B for to BE
21. 02. 2024
Have you ever wondered why all this? Why has a certain area developed the way it has? Probably for a reason. And metrology has also developed for a reason, as a necessity. To facilitate trade. Like money. How interesting it is to me to see a piece of paper with 100 written on it, and people just believe that it is worth 100 dollars. Because that is the deal. And things are very similar in metrology, standardisation and elsewhere. It is a deal, the best deal we know now. That is, after all, why professional fields evolve, change. Because there are new insights, new findings, new discoveries. Standards change according to what the market finds if you can call it that. Every 5 or 10 years (or even earlier if there are changes in the essential circumstances), each standard is subject to a feedback review, as it is professionally known. This is basically all the information that comes to the owner of the standard from the users of that same standard. Every organisation, every smallest cell of society, any system, should work in a similar way.
A human has two ears, two eyes and one mouth. So, he must hear and observe rather than dictate. Statistically, only 20% talking, 40% listening and 40% watching (how convenient Pareto 20:80 is). So, if we all listened (and heard) what others are saying to us, and took that into account in the future, whatever it may be, we would probably improve. Continuous improvement in everything (we first of course) is the essence of everything. Nowadays, on the contrary, people want to change others. This is not the case, because we do not want to be changed by others either. True. When it comes to us, it is quite clear, because it affects us. When we try to do it, and do it, to others, we don’t think about whether we will hurt the other person. Man should change himself, and no one else should change him. If a man has a good enough reason, a logical enough explanation (a good instruction manual if you like), he will change, he will adapt, and he will do it damn fast. Interest, interest is essential.
There are two reasons why people don’t do something. Either he doesn’t want to, or he doesn’t have good instructions. And I think it is mostly reason number two. There are not enough good instructions. What Johnny learns, Johnny knows (is a Slovenian saying). Whichever way you turn it, people are willing to work, but if they do not have clear instructions, then they do not. Simple as that. Instructions, of course, do not just mean instructions in the strict sense of the word, but in the broadest sense. Also, in the psychological sense. Awareness, meaning, importance, responsibility, etc. These are the instructions that one needs in order to do one’s job. And finally, it is one of the most powerful emotions that man has. And that is expectation. When was the last time you told someone from whom you expect something clearly, in detail, in a meaningful way. When? Today we expect people to know, to know everything. But they don’t. Because they have not had the instruction – desire or opportunity to learn. No one gave it to them when they needed it. At a young age. Primary education is over very early (somewhere up to the age of 6, I’m told). After that it’s just learning and picking up the little things as far as education is concerned.
I read somewhere last time that Warren Buffett (not that I am interested in him as such) reads about 500 pages of different articles every day. What is interesting is what he said to that. That everyone can do this, and yet very few people do it. Can you imagine how much knowledge you would have if you did it every day. I would even say myself that his success is linked to that fact. And if it is, then knowledge is the real force that enables everyone to become successful. If that’s what one wants to do. I notice that people have no desire to do so. Even I, far from it, read 500 pages every day. But I am interested in many things. I felt quite helpless in one of my first accreditation assessments, because I simply did not have enough expertise. Maybe my not sleeping for days before the first assessments had something to do with that fact. Probably true. So, I told myself at the time that I would never let that happen again. To be thought a fool. Not that the assessor wanted to or did, at least not intentionally. But I felt that way myself. So that has been my driving force ever since. A force that keeps me from reading more. Not to look for more literature on this very subject. Nowadays, with all this technology, that is not a problem. Of course, separating the wheat from the chaff is an art, but that is probably a subject for another reflection.
Instructions. These cursory instructions. Nobody actually wants to read, let alone write, instructions. But I would say that you learn the most by writing. From the system of writing, so that it is understandable to others, to the logical strands and, of course, the content itself, which has to be clear, professional, sufficiently detailed. How much detail is enough is a common question I come across. My answer is simple. Good enough! Which is one of my general guidelines. Whatever you do, do it good enough. How much is good enough. Depends on the expectations of the one who is the target (the client if you like). The one who will use it after you. In the process, this is even the most important. Never point to a predecessor what you did not get from him. But think about what you need to give to the next person in the process to make things go as well as possible. This thinking is all too little. We all just point fingers at what the predecessor did wrong. But few people think about how to make things better, so that our successor will not even have an argument to point the finger at us. That should be the point of everything. Do you still have the question of how detailed the instructions need to be? Good enough.
I try to involve all stakeholders, all users, in the writing of the instructions. Although I am not under any illusion that people actually read the instructions. When was the last time you bought an appliance and actually read the instructions? At home, not at work! According to a study by an American university, you would spend 7 years of your life if you read all the instructions and all the small print. How about now? Instructions yes, or no? When I talk about instructions, it is not just written instructions. But also all the other instructions. Culture if you like. The way of doing things. These are also instructions. Because in the end, many people know how to do a job. I even believe that most of them do it quite well. Yet, when you buy, you are always choosing a product. What is the basis of your decision? Probably not some instructions. Something that meets your expectations. That would also be an answer to the question of how detailed the instructions. Good enough to meet user expectations. Those for whom those same instructions are intended. So, involve them in the development of the instructions. In the end, they can’t even argue with you that they are not good. They helped to co-create them. In addition, you do not need to give them special training because they already know the instructions. They are not two birds with one stone, but a whole flock of birds with one stone.
Slovenians have a bunch of interesting sayings. Mostly negative if I may say so. Paper can take it all. Laws are there to be broken. These are just two of the most famous. I myself will always argue that instructions are there to be obeyed. And if they are not good, they need to be corrected, harmonised, regulated. Not to get around things in every way, even though we all know very well that this is not the best thing to do. It is not right. But we remain silent. We Slovenians are really interesting when it comes to this. What does a Slovene do when he gets a referral for a specialist. First of all, he thinks about who he is going to call. Not where to call. That is how I describe us Slovenians when a foreigner asks me what kind of Slovenians we are. When they really ask me what we are like. Not that it’s all bad, far from it. We are not hard-working either, as we like to hear from ourselves. That is not a bad thing either, if we realise what it means for us as a nation and for each individual. Awareness, that is another question. One must be aware of the consequences of one’s wrong decision, is one of the requirements of one of the standards with which I am dealing. And how true it is. Of course, we should first know what a wrong decision is and what a right decision is. Instructions, culture, habits.
Things can happen, but they are not allowed to be happening. That is my sense when I think about the management system, about the instructions, about everything I need for my work and also for my private life. If I learn from my mistakes (it is always better to learn from the mistakes of others, so the point is to learn from history all the time), tomorrow I will know more. And that is responsibility. To know something tomorrow that I don’t know today. Our responsibilities only increase throughout our lives. When we are young there are practically none, then we take responsibility for ourselves, then for the family, some for colleagues, for the organisation, for society, for the environment, for friends, for neighbours, etc. Just more responsibility. And that, I would say, is really the point of us. To be, means responsibility.
Primož
Next time, 6 March 2024, CALIBRATION