Author: Bob Dailey

Bob Dailey. Born and raised in Southern California...now in Oklahoma. Graduated from (and met my future wife at) Cal Poly Pomona, in 1988. Married to Janet 37-plus years. Father of two: Julianne and Jennifer.  Grandfather of 9! Held many leadership positions in small, medium, and large companies (and even owned a company for about 7 years). Tractor operator, competitive stair climber, camper, off-roader, occasional world traveler, sometimes mountain biker, and writer.

The Perils of Over-thinking

Here’s a little over-thinking on the topic of touch-free paper towel dispensers…

To demonstrate how over-thinking can produce results that are the opposite of stated goals, here’s a little over-thinking on the topic of touch-free paper towel dispensers.

There are two main goals associated with touch-free towel dispensers in public restrooms:

  • Dispense a pre-defined quantity of paper towel, minimizing paper use.
  • Allow patrons to get their towels without coming in contact with someone else’s germs.

Simple, right?  Well, not so fast.

How much paper does a patron need to achieve proper hand drying?  If we use inches of dispensed paper as the measure, is three inches of paper enough?  Six?  Twelve?  What’s too much?  If the goal is to minimize waste, one could set the dispenser to only three inches.  Theoretically, this would minimize paper use.  But, if it’s not enough, the patron will stand there and dispense another three inches.  Possibly, another six inches.

To get the additional inches of paper towel necessary to achieve proper drying, the patron must wait for the machine to cycle.  This second-and-a-half cycle time can seem like an eternity.  After all, we’ve all got other things to do with our time.  The patron vigorously swipes their hand under the machine.  After one or two wand-like swipes that yield no additional paper, they often resort to hitting the machine where the sensor should be.  Oops, there goes that goal of not touching someone else’s germs.

Which setting will yield the least overall paper use (our first goal)?  The first-level thinker would say the lowest setting will do the trick.  But, we’ve established that the lowest setting is probably not enough. The patron will merely wait for at least one more cycle to get the paper they need.

The second-level thinker would say that dispensing more from the beginning will yield less overall paper use and waste.  If the proper amount is dispensed from the beginning, the patron will be less likely to wait for another cycle.  Don’t even get me started on battery use differences associated with the two options.

Why does any of this matter?  Why think so deeply about touch-free towel dispensers?

To illustrate how easy it is to get wrapped up in meaningless minutia and forget about providing the patron (our customer) with an excellent experience.  How much minutia are you focusing on while ignoring your customer’s experience?

Just Another PICNIC

I learned a new acronym recently: PICNIC

I learned a new acronym recently:

                PICNIC–Problem in chair, not in computer.

“Way” back in the early 90’s when one of my jobs was desktop support, I referred to the same phenomena as a “nut on the keyboard” problem.  At least 80% of the “computer problems” were actually human problems.

It’s the same thing with Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer.  Most “dog” problems are human problems waiting to be solved.  Cesar spends most of his time “whispering” to dog owners.  Cesar can’t call his show The Human Whisperer, even if that’s an accurate description of the service he provides.  To do so would alienate the audience that he’s trying to help.

The challenge with humans is that most of us would rather not admit that we are the problem.  It’s so much easier to blame the computer, the dog, the airline, the car, traffic, evil Republicans, evil Democrats, government, the economy, our manager, our parents, our kids, society, the system.  The list of excuses is infinite.

The good news is that the solution to most of these “problems” is in the chair.

We Are All Mountain Climbers

Until you face a climb yourself, you can never fully understand what it takes.

AlanAroras--Mt Everest 2013

There it is…Mount Everest from the air.  Each year, about 150-200  climbers attempt to reach its summit, 29,029 feet above sea level.  There are thousands of other mountain peaks in the world, but Everest is the highest, and most challenging.  Of course, from this angle it looks pretty tame.

That’s the thing about mountains.  Perspective is everything.  Until you face a climb yourself, you can never fully understand what it takes.  Watching others make the climb, or hearing their stories about what it was like, are no substitute for taking on the climb for yourself.

Look around you.  If you look closely, you’ll see that each of us are climbing a mountain.  Some mountains are short and easy, while others are as high or higher than our friend, Mr. Everest.

This is the point where I could wax on poetically about striving for the highest peaks in life, chasing ever higher summits, new vistas, and new challenges.  Yes, do all of that.  Don’t let anyone stop you…especially yourself.

No, I’m not going to talk about the standard, inspirational mountain stuff.  Instead, I’m going to talk about weight.

When embarking on a climb, is it better to carry twenty pounds, fifty pounds, or one-hundred pounds of gear on your back?  Obviously, all things being equal, less weight is better.  Gravity is not your friend.

How much weight are you carrying on your climb?  Only the essentials?  Anything extra?  Are you carrying baggage that won’t be used?  Why?  Carrying all that extra baggage isn’t helping you reach your summit.

What about your fellow climbers, especially those closest to you?  How much extra baggage are they carrying?  How much of it is yours?

The best strategy for extra baggage (and its unnecessary weight) is to avoid packing it in the first place.

 

 

Photo Credit:  Alan Arora, who owes me some details on how he was able to be in the cockpit jump seat of an Airbus A319 at the perfect time to capture such a beautiful shot of Mount Everest.

The Last Mile

The telecommunication provider has a tremendous amount of control over everything in their network…except the last mile, where the end customer is.

The last mile describes the final leg of a telecommunications network.  It’s the part that actually reaches the end customer.  It’s often the most difficult and uncontrollable link in the network.  This is where most of the bottlenecks occur.  The simplest of networking processes can be complicated by the wiring and equipment in the customer’s home.

Telecommunication networks exist to serve end customers.  Without the end customer, there’d be no one to pay the bill, or finance the network’s creation and maintenance.  The telecommunication provider has a tremendous amount of control over everything in their network…except the last mile, where the end customer is.

The customer’s experience comes from the last mile.  They don’t need to know or understand the engineering and infrastructure that goes into operating the massive network.  They don’t care about the traditions and history of the telecommunications provider.  They only care about the cost, speed, and ease of use they experience in their home.

The same is true for nearly any business.  The last mile drives the story your customers will tell.  How much attention are you paying to the last mile?

What the Flock is Going on Here!?!?

Which are you, predator or prey?

Lots of animals live and move in groups.  Cows, sheep, wildebeest, mackerel, geese, humans…just to name some examples.  We’ve come up with lots of names for these groupings:  herd, flock, school, gaggle, gang, company, industry trade group, union, political party.

Each of these groupings have one primary purpose:  defense.  There is safety in numbers, or so the saying goes.  Groups moving in unison appear larger to predators.  Their coordinated movements confuse and intimidate those who would otherwise do harm to the individuals in the group.

When predators attack, they pick the weakest and most vulnerable in the group to attack first.  That’s okay with the group, since protection of the group as a whole is paramount.  Any particular individual is less important than the survival of the entire group.

Predators often travel alone.  Eagles, bears, cheetahs, sharks, jaguars, Tesla…all loners.  Sure, some predators travel in groups.  Lions have their pride.  Wolves have their pack.  Orcas and dolphins have their pods.  The primary goal of a predator, whether alone or in a group, is offense.  They work in a coordinated effort to maximize return on their energy investment…capturing the most prey with the least amount of energy output.

Nothing is safe in the animal kingdom.  The food chain takes no prisoners.  The hunter often becomes the hunted.  The same is true in human enterprises.  In the (hopefully) never ending capitalist cycle of invention, construction, destruction, re-invention, and reconstruction, the roles of predator and prey can switch on a moment’s notice.

An instinctive drive for safety leads to new alliances.  Predators who would never think of joining a defensive flock are drawn in by the promise of safety from some new, common enemy.  Defense against the enemy becomes the rule of the day.  Thoughts of maximizing return on investment, or re-inventing the future, are replaced by a focus on defending the status quo of the flock.

In a uniquely human twist, the defensive flock may even take on a new mission.  The defensive flock goes on offense.  This flock actively seeks out the lone predators, the re-inventors.  They marshal all of their creative energy toward destroying predators before their new ideas wreak havoc on the flock.  Protection of the group is all that matters.  The individual is less important.

Which are you?  Predator or prey?  Loner, or flock member?  Are you a former predator, now seeking the safety of a new flock?  Are you defending the status quo, or throwing in with the crazies who are re-inventing the future?  Are you on offense, or defense?

Are you making this choice for yourself, or are you allowing the flock to make the decision for you?

Wanna Learn Something? Think Like a Teacher!

You try to listen and stay focused. Your mind wanders a bit. You force it back in line. After all, there may be something useful here that you can apply to your work…

You’re sitting in a training class.  The instructor is describing some new set of management concepts or the latest system enhancements.  You try to listen and stay focused.  Your mind wanders a bit.  You force it back in line.  After all, there may be something useful here that you can apply to your work.

Later, someone asks you how the class went.  You shrug your shoulders, reporting that you learned a couple of new things.  You then have trouble describing what you’ve learned.  Not an inspiring endorsement.

Imagine the same training class.  But, now you’re there to learn the material well enough to present the same class to another group next week.

You don’t get to pick and choose what applies to your work.  You need to learn the subject in its entirety.  Preparing to teach a subject requires active learning.  You’ll watch how the material is presented, the visual aids and examples the presenter uses, and the way the presenter moves around the room.  Nothing less than full mastery of the information will suffice.  Anything less could lead to failure when it’s your turn to teach.

Do yourself a favor.  Prepare like a teacher, learn like a teacher, and think like a teacher.  The truth is, you will be teaching this class next week…to yourself, as you try to remember and apply what you learned in the class.

Becoming a Chief Simplicity Officer

Looking for ways to become more customer-focused?

Can you name the most important thing that Amazon and Google have in common?

If you said simplicity, give yourself a gold star.  While they may have other things in common, the one thing that makes each a leader in their field is their simplicity.  And these are anything but simple companies!

Imagine the operational complexity at Amazon as you click around their site, looking for a Kindle book to read on your next flight, an inflatable kayak for your upcoming vacation, or the Reynold’s aluminum food wrappers your youth group needs for this weekend’s snack bar.

You don’t need to worry about which vendor partner, or warehouse has the goods you’re purchasing.  The server farms that power and deliver the website to your device never enter your mind.  The patchwork quilt of state and federal laws that Amazon must navigate aren’t your concern.  The logistics involved in instantaneously determining your price, shipping costs, and sales taxes are all handled by Amazon.  All you have to do is select the items from an incredibly easy search bar, and make sure the price is competitive (however you define the word competitive).

Navigating Amazon’s online store is simple.  The site even recommends accessories for your purchases.  Do you need a paddle or life preserver to go with your kayak?  Amazon has taken something incredibly complex and presented it to the customer in a simple way.  Do you prefer to use Amazon from your mobile device?  No problem, that’s simple too.

Google doesn’t say how many servers they have, but the number is thought to be well over a million, spread across the world in at least a dozen gigantic data centers.  Google’s data centers continuously consume at least 260 million watts of electricity.  How’s that for an electricity bill?

Google indexes over 20 billion web pages a day, and handles over 3 billion daily search queries.  They serve up millions of YouTube videos every day to millions of viewers.  Google provides millions of map queries and turn-by-turn directions to just about anywhere on the planet on a daily basis.

Want to do your search in German, Spanish, French, or any number of other languages?  No problem, just enter your search in the language of your choice and the search returns what you’re looking for in that language.

I spent a few minutes Googling these factoids, but as a consumer of Google’s services, I never have to know any of it.  Google works tirelessly to make sure their services are easy to consume.  Google’s home page is a feat of simplicity.  Enter the search you’re interested in, and it handles the rest.

How simple is your company?  To put it more succinctly, how simple is your company from your customer’s perspective?  How easy is it to access your services, to buy your products?  How much expertise does your customer need in order to work with your company?  How much of your company’s operational complexity gets exposed to your customer?

Customers have shown time and time again that they gravitate to the simplest solutions.  I’ve highlighted only two companies as beacons of simplicity.  I could have added Apple, McDonald’s, Geico, and countless others that have seen great success by making the complex simple for their customers.

Looking for ways to become more customer-focused?  Focus on becoming their Chief Simplicity Officer.

Simplicity equals Success.  Complicated equals Failure.  It’s that simple.

The First Question People Ask About Any Change

There’s one question above all others that people ask when a change comes into their life.

There’s one question above all others that people ask when a change comes into their life. It doesn’t matter if the change comes in their personal or professional life. The change can be mundane or momentous. Gas prices went up. Your company is acquired by another company. You get a new boss. Road construction blocks your favorite way to the office. Your wife is pregnant. Your daughter just introduced you to her new boyfriend. Your dad was just diagnosed with cancer.

It doesn’t matter whether the change is good or bad (whatever the definitions of “good” or “bad” are to you). It doesn’t matter if the change impacts someone else more than you. Whether people admit it or not, the first question that comes into their head when confronted with a change is:

How will this change affect me?

Does this mean we are instinctively selfish or self-centered? Maybe. More on that later.

People making a change that impacts others have the luxury of getting to answer this question, long before their change is sprung on anyone else. This fact is often forgotten by people driving changes in an organization. People need time to understand the answer to this question, before they can move beyond and start to answer all of the other questions that your change may bring.

About the selfishness question…Your dad was just diagnosed with cancer and your first question (to yourself) is, “How will this affect me?” Does this make you selfish? That all depends on your second question (the one you say out loud).

Curiosity and Zombies

Curiosity is better than shotguns…

Are you genuinely interested in how something works, why things happen, what people think?

Do you look at articles describing how some industry you’re not a part of is facing a new market or regulatory challenge?

Are you entertained to learn that Starbucks Frappuccinos and iced coffees may be changing ice cube usage customs in Europe?

Do you click on links to articles about Africapitalism and venture philanthropy?

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to “fly” off a cliff wearing a Wingsuit?

Do you wonder how the education systems of the US can be improved by the proliferation of MOOC’s and alternative learning services like Udacity, Khan Academy, and others?

Do you marvel at how a rocket engine made mostly of solid rubber can power a spaceship launch?

Do you look at things as they are, and imagine how they could be changed by process improvements, new inventions, or new technology?

Are you an “early adopter” of new ideas?

The ultimate question is:  Are you curious?

The happiest and most successful people I know are curious.  They choose to be explorers in a modern world.  Pursuing answers to what, where, who, how, and (of course) why is what makes them tick.  Their curiosity is the key to an engaged existence.

They may not find, nor like, all of the answers.  That doesn’t stop their insatiable curiosity to learn more.

Show me someone lacking curiosity for life, and I’ll show you the closest thing to a living, breathing member of the walking dead.  Who knew curiosity would be better than shotguns against zombies?

Questions or Answers?

The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The answer is blowin’ in the wind. –Bob Dylan

Which is more valuable?  Questions or answers?

Here are some answers:  3.14, George Washington, The Wright Brothers, Sir Isaac Newton, 1861-1865, 1776, to get to the other side, 3, Neil Armstrong, Ron Burgundy, vanilla, Elvis Presley.

Without knowing the questions, these answers are merely a list of data points…informational debris to be swept away by our next thought.

Children generally ask lots of questions.  “Why?” comes to mind.

An interesting thing happens to children as they move through elementary, middle, and then high school.  They are asked to provide lots of answers.  What is the square root of 81?  What’s the capital of North Dakota?  What position do you play on the soccer team?  What differentiates plant cells from animal cells?  What are you going to be when you grow up?

This continues in college.  Students take a roster of classes for a semester (or quarter).  They display their mastery by providing the correct answers to questions on a series of mid-term and final exams.

We’re told that there are no dumb questions…only those that aren’t asked.  But, after a lifetime of answering mundane questions from others, is it any wonder that many people have fallen out of practice, or are afraid, when it comes to asking real questions?

The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.  The answer is blowin’ in the wind. –Bob Dylan