The Shipping Game
• 6 Ships in the harbor• 1 crane per pier• Each 1 crane offloads 1 ship in 6 days – Two cranes can offload in 3 days, 3 in 2, etc…
• Cranes can be moved at no cost• All captains want their ships offloaded now• Be prepared to defend your strategy
5 Minutes
The Shipping Game
All 1’s: 6+6+6+6+6+6 = 36/6 = 6 days avg
All 2’s: 3+6+3+6+3+6 = 27/6 = 4.5 days avg
All 3’s: 2+4+6+2+4+6 = 24/6 = 4 days avg
All 6’s: 1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21/6 = 3.5 days avg
The Shipping Game
• You make $$$ when ships at sea
• If all 6 ships in port x 6 days = no money
• If one out/day, first 5 make money
Objectives
• Witnessed benefits of resource concentration
• Defined problems w/ org multitasking
• Listed strategies to manage “The Trap”
• Explored our workplace Acceleration Trap
• Committed to Trap-avoiding strategy
Take Home Points
• Multitasking is killing your effectiveness
• Concentrate resources intensively
• Bury unnecessary projects (& celebrate!)
The Acceleration Trap
• Market/corporate pressure, organizations do more…and more…and more…
• Succeed initially, but furious pace = new normal = chronic overloading
• Leaders fight the symptoms, not the cause– Low motivation ≠ laziness
The Student Syndrome
• Delay starting because we have time– Other pressing priorities come first
• Murphy's law sets in
• A difficult project is due in 5 days? – “Can we negotiate for 10?”– Waste built-in safety
Parkinson’s Law
“The amount of time which one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will
take to complete the task.”
Parkinson’s Law
“The amount of time which an organization has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete
the task.”
Parkinson’s Law
• We will fill all available time–Will barely finish on time
• Why?– Judged on results – Future time and budget will be cut
• Pad estimation & budget
Multitasking
• Overestimation of required time
• Rarely have time for multiple projects
• Multiple projects = switching costs
• Bouncing between projects = switching costs
• Poor multitasking = project extensions
Your Responses• Is it hard to get the most important things done because too many other
activities diffuse focus?
• Is there a tendency to continually drive the organization to the limits of its capacity?
• Is it impossible for employees to see the light at the end of the tunnel?
• Do employees talk a lot about how big their workload is?
• Is busyness valued?
• Are managers expected to act as role models by being involved in multiple projects?
• Is “no” a taboo word, even for people who have already taken on too many projects?
• In their free time, do employees keep their cell phones or messaging devices on because they feel they always need to be reachable?
85.7%
100%
50%
85.7%
85.7%
71.4%
85.7%
85.7%
Getting Out Of The Trap
• Stop the action
• Be clear about strategy
• Decide how to make decisions
• Declare the turmoil over
Avoiding The Trap
• Institute spring cleaning
• Cap annual goals
• Filter new projects
• Introduce a “burying” culture
Change The Culture
• Focus on one thing for only limited time
• Institute time-outs
• Indulge in successes
• Slow down to speed up
• Model better behavior
• Use feedback systems
Concentrate & Bury
• As individuals
• What (org) initiatives are you working on?
• Prioritize your list
• We will list all responses 3 Minutes
• How can we concentrate our efforts?
• How can we change our culture?
• What can we commit to for the future?
Objectives
• Witnessed benefits of resource concentration
• Defined problems w/ org multitasking
• Listed strategies to manage “The Trap”
• Explored our workplace Acceleration Trap
• Discussed a project to bury
Take Home Points
• Multitasking is killing your effectiveness
• Concentrate resources intensively
• Bury unnecessary projects (& celebrate!)