Conference 7.286::digital

2620.0. "If It Ain't Broke...Break It!" by RANGER::JCAMPBELL () Fri Aug 13 1993 15:03

    [I received the following over the net; it is an interview (unattributed)
    with Robert Kriegel, author of a new book called "If It Ain't Broke...
    Break It!" These ideas are so far-reaching and important for our
    company that I decided to put it here as an encouragement for
    others to both buy the book (which I intend to do) and think about
    how we at Digital view the computing world.]
    
    BREAK - IT THINKING - Unconventional Wisdom For Fast Changing Times
    
    By: Robert J. Kriegel, Ph.D., is the author of the best-selling book If 
    It Ain't Broke...Break It!  A pioneer in the field of performance 
    psychology, Kriegel has coached many Olympic and professional teams,  
    He has taught at Stanford University's Executive Management Program and 
    is a regular commentator on National Public Radio's "Marketplace".
    
    	"Whatever we do, and wherever we do it, everything - work styles, 
    economic conditions, political and corporate structures, technology, 
    global communications, environmental responsibility - everything is 
    changing at a dizzying rate."
    
    	"In turbulent times, Conventional Wisdom Says: Play it safe; don't 
    mess with success; work harder and faster; and if it isn't broken, 
    don't fix it.  Practically speaking, however, this is bad advice.  In 
    our highly competitive world, following these old axioms will leave you 
    and your company in the dust."
    
    	"To keep ahead in the nineties we can no longer rely on what worked 
    in the past.  We must break out of old thought patterns and develop a 
    whole new way of thinking and responding."
    
    In your book, If it ain't broke...Break-It, you recommend that business 
    people begin to think differently.  Why?
    
    	Because this is a new and unpredictable world.  Any resemblance to 
    the past is purely coincidental.  We haven't played in this arena 
    before.  The rules are different.  The game itself is changing.  
    Everything is moving faster.  What we need to know and how we need to 
    act in order to win has changed as well.  Old habits- doing things the 
    way they've always been done- are a major inhibitor to innovation, 
    growth, and progress.
    	
    	For example, you don't have to be a Nobel laureate economist to see 
    the effects of today's newer, faster game on American business.  We are 
    playing a desperate game of catch-up in industries we pioneered.  We 
    were world leaders, and now we trail behind.  An MIT productivity study 
    sees the problem largely attributable to "a deep reservoir of outmoded 
    attitudes and policies."
    
    	In the past, change occurred incrementally, at a slower pace.  We 
    had the luxury of making long-range projections and doing strategic 
    planing with some degree of certainly.  But today, the rate of change 
    is accelerating exponentially, shifting so fast it is tough to make 
    even short predictions accurately.  In 10 years at least one fourth of 
    all current knowledge and accepted practice will be obsolete.
    
    	A fundamental change in thinking is needed that is as radical as 
    the scope, scale, and place of today's change.  I call it "break-it" 
    thinking.
    
    What do you mean by Break-It Thinking ?
    
    	Break-It Thinkers are mavericks whose minds roam outside the 
    traditional fenced-in ways of thinking and acting.  Break-It Thinkers 
    don't go along with the way things have always been done.  They don't 
    conform to a given set of rules or conventional wisdom.  They win by 
    overstepping traditional boundaries and creatively paving new paths for 
    achieving their goals.
    
    	They don't compete by working harder, faster, longer.  They 
    reinvent the game.  They don't play by the rules, they create new ones.  
    They break the rules, not the law.  They question everything, take 
    calculated risks, ignore outdated conventional thinking, and look 
    forward, not backward.
    
    But most business people say that we need more bottom-line thinkers in 
    these tough times.
    
    	You're right - they do.  And all of the focus then is on "Trim the 
    fat, cut everything, get lean and mean."  Seen from this angle, new 
    ideas are viewed as potential problems, rather than opportunities.  To 
    succeed in the '90s, companies need more top line thinkers - people who 
    are bold, innovative, and courageous.
    
    	In the desire for increased productivity and decreased costs, many 
    corporations encourage and institutionalize a harder-faster-longer 
    mind-set.  The "Gotta" responses in which everyone is racing, rushing, 
    trying to do more with less kills quality.  People make more mistakes 
    when in a hurry; service is poor; no time to listen or communicate 
    well.  Innovation is non-existent and quality is impaired.  There's no 
    time to think of new ideas when racing.
    
    	An executive at a leading Western bank recently told me, "Because 
    of our 'gotta-say-yes' work ethic, my staff over promised and over 
    committed.  As a result, they also under performed."
    
    	The truth is, most of us are going as fast as we can.  We can't go 
    any faster, any longer, or any harder.  We're at the limit, hitting the 
    wall, mentally and physically.  We have to find alternatives to 
    speeding up.  Longer, harder, and faster won't open the gates to the 
    future; you have to take an alternate, unconventional route.
    
    When should businesses use break-it thinking?
    
    	An enlightened executive told me: "The time to change is when you 
    don't have to; when you're on the crest of the wave, not when you're in 
    the trough."  He was right.  In sports, teams and players that sit on 
    their lead lose it.  The same is true in business.
    
    	Initiating change when you are out front will keep you there.  
    Contrary to conventional wisdom, the best time for pioneering and 
    innovation is when you are on top and confidence is high.
    	
    	Unfortunately, most organizations don't change until they have to.  
    They wait until things are going poorly and then desperately try to 
    find a quick fix, changing strategies, products, services - anything to 
    try to catch up.  The problem is that you don't think clearly with a 
    gun to your head.   The poor decision making, lack of innovation, and 
    low morale characteristic of organizations playing catch-up creates a 
    vicious cycle that keeps them significantly behind.
    
    But isn't what your suggesting risky?
    
    	On the contrary.  Avoiding risk is dangerous.  Peak performers are 
    bold and daring.  They don't play it safe.  They don't play not to 
    lose.  Some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, executives 
    and innovators are constantly taking "safe" risks - but not random 
    chances.
    
    Conventional wisdom tells us that if we set goals and work hard we will 
    achieve our objectives.  Isn't that enough ?
    
    	In the dogged pursuit of short-term goals and the bottom line we 
    have developed cultural myopia.  All of our hopes and aspirations are 
    related to making next quarter's numbers.  With this foreshortened 
    field of vision, we live by the quarter and die by the quarter.
    	
    	Such tunnel vision blinds us to opportunities for innovation and 
    creativity.  It prevents us from seeing other possibilities and options 
    - alternative routes that may appear as a consequence of change, new 
    technologies, or an unpredicted circumstance.
    
    How can companies avoid the cultural myopia the results from short-term 
    goal setting?
    
    	Having goals is not the problem.  What gets us into trouble is the 
    importance we attach to them.  Goals have their place.  They serve a 
    purpose.  They give us something specific to shoot at and provide 
    feedback to tell us how we are doing.  They are a way of keeping score.
    
    	We think of success as the goal, the finale, the reward, the finish 
    line.  Because it is viewed as the end and not the means, there is a 
    tendency to think "we've got it made" when we achieve our goals.  We 
    think we know the basics, have the skills and drills "down," and start 
    taking success for granted.  The result is, we get lulled into 
    complacency and slack off.  We often shoot too low when we focus only 
    on achieving our goal and miss opportunities.  We need to raise our 
    sights and our vision.
    
    	The key to sustained peak performance is finding something larger 
    than a goal, something bigger to shoot for.  Something that moves you.  
    A vision that inspires us and others adds passion and a sense of 
    purpose.  It uplifts people's morale and efforts.
    
    From a corporate standpoint, where does vision come into play?
    
    	In 1989, Fortune magazine reported that Fortune 500 CEOs listed 
    "vision" number one when asked to characterize top leadership traits in 
    the decade to come.  Organizations need a vision to inspire people, 
    engage the spirit, and provide direction.  Leadership by vision - LBV - 
    will be to the nineties what management by objectives (MBO) was to the 
    seventies.
    
    How does a company or its management change the status quo and 
    implement break-it thinking?
    
    	They can begin by identifying their sacred cows, rounding them up 
    and putting them out to pasture.  Then they proceed to get rid of them.
    
    What do you mean by sacred cows?
    
    	Sacred cows are those systems, strategies, policies, procedures, 
    and routines that have become "standard operating procedure" in many 
    areas of business.  Sacred cows slow us down, preventing us from 
    reacting quickly and effectively to change and opportunities. They are 
    sacred because we take it for granted that that's the way it always has 
    been done.
    
    	Generally, we spend a great deal of time, energy, and money feeding 
    our sacred cows, supporting the system rather than having the system 
    support us.  SPX Chairman Robert D. Tuttle says in Vital Speeches: 
    "Sacred cows...stifle our creativity and weaken our competitive 
    strength."
    
    	Sacred cows are often created by powerful forces that work against 
    change.  For example, people trained to behave in one mode attract new 
    employees who believe in that way of doing things.  New information 
    that might challenge old habits is eliminated or dismissed by such 
    status quo thinking. Adding insult to injury, individuals who step 
    forward to challenge the prevailing wisdom are quickly spotted and put 
    on the fast track...to some other company.
    
    	Sacred cows are tough to round up.  It seems easier to stay with 
    the familiar, even though we know it's not working very well.  Changing 
    anything could make it worse, so better the devil you know...Trying to 
    eliminate a sacred cow or any other habit takes time and energy, both 
    of which are in short supply these days.
    
    	However, the result of "going along with the program"  and not 
    rounding up our sacred cows is that we unwittingly contribute to their 
    perpetuation, even when they have far outlived their usefulness.  And 
    when we let them roam, they keep growing and gnawing on our patience as 
    well as on profits and productivity.
    
    What are some examples of sacred cows in the area of Finance?
    
    	In general terms, sacred cows come in all shapes and sizes.  Among 
    the most common varieties are:
    		o Corporate cows - obsolete corporate culture
    		o Company cows - archaic, complex company policies
    		o Departmental cows - divisive turf wars
    		o Industry cows - unquestioned industry-wide standard 	   
    operating procedures
    		o Personal cows - unproductive routines, ruts and habits
    
    	Specifically, centralized mainframe-based accounting systems are 
    the sacred cows of finance organizations.  Hierarchies are dying.  
    Centralized control is losing favor and individual business units are 
    taking more responsibility for their own financial controls.  A big 
    sacred cow in every organization is paper cows.
    
    	The promise of the information age was the paperless office.  But 
    this has turned into a myth.  We are all drowning in more paper - 
    proposals, printouts, reports - than we read.  Most managers read less 
    than 50 percent of their mail and act on less than 30 percent.  A CIO 
    for a major accounting firm told me that he knows 90 percent of the 
    bimonthly reports sent out to all partners and clients never get read.
    
    What is your advice regarding sacred cows?                  
    
    	I agree with G. Robert "Bull" Durham, former CEO of Phelps Dodge 
    who in 1990 was quoted in Boardroom Reports as saying: "Flush them 
    out...be mercilessly objective.  Nothing is sacred."  I have companies 
    go on sacred cow hunts.
    
    	My advice is to begin by rounding up the most visible ones.  The 
    key is committing to the round-up and taking some action now.  Look 
    outside your company to see what other companies are doing.  Develop a 
    plan to become "best-in-class".  Remember, you need to make hamburger 
    out of your sacred cows before they make mincemeat out of you.
    
    	I have a group of questions that break-it thinkers can ask 
    themselves to help them identify their sacred cows. They are:
    
    		o What systems, procedures, policies or habits are outdated 
    		  and need to be changed ?
    		o What are the aspects of your job that you like the least, 
    		  that are a "drag" and wear you down or seem like 	   
   		  "busywork" ?
    		o Which of the above that you inherited from your 	   
	          predecessor or learned in a course at school are more 	
	  
    		  trouble that they are worth ?		
    		o Which come to you courtesy of another department that you 
    		  never have challenged because it is a "turf issue"?
    		o Visualize yourself going through a typical day (or week).
    		  Make a list of your routine habits - when you get up, how 
    		  you get to work, when you have lunch, what you do when 
    		  you get to the office, what you do when you leave, how 
    		  you handle the mail.  Which of these habits or routines 
    		  would you like to break?  Why? What would be the benefit?
    		o If a comedy group were to do a satire of you day, what 
    		  specific activities would provide them the most laughs ?
    		o Look around your office.  Identify something that has 
    		  bothered you for a while.  Imagine that you have done 
    		  something about it.  How would you feel?  Would you 	   
    		  expect to see a difference in your attitude and/or 		  

    		  effectiveness?
    
    	After answering these questions, break-it thinkers will have a 
    clearer sense of their own outdated habits as well as the necessity of 
    changing them.  Taking this one step further, the break-it thinker is 
    constantly on the lookout for ways to stay fresh and creative.  It's 
    important to get in the habit of breaking your habits.
    
    Sometimes the biggest obstacle to change is people.  How can companies 
    change the mindset of their people and motivate them to change?
    	
    	One key to keeping ahead of change is to get your people to think 
    like beginners - looking at the world with a fresh eye and an open 
    mind.  The beginner will see things that the expert will miss.  After 
    all, experts invariably put new problems into the same old context to 
    understand them.  They tend to define what is new in terms of what is 
    old, what is unknown in terms of what is known, and to pigeonhole new 
    situations into existing and well established frameworks.
    
    	Thinking like a beginner is a state of curiosity where you see 
    situations anew, not letting old information and the "benefits' of 
    experience cloud your judgment.  Experience, after all, took place in 
    the past, and the thinking, strategies, and information that worked in 
    the past are often outdated and obsolete.
    
    	As a renowned maverick, the French architect and designer Phillepe 
    Starck, has demonstrated, new eyes accompany the perpetual beginner.  
    Vis-a-vis quotes him as saying simply, "I am an amnesiac.  This is why 
    I always arrive fresh as a problem."
    
    How do you get people to think like beginners?      
    
    	There are many ways to encourage the fresh and open approach of a 
    beginner.  Three techniques for invoking a beginner's mind-set are:
    
    	o If you were to start your job or your company today, or have the 
    	  freedom to totally reinvent and revamp it, what would you keep    
    	  doing, what baggage would you leave behind?  What aspects of your	  

    	  job add value to the customer - which improve service quality 	  

    	  and which improve productivity?  Which are things you do because 	  

    	  you've always done them and don't contribute directly to the top 	  

          or bottom line?	
    	o Pretend that you are a visitor from outer space.  Take an 	  
    	  "alien's" look at your situation.  Ask basic, even naiquestions like 
    	  "What's that?" "what does it do ?" "Why do you do it that way?"
    	o Bring your eight-year-old along for the day and encourage them to 
    	  snoop, eavesdrop, observe, and ask questions.		
    
    	You'll be amazed how much these "visitors" can change your 
    perceptions of the taken-for-granted world, because what is obvious to 
    them has long since become hidden from you.
    
    What's the downside to break-it thinking?
    
    	I'm probably too much of an expert to answer that objectively.  But 
    break-it thinking isn't rocket science.   It's really a model for 
    continuing to learn, grow and change.  In many ways it's actually 
    re-learning to look at things like a beginner, to take risks not 
    chances.  The key to break-it thinking and to winning in any pressure 
    situation is not new ideas or information.  It's passion.  Without it, 
    all the ideas and information will just stay on the shelf.  Passion is 
    the fuel for the human engine.  Passion gives you the courage to try 
    new ideas, to overcome adversity and to chase your dreams.  It provides 
    the spark for creativity.  So, probably the most important rule of 
    break-it thinking is to keep stoking the fire.
    
    Can you sum up break-it thinking in Unconventional Wisdom terms?
    
    	Sure. Unconventional wisdom says:
    	o To ride the wave of change, move before the wave gets to you.
    	o Always mess with success
    	o Speed kills quality, services and innovation
    	o To gain the competitive edge, don't compete, change the game.
    	o The best time to change is when you don't have to.
    	o Think like a beginner, not an expert.
    	o Playing it safe is dangerous.
    	o Get in the habit of breaking your habits.
    	o Round up your sacred cows and put them out to pasture.
    	o Stoke the fire, don't soak it, and
    	o If it ain't broke, BREAK IT!	

I get tired of hearing how we all need to move quicker, leaner, faster,
 better, smarter... etc.

I translate inside my head as "Gee, I must be slow, stupid, backwards, hard..."
 After all, why else would anyone say that to me???

Well, I've finally realized that I'm fine, and everyone around me is too.
 Further, we all are people who like to live lives "our" way, not "faster"
 "bigger", or "Better". Just live. Some excitement, some disappointments.
 Some interesting things along the way.

Guess I'm starting to focus on people (gasp) instead of technology... Anyhow,
 I'm turning off the words I hear like the ones in .0 -- and yes I'm also
 sure they are of some value to some poor soul out there in this world
 somewhere. Just not me.  People haven't really changed in 2000 years, and
 I certainly do not see them changing in the next 30, either. I think the
 acouterments have changed (phones, TV, cars...), but not fundamentals like
 Love, Anger, Fear -- the real motivators and drivers of change.

and it's Friday, and I'm going home soon.... :-)

    I am under the impression that the people at DECwest are already working
    in a very smart/lean fashion. I think that article is aimed at the
    worlds bureacratic process oriented folks who are in meetings alot and never
    really get their hands dirty enough to realize how far away they are
    from actually doing something that starkly affects the bottom line in a
    positive way. These people always default to the old process. They do
    not dare consider that there is a much better way to solve a problem -
    or to simply eliminate it. They do not rise far above their group to
    view how they fit into the big picture and whether or not they are
    making any sense. - and they sometimes look down upon any
    "change-minded upstarts" that seem willing to blow them away and
    change the ways things are done- given the chance.
    
    Watch out for people who create a funded group or project out of a philosophy 
    that the employees should hold. Examples, Ethics, - Achieving Engineering
    Excellence  - maybe I don't get it, but it seems that if we empowered
    (and cranked up the salaries) of some of our already excellent engineers, then 
    we would be better off than paying "X" non-excellent bureaucrats to
    parade around thinking that what they are doing is making a bigger
    difference than what I suggested.
    
    			As usual, I could be way off...
    
    							RJD

    I agree with you 1000%. You are right on.
    
    The company, and the country needs inventive thinkers, but gamesmanship
    in my opinion is just "b-s artists".
    
    We need long term thinkers not short term profit thinkers.
    
    We need to reinstate basic values into this company and this country
    which inlcude valuing trust (works both ways, communiation, hardwork,
    grandma taught ethics, and that people have a limited capacity to do
    things - what I mean there is what you say, we can't continue to be
    pushed and to push ourselves beyond the point of human endurance, which
    is biolocially predisposed.  We are only intelligent animanls and have
    to seek sleep, control of our environment and situation, love,
    happiness, fulfullment, in accordance with natural laws.  When we are
    brought beyond our capacity to cope with occurances, disfunction
    occurs.
    
    Yes we are all hitting the wall on these things.
    
    

    Perhaps Kriegel and like him are trying to avoid the fate which history
    shows awaits all nations/empires (and companies too) The fate of dying
    in the complexities of their ureaucracies, the corruption of their
    debaucheries, the lost visions of their leaders and the lack of
    motivation in their common people.
    
    ...Egypt...Greece....Rome.......Spain...France..England...
    
    These and others have all experienced their periods of glor, but the
    duration of the glory seems to be shortening.
    
    What is next?
    
    .?USA..?Japan....?China (draw your own timeline to scale)
    
    Meanwhile, authors of such books make themselves a dollar or two
    attempting to prevent the inevitable. They may help to slow the process
    of decay for a short time.
    
    I hope so.                                               

      Re .3/.4
    
     Unfortunately, I also believe that this guy has it pretty well scoped
    out, but I don't see a lot of real understanding in many managers on
    the issues. The tree-hugging, wagon-circling, buddy-promoting,
    political-protectionism is alive and thriving here. 
    
      I recently sent a memo to various managers stating some of te very
    things that this interview outlines...basically stating that the work
    has to be re-thought, the traditional methods won't work in the present
    environment, and that trying to apply the old, tired, worn-out methods
    to the current environment are akin to using horses in strad of 747's..
    
    
      My response?? DEAD SILENCE!! Both verballly and written. It seemed
    that my message went into the black-hole of bureaucratic fear...which
    DID tell me in no uncertain terms that I was dead on! 
    
      Unless and until management begins to LISTEN instead of simply
    hearing, there won't be any significant movement toward real change.
    
      My only disagreement with .4 is that I do NOT think that the common
    people are suffering any lack of motiviation...however, the motivation
    is being stifled BIG-time by the buraucratic tree-huggers. Changes of
    any significance means the bureaucrats obsolescence, so they will hang
    on with claws extended!
    
      JM

    
    Re: .5
    
    >   My response?? DEAD SILENCE!! Both verballly and written. 
    
	Were you surprised?
    
    >   Unless and until management begins to LISTEN instead of simply
    >   hearing, there won't be any significant movement toward real change.
    
    	You are right, but don't lay it all on management.  Change
    	certainly will not happen without managment's listening but
    	management's listening by itself won't bring about change
    	either.  We *ALL* have to be listening or we're done.
    
    >  My only disagreement with .4 is that I do NOT think that the common
    >  people are suffering any lack of motiviation...however, the motivation
    >  is being stifled BIG-time by the buraucratic tree-huggers. Changes of
    >  any significance means the bureaucrats obsolescence, so they will hang
    >  on with claws extended!
    
    Again, don't lay it all at management's feet.  Not all managers
    are tree huggers and not all tree huggers are managers.
    
    Steve
    

     Re .6
     Agreed! I know some managers who are very progressive, but not able to
    really do much because they are currently outnumbered by a pretty large
    majority. I also knw many of the "doo-bees" who are tree-huggers 100%.
    
     I think that some of the SLT are very progressive, but so far their
    real message seems to be getting lost in the morass or at least it's
    gotten diluted to the point whrere it's not getting the changes made.
    
      Was I surprised about the silence? I guess in some ways I was not,
    but in some ways I was. I at least expected to be ridiculed, as has
    happened in the past when someone spoke up and voiced 'new' opinions,
    but this time even THAT didn't happen. It may be that nobody wanted to
    ackowledge because they were afraid to let the message get any press at
    all.. But then...sometimes I think dead silence is a very clear message
    in itself..
    
      JM

    Readers of this note might be interested in John Dvorak's column inside
    the back cover of the August issue of DEC Professional magazine.  Some
    Digital managers (and others) may be tempted to write off Dvorak as
    hostile -- but, after all, he works for a magazine that makes its money
    on Digital's success, so hostility is not his most likely motive. 
    Disappointment, perhaps.  Exhausted patience, maybe.
    
    Dvorak juxtaposes Microsoft's (and others') announced intentions to
    explore the frontiers of computing-for-everyone (palmtops, TVs,
    telephones, copiers et al) with Digital's announcement of COSE support
    to illustrate his basic premise -- that Digital hasn't had an original
    idea in a long, long time, and that me-too companies don't succeed.
    
    Reactions?
    
    Mac

    Re: 1-7    As seen on a Dave Cutler t-shirt not long before his
    departure from DECwest:
    
    	"Bureaucracy is the process of turning energy into solid waste"
    
    One process that really could use re-engineering, don't you think??

    ...is the Nike Process.....Just Do It.

    Nari

RE: .8

	Digital has had plenty of original ideas in the past few years.
	It's Digital management with its shortsightedness that has
	botched and killed those ideas. Hopefully the newer management
	structure will properly address that.. (uh-huh)

						mike

    Seems our problems begin with we try first to fix blame and then talk
    about it without ever changing/fixing the problems.
    
    	Anyone read "Rising Sun" by Crichton?  The move wasn't too good,
    but the idea was clear - we've got to stop talking and ACT!
    
    	It ain't the managers, it ain't the people, its all of us getting
    the job done and acting like BREAK-IT people.
    
    Paul

  Robert J. Kriegel, author of If it ain't broke ... BREAK IT!, was 
  interviewed for Global Business Review Volume II, which focuses on 
  downsizing financial systems and client/server technology.  The publication 
  is produced by the Financial Applications and Business Solutions (FABS) 
  Group for our customers and field teams and is available through Northboro, 
  order #EA-N0542-58.
  
  Joan Johnson
  FABS Marketing