"Thing" Control

How and Why Managers, Supervisors and the Rest of Us Should Stop Lettings Things
Get In the Way of Our Relationships With People

"Things" can't think or feel. (At least there's no reliable evidence to date that they can.) Things don't celebrate and they don't care about relaxing. Still, things are teeming, and though they don't reproduce like we do, when encouraged, they can multiply at amazing speeds.

Things may not be intelligent - but they sure can control us with their infamous ability to make us "do." Think, how many times have you said to a colleague or family member that you've got a lot of "things to do" or that you feel overwhelmed because of all the "things you've got to get done?"

The power of things is formidable. It can sap the energy and joy out of the most dedicated professional. It can also cause us to ignore a more important aspect of our profession - people. That's why we should stop now and again and consider ways to improve our ability to control things so that we can focus more on people.

Thomas Watson, founder of IBM, built one of the most successful companies in history because he never allowed things (in his case it would be the organization) to replace people as his number-one focus.

During one meeting in the early days of IBM, a number of managers were reviewing customer problems with Mr. Watson. On the table were eight or ten piles of paper, identifying the sources of problems: manufacturing problems, engineering problems, and the like.

After much discussion, Watson, a big man, walked slowly to the front of the room and, with a flash of his hand, swept the table clean and sent papers flying all over the room. He said, "There aren't any categories of problems here. There's just one problem; Some of us aren't paying enough attention to our customers." He turned crisply on his heel and walked out, leaving twenty fellows wondering whether or not they still had jobs.

Why do we put things (tasks, paperwork, etc.) before people. Here are some common reasons:

1. Seen results take priority over the unseen relationship.
2. Task work pushes aside "idle" talk.
3. The material world often predominates the immaterial world.
4. We feel we are judged by what we do, not who we are.
5. Obsessive-compulsive behavior.
6. Relationships don't fit our "deadlines" mentality.

Paperwork (hard or electronic) is perhaps the most common "thing" that stops us from improving our relationship with people. It was thought by many that the information technology explosion would streamline and soften the load, but not so. Rather than causing a cutback, computers have added to the proliferation of things to write, read and fill out.

Some Solutions

Straighten Up Your Desk:

Sir Winston Churchill once said that "When you have got a thing where you want it, it is a good thing to leave it there." Is your desk a mess? Are papers stashed and staked all over the place? Then it may be making your paperwork load larger than it needs to be, especially if you regularly have to search for documents. Some professionals are able to maintain that "scattered look" while still keeping a system that allows them to find papers quickly. Some can't.

Take note for the next few days how often you have to search for a document. If it's more than once or twice, you may have found an area where you can reduce the time you spend with paperwork. This applies to the files on your computer. Are they orderly and easy to find? Or are you constantly using the "find" function?

Cut Back:

Are you part of the reason there is too much paperwork? Movie mogul Sam Goldwyn's secretary was cleaning out file cabinets. She asked Goldwyn if she could destroy files that had been inactive for more than ten years. He said, "Go ahead, but make sure you keep copies."

If there is a way to avoid written memoranda, use it. Unlike written messages, eyeball-to-eyeball communication allows you to gauge how information is received and how it will be acted upon. Remember that brevity is the essence of good communications; so boil down ideas and reports to less than one minute, if possible.

Sloppiness and quantity are not always the root cause of office communication gluts. The real problem may be a shortfall in decision-making. The solution is to decide which of these four categories a piece of paper belongs in:

Toss:

Figure out the worst thing that could happen if you threw the paper away or deleted a file. Toss and delete liberally.

Refer:

Many documents fall into the bailiwick of secretary, boss, subordinate, colleague, or specialist. Make individual "discuss" folders for key colleagues. (For general referrals, use the "out" box or folder.)

Act:

These are your own tasks - writing letters, planning, etc. Put them in an "action" folder or a designated location on your desk. Process the "action" files daily.

File:

For future reference. Jot a "toss" date on files or papers that will become obsolete.

This is the TRAF system of paper management, shorthand for the key concept of traffic - what moves in must move out.

It's been said that people will never care how much you know until they know how much you care. We can show we care by spending time with people and talking with them about their work and environment. Keep that in mind the next time you have a lot of "things to do."

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