Virtual Clutter: I

It's easy to estimate the cost of physical clutter at home or at work. Obvious costs include the cost of the items themselves, plus the cost of the space they occupy. Other costs include the effort required to find an item among all the clutter; cleaning, heating, and cooling; insurance; fire, flood, and other casualty losses; unnecessary purchases to replace what can't be found among the clutter, and on and on.

Most physical cost sources of home clutter have clear analogs at work. In the workplace, though, we have forms of clutter that have few clear analogs at home, because they're virtual, which makes them difficult to recognize. We rarely account for the burdens imposed by virtual clutter.

Here's Part I a short catalog of forms of virtual clutter, including brief discussions of the burdens they impose. Let's begin with the highest-level forms of virtual clutter.

Policies

Most organizations have collections of policies and procedures. Over time, these edicts accumulate virtual clutter: policies that no longer apply, or exceptions that are no longer needed. The virtual clutter can make it difficult for policy authors to notice internal contradictions, or to discern the gaps in coverage for new cases that have arisen since the policies were created or last revised.

Many organizational policy documents are now available on line. They're searchable, which makes them easier to use. Searchability also facilitates removing internal inconsistencies and updating the policies to remove virtual clutter. Excuses for virtual clutter in a searchable policy base are rather lame.

Strategic plans

Some strategic Some strategic plans contain
initiatives that cannot work if
funded at the low levels that the
organization can actually affordplans contain initiatives that cannot work if funded at the low levels that the organization can actually afford. Underfunded initiatives yield too little benefit, too late to matter. They are virtual clutter. They defocus the strategic plan, and disrupt its coherence.

How such initiatives persist is a topic for another time. For now, let's just begin to recognize them as virtual clutter, and do what we can to end them as soon as practical. Until we address the root causes of their existence, we'll likely see more examples in future strategic plans.

Processes

Organizational processes tend to have interfaces to other processes. When we alter processes, we don't always review the processes with which they interact. Consequently, over time, some processes develop now-unnecessary baggage that was once intended to support the needs of other processes, or make up for their shortcomings. An example: requiring the approval of a manager who no longer has appropriate authority, or worse, requiring the approval of a representative of a department that no longer exists.

When processes change, review all processes with which they interact. When we reconfigure the enterprise, we must systematically review all processes that control the activities affected.

We'll continue next time, exploring virtual clutter at lower levels of the organization.  Next in this series  Top    Next Issue

Are your projects always (or almost always) late and over budget? Are your project teams plagued by turnover, burnout, and high defect rates? Turn your culture around. Read 52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations, filled with tips and techniques for organizational leaders. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:

When Your Boss Attacks Your Self-Esteem

Your boss's comments about your work can make your day — or break it. When you experience a comment as negative or hurtful, you might become angry, defensive, withdrawn, or even shut down. When that happens, you're not at your best. What can you do if your boss seems intent on making every day a misery?

When You Think They've Made Up Their Minds

In tough negotiations, when attempts to resolve differences have failed, we sometimes conclude that "they've made up their minds," but other explanations abound. Keeping an open mind about why other people seem to have closed theirs can help us find a resolution.

Assumptions and the Johari Window: II

The roots of both creative and destructive conflict can often be traced to the differing assumptions of the parties to the conflict. Here's Part II of an essay on surfacing these differences using a tool called the Johari window.

Astonishing Successes

When we have successes that surprise us, we do feel good, but beyond that, our reactions are sometimes self-defeating. What happens when we experience unanticipated success, and how can we handle it better?

Some Limits of Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis uses powerful tools for finding the sources of process problems. The approach has been so successful that it has become a way of thinking about organizational patterns. Yet, resolving organizational problems this way sometimes works — and sometimes fails. Why?

See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Critical Thinking at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming June 20: Managing Dissent Risk

In group decision making, dissent risk is the risk that dissents about important decisions will be rejected without due consideration. As a result, group decision quality can suffer, and some groups will actually eject dissenters. How can we manage dissent risk? Available here and by RSS on June 20.

And on June 27: Interrupting Others in Meetings Safely: I

In meetings we sometimes feel the need to interrupt others to offer a view or information, or to suggest adjusting the process. But such interruptions carry risk of offense. How can we interrupt others safely? Available here and by RSS on June 27.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenjTNrsoLAfacEFYMAner@ChacnYvRlMrAdGofiiTdoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, USD 28.99)

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Race to the South Pole: The Power of Agile Development

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough. Lessons abound. Among the more important lessons are those that demonstrate the power of the agile approach to project management and product development. Read more about this program. Here's a date for this program:

• Fifth Third Bank, 5717 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45227: July 17, Monthly Meeting, Cincinnati chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysis. Register now.
   

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented 6:00 PM June 29 (Eastern Time), Monthly Webinar, Technobility Webinar Series. You can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.