Book Review: Why Work S***s and How To Fix It by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson

I eagerly awaited my copy of this book. Like many others, I want to have control of all my life. I don’t see any reason why a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) can’t work at my work.

I will state up front that I have the hardest time with some of the language in the book, including the title. I just don’t use these words in my life and have a difficult, if not impossible time, saying them. Sure, I used to cuss back in my junior high days, but there was a point when I gave up that kind of talk. I won’t speculate why this kind of language was used, but it is my opinion that it will hurt adoption of ROWE in many organizations.

That being said, I am working in my organization to implement and promote the concepts of ROWE. I have challenged my own assumptions about work and how to measure it. Certainly, results are what are really important. I am able to telework one day a week. This has taken some pressure off my life. However, I would like complete control over when and how I do my work. I see the need in my team and colleagues, too. They are all trying to juggle life, work, and expectations. It would be much better if they could decide how and when to do their work, as long as they produce results. Results – it’s what every manager should want from their organization.

Cali and Jody do a great job of taking the reader through the changes at Best Buy. They also discuss the benefits of ROWE to both the employer and employee. The discussion of sludge is especially good. Any team will benefit from removing sludge. It is also good to hear about how ROWE has impacted people through the Voices from a ROWE sections after each chapter.

Finally, the total focus on results is the key to everything. Yes, a lot of what goes on in the workplace is looking busy. It always amazes me how little of the traditional workday is productive and how little of the communication is truly effective. In a ROWE individuals have control over their time and are measured by results. They now become focused on the important, communicate better, and are more productive.

I recommend, what I refer to as “The Introduction to ROWE Book” with the caution I stated above about the language. The book is packed with great ideas which should prompt valuable discussions. I hope that many workplaces will transform themselves into Results Only Work Environments. If they don’t, the world may just go there anyway.

I was searching the other day on how to become a better developer and came across the following series of articles. I really liked how each part encourages the developer to examine different facets of their job. Part 11 might work, if you like “boughten” massages.

• Part 1: Making Fans
• Part 2: Know Your Core Competencies
• Part 3: Enjoy the Panorama
• Part 4: Know What You’re Building
• Part 5: Don’t Use a Dull Knife
• Part 6: Become a Manager
• Part 7: The Jigsaw Puzzle
• Part 8: Know Your Archetype
• Part 9: How to Criticize a Software Developer Without Getting Punched
• Part 10: What Do Your Colleagues Think of You?
• Part 11: Get a Massage (and Get Your Boss to Pay For It)

If you are a software developer, I think it is worthwhile to read one part each day and reflect on it. It just might help you become a better one!

I read an article, or should I say I started reading an article, called When Taking Time Off Is No Vacation by C.J. Kelly. The following quote caught my attention.

Of course, I still have to maintain the security infrastructure. Before I went on leave, I worked a lot of hours trying to get ahead on my project schedule. It’s amazing what you can do when you lock yourself up in a lab, ignore e-mail and mute the cell phone. (emphasis mine)

In fact, by the time I left, I had managed to get two months ahead of schedule. With no time for chit-chat, I condensed my responses to questions and requests, even from my boss. I checked voice mail and e-mail when I woke up each morning, in the middle of the day and when I got home. If a message wasn’t urgent, I ignored it or passed it along to someone on my staff.

Wow! Two months ahead of schedule. That’s an amazing result with three basic steps.

1. Lock yourself up (Teleworking?)
2. Ignore email (Only check at scheduled times?)
3. Mute the cell phone (Uninterrupted time for work?)

What can you do to improve your focus and accomplish more?

Follow this link to a good article on dealing with your inbox. (Examples here are in Microsoft Outlook.)

Too often, our work is managed by our inbox. The inbox is simply an input to our work. It is better to work your inbox and decide what to do with each item. Follow the steps and adapt it to what works for you

I modified the “Trusted Trio” and added CC Mail (which I automatically route emails to) and Reading.

I also added the Delete button to the keyboard shorcut toolbar.

I am experimenting with different reading pane views to see what works best for me.

For years now, PowerPoint has firmly established itself as the “best” way to status a group of people about a project. Is it effective? By effective, I mean, does it communicate well and encourage discussion?

I think that, to some degree, PowerPoint presentations invoke what I call the TV syndrome. The people in your meeting sag into couch potato mode and become passive in the meeting. Imagine an hour or more filled with someone reading 58 PowerPoint slides!

Wouldn’t it be better to go with a one-page status on 11 x 17 paper, as suggested in The Toyota Way? With this approach, the essential details are available to all, on paper. Discussion can then be centered around the most important items, looking to not only problem solve, but also to set and keep direction, and to give recognition to people and their achievements.

I think that it is worth trying.

4/18/08 - EDIT:

The 11×17 status report is better known as the A3 report in The Toyota Way.

Click here to see an example.

I’ve been reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. In it, he presents a concept of asking yourself, “What’s the next action?” when you have a project or task to move forward. What if we applied this to our work? On your assigned tasks, ask this question. On any issue you raise, ask yourself this question. It only takes about 10 seconds and it is really powerful to know what the next physical action you need to take for the work that is in front of you.

Some of the power lies in the knowledge that you have a next action ready to go when you are looking for something to do. Perhaps you have a 10 minute gap of time. Scan your next actions. Is there a quick and easy one in there that you can knock off? What if you are looking at a block of time in your afternoon? Is there a next action that fits that time-slot and your energy level?

Now that you’ve read this, “What’s the next action?”

I started a work from home trial. Here is the contact for my team to help my working remotely be a success.

I will be working from home on Fridays during March and April. This is a trial to see how it works.

Here is some information to help us work together when I am working remotely.

• Call is you need anything.
  • 999-999-9991 cell
  • 999-999-9992 home
• Meetings: schedule me, I will join by phone.
• Check my work from home wiki to see what I am working on.
• Planned schedule: 6 AM to 2:30 PM.

What do you think? It’s short and to the point.

I have always viewed mail that is sent to me as a CC: recipient as informational. I think of this for email as well. If my name is in the TO: field, I assume there is some action being requested of me (even if it is only, “Read this email!”). If my name is in the CC: field, then it is being sent to me so that I can be informed about something, but no action is expected of me.

Last fall, I received a letter in which I was in the CC: list. Skimming the letter and then filing it, I assumed that I didn’t have any action to take. I was CC’d! I came to find out almost six months later that the sender did need me to do something!

It is important that if you require action of some kind that you include the person in the TO: field. It is equally important that you specify what you want them to do and when.

It is also ineffective to ask for something to be done and then send this to several people. Who is supposed to do it?

For more information read To, Cc and Bcc.

The more I think about it and experience it, setup time is something to minimize. Any complicated task requires setup time to get you into the task. Any time that is interrupted, you have to go through some level of setup again.

One key to getting work done is to arrange blocks of uninterrupted time. This allows you to complete setup and focus on productive work.

This brings up several questions:

• Why don’t we block out time to get work done?
• What criteria do you use to decide when to have a meeting and who to invite? Does respecting work time play into it?
• Can’t we say no to a meeting in order to get work done?

Multi-tasking works against productivity too. You may look busy, but you probably aren’t accomplishing much.