Incredible Story “I’m-OK” (long)

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I want to tell you an incredible story.

Last Wednesday night, a close friend of Managementblog, Cathy Muth, CEO of O. R. Colan Associates, watched the stream of video from Hurricane Katrina and recognized the need for a central place where family and friends could locate people displaced from the disaster. Her company manages relocation programs for public agencies and has worked for FEMA in the past. She contacted us with an idea to see if we could help create a web registry called “I’m-OK.”

So, we became a team. OR Colan immediately agreed to fund the site. Our chief programmer Brandon Stone (photoblogs.org) had specific ideas of how this site had to be put together to accomplish its goal.

We thought long and hard about how to handle the data requests, how to make the site quick, accurate and simple. We looked at other boards and noticed that they were jumbled, jammed with messages, ultimately irrelevant to the search for a family member or a friend. In 99% of the searches, it was all noise. With im-ok.org, the user puts in a phone number and immediately finds information about a person.

Or not. On most message boards and other registries, if there is no news about a family member, it might take an hour or more of useless searching to find that out. With im-ok.org, using the person’s phone number, the search takes three seconds. If there is no news, the visitor knows that immediately. The design team did not want to string someone out for an hour searching a database in vain.

We observed other message boards that became overloaded to the point where users experienced significant slowdowns. We knew that if the site proved successful, it would get hit hard. All of this was carefully considered in the architecture of the site before a stitch of programming was done.

The idea was simple, yet overlooked by most people trying to create registry sites. Tell a database programmer that thousands of people are going to input data and watch him cringe. How many different ways can you spell New Orleens, Biluxi and Metaree? Designing a site using a traditional database approach is flawed before it gets out of the gate. The overhead to handle the queries and the variations of queries is of immense proportions, which is fine if you have three or four months and an unlimited budget. Im-ok.org was structured in a few hours and functional within 24. We chose a single piece of meta data (a person’s telephone number) and created message boards around that. The site was up and scalable.

The launch was critical. Friday, September 2, at noon, the site was up, yet, no one knew about. We contacted newspapers, television stations and networks, but quickly understood that traditional media outlets might not be effective or fast enough. Because of our active participation in the blogging community, we knew the success of the launch would depend on the power of the internet and its connected groups of people.

The momentum began to pick up steam with blog postings, email lists and message boards. After two hours, people were posting real messages on the site. Within 24 hours, sampled traffic rates were running 1200 hits per hour. We put a stats stream on the site, so visitors could see, in real time, who was clicking through back- links from other sites all over the world. After 36 hours, we held number one listings on Google, Yahoo and MSN for Katrina I’m OK. MSN search also showed number one for I’m OK. The Alexa rating for the site hit 46,005 on Sunday, just 48 hours after launch.

The success of www.im-ok.org will ultimately be determined by how useful and helpful it is. It was created so other people could assist in its proliferation throughout the internet. It was a simple idea, to create a scalable application, using message boards centered around phone numbers so people could truly help each other in this time of chaos.

Here is where we need your help

You can help by coordinating volunteers at aid stations and relief centers to relay information back to people with computers to input the data. It is quick, just a phone number and a name. Then click a button that says, “I’m OK!” This will take initiative on the part of people to just do this. We are in Florida and cannot physically be there to do that work. We have more information on the site. You can volunteer at this email address: volunteer.im.ok@gmail.com. Please help. -TF

Survivors can register “I’m OK”

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Special Edition of Management Blog

Survivors can register “I’m OK”

The site is now up and operational. It’s scalable and should do the job.

Family and friends continue to search for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Our new web registry will allow someone to search for a specific person instead of combing message boards organized by city.

Survivors can register “I’m OK” or have someone else register for them that “I’m OK.” Aid stations and relief centers can use this registry to assist people in making their whereabouts visible to their family and friends.

The search side of the site allows for a specific pinpoint search for a person by household rather than generic searches by city. All the search requires is the person’s telephone number from before the disaster. Family and friends searching for the same person can communicate with each other through the message board tied to that phone number.

We need your help to make this registry known ASAP. Please forward this link to people you know who may be searching for people affected by the disaster.

www.im-ok.org

Your help is sincerely appreciated.

-Tom Foster

Elements of the Design

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We had a thoughtful response from Adrian to yesterday’s post about the design of the people system. Here is an excerpt.

I’m not convinced you can “design” the interactions between people. That smacks of the old authoritarian ideal of being able to control the people who report to you. The interactions themselves depend on individual values, thoughts, emotions and levels of understanding. We can try to affect reality through our actions (and interactions) but we can’t predict or control it.

Are some individual values, thoughts, emotions and levels of understanding important to a person’s success in a role on your team?

As the Manager, these are of great concern in designing the people system. For example, in the design of a customer service department, I am interested in team members who value helping other people, and emotionally can empathize with the customer. When I think about the hiring process, I am certainly going to interview for these exact qualities.

As the Manager, the more I can identify the qualities I want in my team members, the more likely I am able to recruit those folks to be on my team. As the Manager, the people system is the most important system you work on. -TF

Designing the People System

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“So, you want me to really take a step back and look at the interactions between people?” quizzed Lawrence.

“More than just look, I want you to design the interactions between people.” I stopped to watch Lawrence’s face. There was a question behind his eyes.

Since I had his attention, I continued. “Think about these kinds of questions.

  • How are team members given work assignments?
  • How often are they given work assignments?
  • Do team members depend on work product from other team members?
  • How do team members hand off work to other team members?
  • When a team member completes a work assignment, how does their supervisor know?
  • When they complete a work assignment, how do they know what to work on next?
  • Does anyone review or inspect their work?
  • How often is their work reviewed or inspected?
  • Are they permitted to continue on additional work before their current work has been reviewed?
  • Do they work on multiple assignments simultaneously?

“The people system is the most important system you work on. This is just the start.” -TF

Working as Designed

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I was just about to leave when Lawrence stuck his hand in the air. “What about the people?” he asked. We had been laboring over the role of the Manager for some time.

“The role of the Manager is to create the system and make the system better. The most important system is the people system. How people work in your organization is top priority for the Manager. Look, here is the bad news. Right now, your people system is working exactly as it was designed to work.”

“How can that be?” retorted Lawrence. “Our people system sucks.”

“You designed it that way, or by choice, you decided to leave it to chance. Either way, you designed it to suck.”

“But, it’s not my fault. I have only been a Manager here for two months.” Lawrence was backpedaling big time.

“And so, for the past two months, you have supported a system by doing nothing about it.” I replied. Lawrence was looking for a better excuse, but I stopped him. “Look, in the short time you have been a Manager, have you drawn up a little diagram about how people work around here, how they relate to each other, how they depend on each other? Have you written job profiles to document the specific responsibilities of each person on the floor?

“Lawrence, you are in charge of the most important system in your company, the design of how people work together as a team.” -TF

Value-Add

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“So, what does all this mean to the organization?” I asked, finishing my conversation with Lawrence about structure. “What contribution comes from each strata?” The wheels were turning inside Lawrence’s head. He struggled.

“Take it strata by strata,” I said. “What is the role of Strata I?”

“They are the people who do the work,” replied Lawrence.

“And their contribution is quality. All of your quality initiatives must be driven down to Strata I. They alone, have the power to instill quality into your product or service.” Lawrence nodded.

“What is the role for Strata II?” I continued.

“Strata II makes sure the work gets done.” Lawrence snapped back.

“The value-add for Strata II is completeness, thoroughness, accuracy, timeliness. They make sure there are no gaps in service and that things happen on time.” I paused. “And the role at Strata III?”

Lawrence was ready, “Strata III works on the system, creates the system, makes the system better.”

“And the value-add for Strata III is predictability and consistency. Ever had a McDonald’s hamburger in Memphis? Ever had a McDonald’s hamburger in Seattle? How do they taste?”

Lawrence nodded. “They taste the same, because they have a system.”

“Lawrence, does your company have a price list for its goods?”

“Yes.”

“Your company has a price list because it can predict its costs. A price list is evidence of a predictable system. The value add of the manager is to maintain that predictability.” -TF

Gaps in the Structure

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Thanks to all those who helped Florida weather this Hurricane. All eyes and prayers now on the people of New Orleans.

Last week we spent time talking about the distinct differences between the role of the supervisor and the role of the manager. We had a couple of thought provoking posts from Karen about the subject. First was a distinct analogy about doing the work efficiently vs. doing the work effectively. Her second post characterized the nature of the work of a manager.

It is important to understand the three distinct strata that make up this internally focused basic business unit. Strata I does the work. Strata II makes sure the work gets done. Strata III creates the system and makes the system better.

Each Strata is of vital importance. Where there are gaps in Strata I, it pulls the Strata II Supervisor into doing the work. When that happens, no one is checking to make sure that all the work gets done.

Where there are gaps in Strata II, it pulls the Strata III Manager into making sure the work gets done. When that happens, no one is checking the system, which ultimately begins to crumble.

Getting this structure straight and strong is the fundamental building block for a productive organization. -TF

Hurricane Katrina

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As of right now (7:00pm Thursday), the eye of Katrina is passing over my house. We have had power flickers as the worst of the feeder bands are over us. We will see you all back here on Monday.

Batten down the hatches. Make sure we have beer in the fridge. -TF

Tools of the Manager

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“They just told me that, now I am the Manager. They didn’t tell me that I was supposed to do anything different than what I was doing before,” explained Lawrence.

We were talking about the role of the Manager, and the differences from the role of the Supervisor.

“That’s because most companies don’t truly understand the role of the Manager, nor the tools they use to do their job. For the people who do the work (Strata I) the tools are real tools, machinery and equipment, that’s easy to see. But what are the tools of the Supervisor?” Lawrence looked quickly to the left to see if the answer was written over my shoulder.

“The role of the Supervisor (Strata II) is to make sure the work gets done, so the tools of the Supervisor are schedules and checklists. The Supervisor uses those tools to make sure the right people are at the right place using the right materials on the right (well-maintained) equipment.”

“So what are the tools of the Manager?” asked Lawrence.

“The role of the Manager (Strata III) is to create the system, and make the system better. The tools of the Manager are flowcharts, time and motion, cause and effect sequence, role definitions and analysis.”

The role of the Manager is different than that of the Supervisor and requires different tools. -TF

Stop and Think, Connect the Dots

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In response to Tuesday’s post about Beating Back the Alligators, Sherry writes:

“I would love to get more information on how to beat back those Alligators! What happens when the Alligators are taking over?”

This is where the role of the Manager becomes truly important. The people who do the work (Strata I) can only work harder. The people who make sure the work gets done (Supervisor, Strata II) can only organize the chaos (also known as straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic).

The role of the Manager (Strata III) is to analyze what is causing things to be overwhelming and out of control.

Stop and think. What is the cause?

The most useful tool I know of is a long roll of butcher paper (available at any restaurant supply store). Roll it out and tape it on the wall. Create a flow chart of the essential steps necessary to do the work that is required. We are talking circles, boxes and triangles connected by arrows, cause and effect. Step One, Two, Three and Four. Then, for each step, ask why we are doing that? Is that in line with our senior purpose?

This exercise will expose unnecessary steps or activity that simply does not add value to the process. Get back to the fundamentals, do only those things that are truly essential.

What other ideas do you have? -TF