Connectivity Paralysis

mobile deviceI've not blogged for almost a month for several reasons. First my current employer has some restrictions concerning blog topics, and I've been working out just what this means. Second I'm so connected that I'm paralysed!

My employer has provided me with a laptop and token that allows secure access to two corporate intranets. I have a Blackberry so if I'm not on, or monitoring, the Intranets then I receive the e-mails any way. And of course I'm still contactable by telephone of which I have four numbers - my office number, a secure mobile, my personal mobile, and my home number. I have two work e-mails and one semi-private address, as well as the address on this site. If people still can't find me my wife has an office number and mobile. In short I am so connected that I can find few ways of escaping, short of turning everything off and answering nothing. Why would I want Twitter, Doppler or any other social connectivity tool?

I've written before about connectivity enabling Pavlovian work-practices . By this I mean one stops doing what they are doing and responds to the electronic stimuli immediately and often uncritically. If we assume an eight hour day, and at the moment mine is more like 16 or 18, then there are 480 minutes. I get at least 30 e-mails a day that require my attention, and I'm not counting e-mails where I am an information addressee. This means at best each e-mail gets 16 minutes attention inclusive of reading, consideration and response time! Add into this telephone calls, none of which is less than five minutes; meetings few of which are less than 15 minutes; reading - at least an hour a day; and it is no wonder my work practice is becoming Pavlovian! If I don't respond in a Pavlovian manner I simply can't keep up!!

Connectivity has its place, but we need to be careful of enabling Pavlovian work practices. There are few situations where constant near-real time connectivity and responses matter. Unfortunately expectations do not match this reality!

Regards, Graham



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Re: Connectivity Paralysis

Submitted by Keith De La Rue on Thu, 14/08/2008 - 01:46.

Graham -

Finally responding to your comment.  Interestingly, in the meantime I have found a couple of interesting posts on the benefits of Twitter.  I have just summarised these here:

http://delarue.net/blog/2008/08/connect-develop-contribute/

I resisted Twitter for a long time, for similar reasons to you; but I am now finding great benefits in using it.  Yes, I am now a sole consultant, and no longer working as staff at a corporate; yet my consultancy keeps me in the corporate world.

Re the Pavlovian response - I understand your point, but I would say that this comes down to personal management.  Both when I was working at a corporate, and still now, there are times when I turn off the BlackBerry (my only business phone now) or forward it to voice mail.  At my corporate job, I only ever had one phone at a time - I only ever gave out the office number.  When in the office, the mobile was forwarded to voice mail, and when out of the office, the desk phone was forwarded to the mobile, which was only unforwarded when I chose to be available. Never perfectly avoiding the Pavlovian response, but keeping it under control!

I wonder what would happen if Pavlov's dog ever met Schrödinger's Cat? :-)

Re: Connectivity Paralysis

Submitted by Graham Durant-Law on Sat, 16/08/2008 - 09:48.

Hi Keith.

Thanks for the comment and the link.  Perhaps I should have qualified my post by indicating I am part of the "Executive Leadership" team:  that is in my organisation, which is hierarchical, only the boss sits above me.  He only answers to a couple of people who are remote from the organisation.  I should also qualify the post by saying the organisation has a medical role.

I agree your comments on personal management.  I have said elswhere on this blog that a missing component of knowledge management is discipline , and personal management is part of that discipline.  My discipline involves block periods during the day set aside for administrative and reading tasks.  As you suggest I regularly turn off all but one phone, but I don't have the luxury of only having one phone.  Nor do I have the luxury of only giving out one number, or one e-mail - they are on the corporate directory for all to see and use.  My e-mail discipline uses a folder and rules approach - all CCs automatically go into a CCs folder, and working on the assumption they truly are for information they get read at the end of the day.  I have a serial pest.  Their email goes into another a "Pest" folder, and rarely is read.  Still I am overwhelmed. 

I have no use for Doppler Twitter or other devices they increase my connectivity.  I don't want to be more connected - I want to be less connected.  I don't want everyone coming to me all the time - I want them to make decisions and take responsibility for their own actions!  Connectivity is paralysing me.  Connectivity is enabling sloppy and lazy work practices, and it shifts a lot of decision making unnecessarily up the chain.

If Pavlov's dog met Schrödinger's Cat perhaps this problem would just disappear! Smile

Regards Graham

Re: Connectivity Paralysis

Submitted by Pat Byrne on Sun, 10/08/2008 - 23:00.

Hi Graham

I had to laugh at this entry.  You and I have been trying to get together for a drink since you took up this new work .... but it seems we can only connect through here!!!  Ironic!!  I will have to sms each of your phones and your wife's.

I suggest the only time we will get together in the near future is the presentation we are jointly making at the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) on Wednesday evening here - http://www.aimnsw.com.au/aim/index.cfm?C48E5D22-9360-DE5A-0C6B-F10E93947002. 

See you then - beers and bundies are on me!! 

regards

Pat

 

 

Re: Connectivity Paralysis

Submitted by Graham Durant-Law on Mon, 11/08/2008 - 01:57.

Hi Pat,

It might be funny for you, but it's quite problematic for me, and even worse for those senior executives above me.  I suspect much of the hype around social connectivity is generated by self employeed indivuals, academics, and middle managers.  Everyone I know in my situation doesn't want to be more connected!

I'm looking forward to Wednesday.  A Guiness sounds good!

Regards Graham