Small Change - August 2001

Small Change is a free ezine from Shannon Bradford to help you get more done, feel less stressed, and enjoy more success.

Mind Capital - Thinkology®
www.mindcapital.com

IN THIS ISSUE
On My Mind: Happy Birthday to the IBM PC
Thinkology™ Tools: Managing E-Expectations
Shared Assets: "The Age of Disruption" by Alan Webber in Fast Company
Recommended Investments: How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey

ON MY MIND
Happy Birthday to the IBM PC

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, IBM PC...Haaappy Birthday to you."

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the IBM personal computer. It€s a milestone that was celebrated this month at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California. Although IBM's PC wasn't the first (Apple Computer and Tandy beat them to market with their microcomputers), it was the IBM PC that launched the mass market. In fact, in the last 20 years, over one billion personal computers have been sold--more than three times the number of automobiles in the same time period.

As I was reflecting on this anniversary, I started to think about the impact of computer technology on our lives and our perceptions. What popped onto my mental screen is the emergence of what I call "E-expectations," the expectations that since we can communicate instantaneously (thanks to computers, the Internet, and other technology), we can also perform instantaneously. More about E-expectations and how to manage them below.

Regards,
Shannon Bradford

THINKOLOGY™ TOOLS
Managing E-Expectations

Technology has changed a lot of things in our lives. One thing I think it has changed is our perceptions of time.

When I worked in government in the 1980s, we had computers, but no fax machines (and no e-mail, of course). I remember when we first got a telecopier. For those of you who don't remember telecopiers, they were basically prehistoric fax machines. Like a fax machine, a telecopier would send a document over the phone line. Unlike a fax machine, one page of a document required about 30-60 minutes to transmit. Back then, we thought this was a miracle. Instead of an overnight wait to send a document across geography, we could do it in a few hours. Then, on the heels of the telecopier, along came the fax machine. An even bigger miracle, with a fax machine, transmitting a page required only a few seconds.

So, why is it that I have found myself standing in front of a fax machine, encouraging it to go faster? I think it's because as technology gets faster, we readjust our expectations of how fast other things should move. This creates a syndrome I call E-expectations.

E-expectations are the expectations that since we can communicate instantaneously--because of technology and the Internet--we can also perform instantaneously. E-expectations are apparent when we fail to allow a realistic amount of time for completion of a request. We expect an instant response to an e-mail simply because it is possible--never mind that a useful reply requires some thought on the part of the other person. We expect that because the person on the other end of the phone has access to a computer, the information we need is instantly available. And when our E-expectations are not met, we react with emotions that range from mild irritation to outrage.

Anyone who deals with customers has probably experienced the unpleasant result of E-expectations. The arrival of electronic information at our fingertips has shortened the patience span of customers. Today, it seems to take very little to send a customer into a tirade, and dealing with an irate customer is never pleasant.

However, you can soothe irritation or even prevent indignation by managing expectations with your customers. How?

a. If customers call for service, explain the process and give them a timeline
b. If your customers need information and you can't provide it immediately, give them a time estimate for when they can expect your response
c. If you are part way through a project, don't wait for completion, give your client updates along the way
d. When you do give time frames, remember the old saying: "Underpromise and overdeliver"

And remember, when you are the customer on the other end of the line, manage your own expectations by asking about timelines and processes, instead of assuming instant capability and then blaming the other person when they don't meet your E-expectations.

SHARED ASSETS (GREAT QUOTES)
"The Age of Disruption" by Alan Webber
Fast Company, August 2001

"The only infrastructure that counts today is people....The only thing you've got to invest in is smart brains." Juan Enriquez, author of As the Future Catches You: How Genomics & Other Forces Are Changing Your Life, Work, Health & Wealth, quoted in "The Age of Disruption" by Alan Webber

Fast Company, August 2001
www.fastcompany.com

RECOMMENDED INVESTMENTS
How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work
Seven Languages for Transformation
Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
Jossey-Bass

As a communications scholar myself, I'm always interested in how communication affects how we think and how we work. In How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work, Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow show the impact of language and communication on thinking, on working relationships and on organizations.

Kegan and Lahey, two Harvard psychologists, outline four areas of internal language and three areas of social language. They also explain how transforming the language we use can change behavior, both individually and as organizations.

Favorite quote: "This premise that work settings are language communities brings us to a corollary premise: all leaders are leading language communities. Though every person, in any setting, has some opportunity to influence the nature of the language, leaders have exponentially greater access and opportunity to shape, alter, or ratify existing language rules. In our view, leaders have no choice in this matter of being language leaders; it just goes with the territory. We have a choice whether to be thoughtful and intentional about this aspect of our leadership, or whether to unmindfully ratify the existing drift of our community's favored forms. We have the choice to make much of the opportunity, or little. We have the choice to be responsible or not for the meaning of our leadership as it affects our language community. But we have no choice about whether we are or are not language leaders."

WHAT'S NEW
It's Back to School Time

It's back to school time. That means the demand for school supplies is at its peak. Did you know there are almost 90,000 schoolchildren in Central Florida who go to school without the necessary school supplies? That€s where A Gift For Teaching comes in. A Gift For Teaching take donated, surplus supplies and merchandise from businesses like yours and puts them in the hands of the teachers who teach our community€s most disadvantaged kids. Why not clean out your supply closet, and drop off some boxes of much-needed supplies at A Gift For Teaching€s free teacher store? Pens, pencils, paper, stationery, envelopes, promotional products€there€s almost nothing a teacher can€t use in a creative learning lesson. [Even if you€re not in Central Florida, I€m sure your local school would welcome your donations. Don€t throw those supplies away!]

If you're in the field of Human Resources and you're reading Small Change from Florida, you may be interested in the HR Florida conference coming to Orlando in September, "Conquering the Chaos." HR Florida is the statewide association for human resource professionals and they've put together a terrific program. In fact, I'll be presenting a workshop at the conference on September 24, called "How to Incite a ThinkAble Organization."

For all of you who have asked when my book will be available, I have great news. John Wiley & Sons will publish Brain Power in the spring of 2002. Brain Power outlines the seven principles of how your brain operates and how you can use them to be more successful in this new, shapeshifting business world. You've heard or read some of these principles in speeches, training or coaching sessions and in Small Change. Next year, you'll have the opportunity to get the whole story in Brain Power.