Jan 21, 2022 | ENGINEER & COMMUNICATE, Uncategorized
Keep A Paper Trail
Deliberate or accidental misunderstandings can be a result of relying on verbal communication, Therefore it is vital to always – Keep A Paper Trail – i.e. to keep accurate records. There may be a deliberate intention to “muddy the waters” or there may have been an “off the cuff” comment which was taken as a firm commitment or a similar statement uttered in the heat of the moment to placate an irate individual or to win a purchase order.
In some instances it may be a case of companies or individuals not having disciplined procedures in place. But if “the sediment hits the fan” ….. The bottom line is ………
If its not Documented – It didn’t Happen
It is very easy for people to verbally say or agree to many things – but when the time comes to honor that verbal dialogue, there can be a chasm between what you “thought” that you heard or agreed to, and what others “ maintain” that they actually said or intended to say.
Key Points
Life and business can be a maze – Many Things Could Happen – Keep A Paper Trail
- Follow company protocols – Keep a Record – Keep a Paper Trail
- If there are gaps in company protocols – Keep your own Records/Paper Trail
- CYA (Cover Your Anatomy)
- Keep a record – emails – meeting minutes, hand written notes, dates, conversations etc – all communication, agreements and decisions which could come back and bite you
- It sounds like like basic stuff – but enthusiasm, fear and various other emotions can significantly impact decisions and recollections of verbal conversations – particularly if there are financial implications – Get It In Writing and signed off if possible
- If the sediment hits the fan – a Paper Trail will verify what was actually said/agreed – without any wriggle room
- It goes without saying that the amount of detail is relative to the subject matter – to ensure that there can be no misunderstanding of what was said/agreed
- You hope that you will never need it – However, Murphy’s Law tells us that if we have it – it is unlikely to ever be needed – But if we don’t have it …………. We could be in trouble !!!
Going Forwards ..
Cross reference with Clear Message
This web page is not trying to teach complicated methodologies or heavy instruction. The aim is for quick, simple, basic and effective Tips and Tricks to get you back on track and to keep you there by following the 3R’ Philosophy
Review – Refresh – Reset
and follow the KISS Principle
Take A Break ……
When there is a need to take a deep breath and take a break
Engineer & Communicate – Engineering Trivia Quiz – Engineering Nostalgia – Engineering Odd Bits
Jan 20, 2022 | ENGINEER & COMMUNICATE, Uncategorized
Always have a Meetings Agenda so as to keep the meetings on track and on time
Meetings Agenda
In my early days I sat through many meetings with no fixed Agenda. Many times they would meander off the subject matters or were hijacked by participants with side objectives or “pet” issues and the meetings achieved very little other than to waste everyone’s time.
It is critical to always have an Agenda for all meetings and to keep meetings to a fixed time.
Always have a Meetings Agenda
Personally I do not like meetings to go longer than 1 hour. But there is no hard and fixed rule.
Although not directly part of this post – You may also consider “Stand Up” meetings as a way to encourage shorter meetings. As the name implies – all participants stand during the meeting – Some people like them – Some do not.
General Guidelines
- Always have an agenda
- Distribute the agenda to participants well before the meeting
- Request confirmation of the agenda – to minimize the risk of the meeting being hi jacked by someone with another agenda
- Set a time for each item on the agenda – a stop watch or similar is obviously required
- Plus a nominated timekeeper
- Make it clear at the start of the meeting that the agenda and times are to be followed
- If anyone wants to change the agenda at this stage – the answer is NO – Unless there is a very good reason – Obviously common sense needs to prevail
- New issues may need to be the subject of a new meeting – Which will need to be arranged for a new date
- Note that the allotted times are a guide – allow some latitude
- If a participant is going well over the allotted time – They need to be “politely” reminded of the time limit
- If the issue is likely to need extended time/debate/discussion – It should be closed down and noted/minuted with something along the lines of … the XYZ subject/issue was not resolved because of ABC and another meeting will be scheduled to address this….. – together with any relevant detail.
- It is very important to be polite but firm – if required – A slice of humor will help to soften any tensions
- Focus on the desired outcomes
- Keep the meeting on track and do not wander off into ancillary areas
- And finally – Always keep accurate minutes of the meeting – it is important to Minute All Meetings
Not Only – But Also……
When there is a need to take a deep breath and take a break
- Open List Of Pages – Engineering Nostalgia for pages of Old Engineer Memories from Engineering practice in the 1960’s/70’s/80’s – with a bit of armed forces and medieval trivia thrown in
- Regardless of your current status – always ask the question – Is there a Better Way and
visit the 3R web page for an overview of the 3R Philosophy Review – Refresh – Reset
- Whenever possible – always follow the KISS Principle
- Challenge yourself and your colleagues with an Engineering Quiz
- Check out Engineering Odd Bits for odd subject matter – including humor and comment
Engineer & Communicate – Engineering Trivia Quiz – Engineering Nostalgia – Engineering Odd Bits
Jan 20, 2022 | ENGINEER & COMMUNICATE, Uncategorized
Hasten Slowly
Hasten Slowly – Avoid the Knee Jerk reaction – Lots of frantic activity might look impressive to an outsider – But may not equate to actual Productive Work
- The pressure and urgency is always there for speed and a knee jerk reaction
- “We need it and we need it now”
- You are being urged to hit the Panic Button
- The pressure is on
- Your manager is on your back – their manager is on their back
- They are not sure what they need, BUT they want to see lots of action, movement, activity, lots of people doing lots of things
- It makes them feel good and it looks good
- And – throw in all of the “buzz words”
- It’s easy to get sucked in and to be carried along with that wave of unbridled enthusiasm. No questions asked.
- But Activity is not necessarily Productivity
- It can be a good idea to take a step back and look at the project/problem/breakdown/whatever in a calm and measured way – without the pressure
- The challenge is to rise above and take a birds eye view.
Hasten Slowly And Succeed
- Lets step back for a few minutes and review the situation
- What are the drivers
- Who is doing the driving
- Is it a reasonable request – it may be – but still needs to be thought through and a rational, logical process used
- Sort the wheat from the chaff
- Be diplomatic and apply logic- Take the emotion out of the decision making process
- Look at the issue in a calm and measured way
Going Forwards ..
I know that it is easier said than done – but it’s got to be worth a try
….. Hasten Slowly …..
Not Only – But Also…..
When there is a need to take a deep breath and take a break
Engineer & Communicate – Engineering Trivia Quiz – Engineering Nostalgia – Engineering Odd Bits
Jan 20, 2022 | ENGINEER & COMMUNICATE
A typical Bullet Point Document
Bullet Point Document
How to write an effective Single Page Bullet Point Document – Every Time.
It’s quite ironic, we have access to mountains of information and it is literally only a mouse click away, but most of the people I am dealing with want a Single Page Bullet Point Document summation.
But writing effective Bullet Point Documents requires skill and technique. If they are badly written, the meaning can be easily lost and they serve no useful purpose, other than to totally confuse the reader.
It sounds simple, but how do you write a good Bullet Point Document – Every Time
THE “HOW TO” – Bullet Point Document
- Start with a short covering paragraph, a brief overview of what or why – a snapshot which will give the reader the background. A simple heading of – Overview
- Take it from the start – work out the logical order of what you need to convey
- Sometimes you can quickly put it together mentally and document a series of steps – it just happens
- Other times you get writers block and it just won’t come
- If this happens – make a separate document and just write it down as it comes into your head
- As though you where speaking to a close colleague
- Don’t worry about the spelling, grammar or correct words, just get it in a written form
- If you can’t think of the correct words, substitute with a few ???’s or XXX’s
- It will take shape and you can clean it up as you re read and create the format
- Then break it up into a Bullet Point format by isolating short sentences or runs of words and creating the Bullet Points
- Keep it brief
- But make sure that it can be clearly understood by the reader
- Are there unnecessary words which can be cut out
- Can the sentence be re written to remove words – e.g. “the pencil which belongs to me” could be written as “my pencil”
- However, don’t fall into the trap of making it so brief that it becomes ambiguous and can’t be clearly understood
- Suffering the pain of a few extra words in order to ensure a clear message is better than risking fewer words and a misunderstanding
- When you think that its there – take a break – clear your head – have a coffee
- Come back and re read it
- Ask a colleague to read it
- Does it still compute
- Is it “All Good” or does it need adjustment
- You may need to review several times until it comes together in a clear and unambiguous form
- Do you feel that you’ve got it just right
- Good, now you can hit the save button and send it off
This web page is not about heavy instruction. The aim is the 3 R’s Review – Refresh – Reset
Not Only – But Also
When there is a need to take a deep breath and take a break
Engineer & Communicate – Engineering Trivia Quiz – Engineering Nostalgia – Engineering Odd Bits
Jan 20, 2022 | ENGINEER & COMMUNICATE, Uncategorized
DO – DUMP OR DELEGATE
The emails keep coming in. Messages keep coming in. The phone never stops ringing.
Actions are required from every meeting and conversation. And you feel completely overwhelmed ?
There is an instinctive desire to understand and work on every issue – BUT the reality is that there are only a given number of productive hours in a work day. Maybe the time has come to adopt a DO – DUMP OR DELEGATE strategy in order to maintain your sanity.
DO – DUMP OR DELEGATE
I once had a boss whose favorite saying was –
“There are 24 hours in day – and then you have the night time to catch up”
Needless to say – he was very good at delegating
Do you find yourself putting issues to one side with the intention of coming back to them at some stage in the future – maybe later in the day when everyone else has gone home and it’s quiet or putting in a few hours at home later in the evening or maybe trying to catch up by working on the weekend? With laptops and the internet its all too easy – the pressure is on to do more extra work from home.
Before you become a workaholic and are completely burned out – Switch to the Do – Dump – Delegate method of managing the flood of emails and messages and other stuff – don’t put it to one side with the intention of coming back to it later – Don’t keep it hanging around or “on hold”
DO – DUMP OR DELEGATE
Not Only – But Also…..
When there is a need to take a deep breath and take a break
- Open List Of Pages – Engineering Nostalgia for pages of Old Engineer Memories from Engineering practice in the 1960’s/70’s/80’s – with a bit of armed forces and medieval trivia thrown in
- Regardless of your current status – always ask the question – Is there a Better Way and
visit the 3R web page for an overview of the 3R philosophy Review – Refresh – Reset
- Whenever possible – always follow the KISS Principle
- Challenge yourself and your colleagues with an Engineering Quiz
- Check out Engineering Odd Bits for odd subject matter – including humor and comment
Engineer & Communicate – Engineering Trivia Quiz – Engineering Nostalgia – Engineering Odd Bits
