identify the A items by value rather than cost alone. Value may include cost, or position on the critical path, or client relationships, or satisfying management.

F. Constraints management
Constantly be on the lookout for constraints, which will if not managed retard output or schedule attainment. Very often the constraint is on the critical path. Typically a constraint will occur where all work has to funnel through one point; a person, or machine, or function. Solve it by buying / hiring / adding another one, or by keeping the constraint loaded 24 / 7, or by doing the job another way. The constraint may not be under your control, e. g. in Australia. Try to manage the constraint from afar, or accept it as a given.

G. Short interval scheduling is self-explanatory. Give out one job, agree with the person when it will be done (usually a few hours), have the person give it back to you on time, when you assign the next job. This level of control may look like micromanagement, but it will improve productivity and throughput. Both boss and worker get positive reinforcement from each task completed, and both will be sure that each task is correctly done as a solid base for the next step.

H. Visual controls and communication
I encourage visual communication, especially on subjects such as Flow Chart and Project Management. Visuals really support a common understanding.

I. Motivation and leadership
Maslow and Hertzberg, in my opinion the industrial psychologists who got it right. See
“Hierarchy of needs” and “One More Time, How do you Motivate Employees” respectively. Their ideas are not mutually exclusive.

J. Words of wisdom
1. “Unacceptable”. Learn this word and think of Dick Love who taught it to me. Use it wisely and sparingly but let people know you will use it. It is most often applicable to concepts, dates and commitments people may offer.

2. Don’t surprise the boss in public with problems. You will be surprised yourself sometimes, and you have to pass the information on to him; do so quickly. The key question is how much time you personally get to fix the problem before you tell him. That depends on him, and you, and the enormity of the problem.

Be sure to understand the problem and its cost and schedule ramifications; when you learn this the solution may be obvious. Fix it or tell the boss that the problem exists and this is how you will repair the damage, and when. If there is a factor that only he can provide, be sure to ask him at the time.

3. Monkeys and backs. When another person walks in they often have a monkey on their back and are trying to place it on your back. Recognize the situation; you may want to accept the transfer of responsibility or not. Either way make sure you both understand who has the monkey at the end of the conversation.

Jack Greene, Jackson Productivity Research Inc.


Productivity Management 555 for Today - To learn more about this author, visit Jack Greene's Website.

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