Fast Focus - A Decision-Making Tool

I wanted to share this tool that I learned in an AMA seminar.


Overview:

Fast Focus is a Power Tool for Complex Decisions

Fast Focus Analysis is a quick and simple arithmetic process, adapted from the engineering/construction field, and useful in all kinds of decisions--- from buying a car, to changing jobs, to making business decisions.

While the arithmetic process takes only ten minutes, the tool actually slows you down, so you avoid opting for familiar choices that may have little or n o application now. It is a pencil and paper tool that works!

Use Fast Focus Analysis when your decision involves:

• Multiple facets
• Long-range effects
• Irreversible outcomes
• High costs
• Stakeholders with varied needs

Such a decision should be made on paper, never in your head, and when you feel tired or pressured.

Once you learn Fast Focus Analysis, you'll want to use it often, at work and at home.

Fast Focus Applied

This simple 10-minute tool lets you compute preferences in multi-factor situations. You will see clearly how much more you will want one feature than another including mid-range features.

Example: Say you need to buy a new vehicle. Why do you shop around so much? Because you want a lot features, and the costs are high. Your preference might include:

• Price/discounts/terms
• Economy of operation/mileage
• Engine configuration
• Model : 2-door versus 4 -door, Hybrid, SUV, etc
• Ease of maintenance/repair
• Safety features
• Availability/delivery
• Dealer service reputation
• Luxury options
• Design, colors, etc

If you find a car will all your choices, you'll snap it up. But you tend to fnd cars with only some of your choices. You list your preference, and seek the vehicle with the most "matches." Even if you go to the next step: weighting the choices on your list, you'll settle on the car that meets more of your top choices.

Do's and Don'ts of Email

When You're the Sender

1. Make sure that email is the right communication tool for the job.

• Although email can sometimes feel like the ultimate replacement for all other forms of communication, it's actually more limited than you might initially think.
• First of all, email is not synchronous like telephone calls or in-person conversations; in other words, sending a message does not guarantee an immediate response. Also, it can sometimes take more time to write an email than it would to speak to someone directly. Finally, email doesn't make it easy to convey quick sketches or notes that are nonlinear. If you need an immediate response, think you'll have a lot of follow-up questions, or need to convey a complex topic using visual ads, email is probably not the best tool for the job.

2. Get to the point right away.

• Whenever possible, ask your question --- or provide your response --- within the first few sentences of your message; you can always give details and explanations later. Tackling the major points up front decreases the chances that you'll lose your reader's attention, confuse them, or irritate them by by forcing them to spend extra time looking for your point.

Good: Hey. can you send m your TPS report today? I noticed you haven't filed it yet.

BAD: Hey, I noticed your haven't filed your TPS report. It's really important that we get all these reports in every day. Have you done yours yet? I'd like to take a look.

3. When asking a question, be sure to ask the question.

• If you need information or have a request, phrase it as a question to ensure that your receipt knows you need a response. Simply making a statement and assuming people will respond is a good way to get ignored.

Good: Do you have time to analyze the failure of the TPS report system and put together a report on it this week? We may have an opportunity to go with a different vendor.

Bad: We need to look into the failures of the TPS report system. A report would be good to have.

4. Specify who should respond.

• If you send an email to a list or group of people, you may not receive a response unless you specify who in the group is responsible for following up. Group emails make it easier for all recipients to assume someone else on the list will handle the request.

Good: Hi, all. Good news: We've decided to upgrade the TPS report system based on our feedback. Peter, can you check in with IT to a make sure the rollout doesn't requires to stop production of the reports.

BAD: Hi, all. We've decided to upgrade the TPS report system based on your feedback. Can we check in with IT before this happens?

5. Be clear about when you need a response.

• If you want the recipient to get back to you by the end of the day, save yourself the frustration of playing the waiting game by setting a deadline for a response. Otherwise, your coworkers might put your message on their to-do list and get back to your whenever it's convenient for them. Additionally, you may want to bring extra attention to time-sensitive messages by flagging them as high-importance items or noting the deadline in the email's subject line.

Good: Can you replace the cover sheet on your TPS report with the new cover sheet we're using now? Also, please re-file by the end of the day.

BAD: Yeah, I'm going need you to go ahead and replace the cover sheet on your TPS report with a new none, OK?

6. Provide context to frame your message.

• If you're emailing someone out of the blue, don't just assume he or she will know what you're talking about --- even if your were just talking about it in person a few minutes ago. People don't always check their email right away, so they may not recall what your were discussing. Also, some people may want a record of the email thread to look back on days or weeks later.

Good: I agree with what you were saying in the hall about how TPS reports are a waste of time. I'm not going to do mine anymore.

BAD: You're right. I'm not doing mine anymore.

When You're the Recipient

1. Don't make any assumptions about sender's emotional state.

• Unless the sender actually spells out the fact that he or she is angry with you, don't assume that the person intended to send a rude response -- you just don't know for sure. Most people aren't great writers, so it's possible that the sender didn't realize how the message would sound when read by another person. She may even have trying to make a joke by being sarcastic, a feast few people can actually pull of in writing.
• If you receive an email that really make your heart skip a beat when you read it, try walking away from the message and re-reading it later before you respond. See if there's any other possible way to interpret the note; you may even want to ask someone else to take a look at the message and offer her impressions.

2. Don't escalate a conflict by sending an emotionally charged response.

• If you decide that the sender intended to send you a rude email, don't make the problem worse by sending an equally charged response. Doing so may start a vicious cycle of nasty emails -- after all. it's easy to hide behind your computer and fire of angry messages that say things you probably wouldn't say in person. Pick up the phone or set up an in-person meeting, and you'll likely have easier time getting to the bottom of the issue and resolving the conflict.

Good: Can we schedule a quick, face-to-face meeting or phone call to discuss this?

BAD: Oh yeah? Well, I guess I'll just have to burn the building down then.

3. Ask for clarification.

• If you receive an email that doesn't quite make sense --- with confusing grammar or no punctuation, for example --- ask the sender to clarify. It's whole lot faster to ask for clarification than it is to re-read a massage four times, ask everyone for their opinions on what it means, and send back a response that doesn't address the sender's point. While you can ask for more information, by replying to the email, getting clarification over the phone or in person might be an even quicker way to get answers to your questions.

4. REMEMBER: You don't have to respond to every message right away.

• Unless you are being paid solely to send and receive emails, it's a pretty good bet that you have other, more pressing tasks to devote your attention to. s a final piece of advice, don't forget to give yourself permission to periodically turn way from your inbox so you can take some time to finish other activities.

Any ohter hints you can think of please share.

Cures for Illusions about Competing Priorities

I recently attended a seminar through AMA about Managing Chaos in the business environment.



One of the key takes ways from the lecture :



"Three Cures for Illusions about Competing Priorities"



When your calendar gets overloaded, defend yourself against three common illusions that threaten your priority system:



Illusion 1: You need a big chunk of time for a major task.



OPTIONS: Cut big tasks down to smaller segments; map them visually on a whiteboard. Schedule the toughest item for your "best" time of day. Or attack the easiest task before going home at night.



Illusion 2: The data you produce holds value.



OPTIONS: Next time you churn out a page of daily or weekly numbers with only slight variances, ask requesters: "What risks does this data control?" Remeber that an event produces orginal data which different users want "sliced and diced" to suit them. Smart companies place such data on shared Web sties, inviting users to select and blend locally.



Illusion 3: All these demands are Number 1!



OPTIONS: Pareto's Law (Economics) indicates that the top 20% of a workload produces 80% of results. (Similarly, 20% of donors generate 80% of donations. Also, 20% of your inventory generates 80% of sales) So consider this when you look at your pirorites that server your customers and then answer the following :

• Which one of your current tasks merit your top 20% of effort?


• Which "bottom 20%" tasks look wasteful by comparisoin?

I learned that you should always focus on your top 20%, delegate, relegate or automate the bottom task. Always!

Tool:Risk/Value

The purpose of this tool is to analyze the risks and value of current or proposed projects or processes.

• This tool can be used in several ways: To analyze new projects or processes or to explain priorities within projects or processes.
• Some risks included: The unknowns, unsolved technical and human problems, potential costs, low political support.
• Some values are : The results achieved, problems solved, funding, acquired, support gained, product or process created, tested, or ready.

How to Use This Tool

1. Consider an ongoing process you must manage or a current or proposed project.
2. Begin by drawing line segments at the foot of the Risk bar for each known risk. Consider Risks that must be managed during the life of the project. Draw the segment size in estimated proportion to the importance or size of the specific Risk.
3. Begin by drawing from the foot of the Value bar. List the Values already achieved. Draw a segment size in estimated proportion to the importance or size of the specific Value.
4. Next, show Risk segments that may migrate to the value side once problems are solved. Some solved Risks will never make it to the Value side because they can't make a profit. They allow you to complete the project without reappearing on the Value side.
5. Use solid line segments to indicate current actual levels of Risk and Value. Then use dotted segments to show expected levels of Value after you have removed obstacles or met requirements.

Time Managers vs. Priority Managers : Vital Distinctions

Which type of manager are you? Which do you prefer to be managed by?

Time Managers:

• Decide when to do tasks.
• Scheudle tasks.

Priority Managers:

• Decide wheater to do tasks.
• Validate tasks by their combined risk and value.
• Negotiate up front and graphically when incoming tasks threathen existing tasks.
• Offer optoins to get the right things done.

Welcome BUS4100 Summer 2009

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You can find many class documents on the blackboard site.

http://my.dominican.edu