ORA00 Ltd 1/45 The Chain of Optimistic Communication

How is the development going? No where – we can’t get specs out of the analysts for the new screens, the old screens were written by idiots and are nightmare to update and we can’t build the test database until we get the storage I’ve started the interactive help system. We are guessing at the contents… Well, what the hell have you got done!? How is the development going? Not as well as I hoped, it’s going to take longer to re- work the old screens, we can’t get the test database built until we have the storage - but the help system is half built Tell the developers they’ll have to come in over the weekends to get the screens sorted, that will get us on track How is the development going? Coming along. The help system is almost complete, the developers have offered to come in over the weekends to finish the screens. We just need more storage to get it done.” I’ll swap out the ten 96GB discs for three 500GB ones. Those new discs are lightning fast, 50% faster than the old ones… How is the project going? Now that I’ve sorted out the storage issues the developers will finish the system over the weekend Thinks “ Great! I really know how to deliver a project” I Wonder why that young developer over there is crying and beating his head against the keyboard?” Worker Ant, at the bottom Hamster team leader Faithful Spaniel Development Manager Head of I.T. Orang-utan Board Member Gorilla Communicates with

ORA600 Ltd 3/45 How the Chain works Most of us have a tendency to be positive and optimistic, especially when talking to our managers/superiors. Small issues are maybe not mentioned and positives are played up – we don’t want to give our boss “problems” and we certainly don’t want to be perceived as not achieving things. If we manage people, we also like to show that our people are doing well (as we are such good managers) and it is all under control. Thus, each step up the chain, a slightly more optimistic report on the situation is given. Result? Top managers are given a much better impression than the real-life situation deserves.

ORA600 Ltd 4/45 The Impact of the Chain Problems seen as small are not seen by the next level up – this is not necessarily a bad thing so long as they stay small... Top level management often have no idea of the issues at the bottom of the chain and have an unrealistically good opinion of the state of play. Serious problems or too many average problems can suddenly tip this optimism into realism. These big issues are communicated up and top management suddenly see what was a project going well turn into a disaster. The discrepancy between reality and what the top managers perceive makes those further down think of the managers as “out of touch” or even “clueless idiots”.

ORA600 Ltd 5/45 Breaking the Chain If you are a manager, just be aware that you are probably being given slightly positive lies. Remember what it was like before you were a manager. Skip managerial levels. If you are a top level manager, go and see for yourself what is going on “at the coalface”. It’s hard, but try and tell the bad stuff as well as the good stuff to your managers, being realistic and not exaggerating or scare-mongering. As a manager, do not react to bad news or mention of issues negatively. And don’t try to solve them all. Just encourage your people to let you know about issues and lightly monitor to check that they are resolved.

ORA00 Ltd 6/45 The Chain of Optimistic Communication Martin Widlake Database Architecture, Performance & Training Ora600 Limited