Cognitive Science Insights into Decision Making

January 12, 2012 — Bruce McGraw

Those of you who know me understand how my company relies on cognition principles and experts to make our projects successful.  Dr. Karen McGraw, the founder of Cognitive Technologies, has said on many occasions that “Cognitive is the first word in our company name because if you don’t focus first on the way people think, work and learn, technology will not make any impact.”  I try to use this guiding principle in all of my management roles and projects.

Making decisions—selecting the best action among alternatives—is a key management responsibility. The higher in the organization a person sits, the greater the impact their decisions have. Because decision making is closely tied to company profitability, the “how” and “why” of decision making has received a great deal of study from cognitive scientists and business professionals.

Project managers often are called upon to provide expert opinions to support decision makers.

Here is a possible scenario …
Your boss’s boss calls on you to present your advice about an IT related decision under consideration, such as securing proprietary data, timing the transition to a new computer system or finding a teammate or subcontractor for a proposed project. If you do not have a personal or professional stake in the eventual decision, your task is to provide factual information and perhaps a professional recommendation.
However, when you, your project or your team will be directly impacted by the decision, you would be well served to apply some of the lessons learned by cognitive scientists on factors that influence people in making decisions.
Cognitive science research tells us that the influence of what you say will be enhanced or diminished by how you say it.

  1. Do some homework about the decision maker. Either based on your experience or the observation of others, try to determine:
    1. What types of information sources the person “values”. Some people are persuaded by academic research and published data, while others disregard “ivory tower” recommendations. Some managers may be motivated by industry standards and best practices. Other managers may prefer information sources that reflect innovation and outside-the-box thinking.
    2. Are there other managers whose opinion affects the decision maker’s preferences? (Sam really distrusts Joe and would not want to do anything that Joe recommends.)
    3. Do the manager’s past decisions reflect the desire for high risk / high reward or slow, measureable progress?
    4. Does the decision maker want quick results or long term impact?
    5. Are there issues outside of the question at hand that are important to the decision maker, such as customer needs, security, worker satisfaction or the environment? (All managers care about cost)
  2. Remember cognitive biases and their impact on processing information (see Does Your Organization Have Cognitive Biases that Influence Management Decisions?)
  3. People generally prefer the decision option that requires the least amount of cognitive effort (“Examining cognitive functions with fMRI”) reports cognitive science researchers from Carnegie Mellon. This may explain why some managers find just saying “no”, easier than actually weighing alternatives or committing to actions. The research further suggests that individuals expend less cognitive effort deciding in favor of a small “for-sure” gain over a potentially risky, but higher-value, gain. “Conversely, the cognitive effort expended in choosing a sure loss was equal to the cognitive effort expended in choosing a risky loss.”
  4. Frame the discussion by choosing descriptive words that resonate with the decision maker’s view of herself or the world. According to George Lakoff, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, people often make decisions based on the way they cognitively represent (or frame) a potential action. Lakoff calls these metaphors and they are the associations one makes to certain words. For example, because of unconscious frames, some people are more persuaded to “become fit” than to “exercise”. Some managers want to “Win the fight”, while others prefer to “protect our assets or position”.
  5. Even though cognitive scientists study differences between the decision-making influences in men and women and have research findings such as, “…women perceive greater risk across many real and hypothetical scenarios relative to men…” (Scientific American, September 20, 2011), beware of changing words or stories based on assumed differences in gender or cultural cognitive style or stereotypes. I would not do it.

An interesting thought piece by Gary Williams and Robert Miller published by Harvard Business Review in 2002 entitled “Change the way you persuade”, suggests some words and concepts may be more effective when making recommendations to managers based if you consider their decision-making style. Based on 1600 interviews with executives, the authors divided decision making styles into five categories: charismatics, thinkers, skeptics, followers and controllers. Here are a couple of their suggestions:

Decision Making Style

Persuasive Words and Concepts
Charismatic Use words like, “proven”, “easy”, “results”; use simple concepts and visual aids that focus on benefits and features. Acknowledge risks. Keep presentation short.
Thinker Have lots of data from different, but relevant, sources. Complexity is okay. Do not emphasize risks. You may be better off just giving them information and letting them reach a conclusion.
Skeptic Establish your bona fides first. Tie your recommendations to those of someone they trust. Expect disagreement and questions. Willing to take risks based on the recommendations of a trusted individual.
Follower References and testimonials can be helpful. Emphasize success others have achieved when following this recommendation. Provide instruction on technical issues. Help them feel confident that they are making the right decision.
Controller Do not emphasize risks, focus on benefits. Provide details to backup recommendations. Do not push for a quick decision.

So are do you know how you make your decisions?  Are you watching for other cognitive clues from staff and stakeholders?

Posted in Best Practice, Communication, Leadership, management, Project Management. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »

How to improve team communicators

September 22, 2011 — Bruce McGraw

I cannot count the number of times in Fear No Project that I have mentioned communication and the important role effective communication plays in project success – well actually I could count the number of times using search software, but that isn’t the point. As mentioned in “The Secret to Effective Management Communication – Practice, Practice, Practice,” the PMBOK considers communication so important to project management that they devoted an entire chapter (Chapter 10) to communication.

Most often project communication is discussed as a project manager’s skill. However, the need for good communication does not stop at the top of the project. Everyone working on the project needs to be able to communicate effectively with peers, management and customers. Moreover, almost everyone can learn to communicate better.  I cannot believe the number of projects and teams these days that are terrible communication groups!

I believe the first step in communication improvement is to create a focus on listening, talking, writing, and presentation tasks. Of course, you can have training classes and people can participate in activities that promote speaking skills, such as Toastmasters. However, I am suggesting that organizational leaders, including project managers, make a point of rewarding good communication and giving feedback to poor communicators that may help them improve.

Getting started
It goes without saying – but I will say it anyway – as the project manager, you need to serve as a role model of active listening, maintaining open body language and speaking skillfully, while keeping in mind the knowledge-level and biases of an audience (“When Facts Are Not Enough – 10 Tips for Communicating to a Non-Technical Audience.”)

Second, make it clear that you (and the organization) value good communication skills and don’t tolerate bad communication behaviors. Provide guidance through dress rehearsals for presentations and peer review of written documents. Add “whys” to your suggestions to facilitate generalization and meaningful feedback.

Third, make communication skills part of performance evaluations. Here again, explain what is expected, why good communication effects performance scores and provide guidance to help the team member improve. During meetings, gently correct or act as a translator, when it is apparent that communication is breaking down.  Evaluate speaking, writing and listening as separate areas when you give feedback.

When suggestions are not enough
Not everyone on your team will change their communication behavior based on your modeling and feedback (trust me, I know!). For those individuals, you may want to require training in communications. Sometimes feedback from strangers or professionals can help an individual learn new skills or change behaviors better than an immediate supervisor. (For example, think about how your adolescent son or daughter chose to improve their nutrition because the basketball coach told them to, even though you have been saying the same thing for months to no avail!) Here are a few more suggestions I have used:

  • Enroll your employee in a communication seminar offered by the organization or through an outside workshop. Make this required training and track it on the performance review.
  • Look for signs of improvement, even if not completely successful, and praise the effort.  Keep a little file or index card for each employee to track specific events.
  • Assign the individual to attend presentations by others and report findings as well as evaluating delivery. Use this discussion to point out why the presenter’s communication failed or succeeded. You can also use a YouTube video of a speaker to do the same thing.
  • Have the employee do a peer review on another team member’s deliverable document (Hopefully a good one) and ask for an assessment.
  • If the communication seems to be a greater problem due to presentation anxiety, separate communication and presentation into two skills sets to be learned. When written communication is improved, there may be a carry-over effect into presentations, especially if there was concomitant (connected) practice in presenting information created by others.
  • If the employee fails to improve his communication skills, as project manager you must make sure that their problem does not become a project problem. Plan to spend more time peer reviewing or editing their written communications. If they are slated to give a presentation, require practice sessions. If the presentation is to senior management or customers, send along a translator who can add interpretive comments or sooth down ruffled feathers.

Even where people are taking all the right steps to be good communicators, we have many other barriers that get in the way:

  • Team members are on a virtual team and not located in the same place
  • The team is comprised of individuals from different countries, languages and time zones
  • Email is the main form of communication and collaboration – and not effective
  • The team is a “shamrock” staffed project – comprised of individuals from different companies and organizations, including employees, contractors, part timers, and temps

So given that barriers can exist outside of the people working on the project, if we don’t focus on good communications at the person-to-person level, we can really be in trouble from the start of the project.

What is your experience in improving communication?  Do you have any links to good articles or suggestions?

Posted in Communication, Leadership, Project Management, Virtual team. Tags: , , , , , , . 3 Comments »

The Role of a Project’s Lead Technologist

August 25, 2011 — Bruce McGraw

Every project that I have looked at over the years involving computers, software or technology had three key staff on them — The PM, the sponsor and the lead technologist (or some call them the Subject Matter Expert- SME). Selected by the project manager, the Project Management Office, program manager or senior staff, the role of lead technologist requires someone who can effectively balance technical leadership and design, while supporting organizational and project goals. Although the exact duties differ among organizations and projects, the lead technologist often is expected to:

  • Oversee or develop the system architecture and design
  • Work with clients to understand requirements and constraints
  • Create and present the project’s technical side to customers and senior management
  • Solve technical problems
  • Referee technical disputes
  • Recommend resources and tools

I could go on. However, I think you get the idea that this position can be extremely demanding. In my career, I have seen lead technologists save the backside of inexperienced managers and nearly destroy a project because of personality conflicts with junior staff. As a lead technologist or a developer moving into a lead position, here are a few suggestions that may improve your chances of success.

  1. Get authority commensurate with the position – if you can. But remember that you are not the PM – and probably don’t want that job anyway!  Be a support partner to the project manager.
  2. Define clearly the expectations and evaluation criteria of the position – tempting though it may be for the PM to say, “and everything else assigned by the PM,” work with him or her to clarify expectations.
  3. Practice communication skills. Lead technologists help program managers, executive management, customers and stakeholders understand the technology and its application to the project goals. Often they need to serve as translators for technology approaches and obstacles.
  4. Be willing to say no. Sometimes through ignorance or bullying tactics, you will be asked to make technology violate the basic laws of physics or human nature. As lead technologist, you need to explain why an itch cannot be scratched or a request cannot be met. Be diplomatic, but firm.
  5. Get to know team members skills and motivations. Do not overlook weaknesses because of friendship. Help build weak skills and enhance aptitudes.  Be a coach.
  6. Do not hoard information – screen it. Then pass along as necessary both up, laterally and down.
  7. Work to build trust with the team by doing what you promise, admitting mistakes and recognizing (publically) achievements and contributions of team members. Give credit where credit is due!
  8. Do not be defensive, but be willing to explain technical decisions when asked. Listen to other’s ideas.
  9. Create level of effort estimates with input from the assigned staff. Do not base LOE on the time and effort you would take to complete the task (Not everyone is a super-star).
  10. Stay calm even in the face of unexpected challenges or problems.

Please share your suggestions, tips and experience as lead technologists.

Posted in General Project Management, Leadership, management, Project Management. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Dealing with Angry Clients

July 7, 2011 — Bruce McGraw

Recently, while sharing a quiet dinner at a nice restaurant (in lovely Regina Canada), I could not help but overhear the conversation at the next table. The patron was angry and demanding that the cook re-do the meat because it was not to his liking. I paid attention to this because the customer had already returned his wine as, “inferior” and the atmosphere around that table was toxic.

Now, this person may have just been a jerk or perhaps he had a very, very bad day. However, not all anger is unjustified. People get angry for reasons. Sometimes those people are clients and sometimes they are right.

To be honest, whether the client’s anger is justified is not really the issue. The situation is the issue. You, the project manager or program manager have to deal with it. By “deal with it,” I mean you need to diffuse the situation and move forward. Angry clients or employees often do not keep their disappointment or anger to themselves. They tell friends, co-workers and even competitors.

Reasons Clients Become Angry

  • They can’t get scope changes for free. (Do not be surprised if this anger involves some posturing, since agreeing on cost and schedule is a negotiation.)
  • Your project did not deliver what was promised.
  • The project manager or key personnel changed without notice.
  • Your project missed a milestone or cost bogey (“target” for those non-military types).
  • Some “user requested changes” were over-ridden by the client’s senior staff or the project team.
  • What they want is not possible given project cost and schedule constraints. (the old project triangle theory)

Reasons Staff Become Angry

  • Scope creep: Workers agree to do a certain amount of work within a specific time. Then, customers, clients, senior management – someone – keeps adding tasks without changing the schedule or adding hours to do the work.
  • Organizational change: Events outside of the project alter the organization’s usual way of doing business, which eventually trickles down to the project staff as added training, forms and procedures. (See: “Don’t Take Organizational Change for Granted – Manage it”)
  • Perceived lack of appreciation or respect. (Don’t under-estimate this one!!)

Dealing with Anger

  • Accept that the person is angry. They may be angry with you, your company or your team. They could be showing displaced anger from situations in their lives outside of the project. Alternatively, they may display an angry pose as their way of intersecting with the world. Therefore, acknowledging the anger is a place to begin repairing the situation, if it can be repaired.
  • Clarify the situation. What is the client angry about. If there are several points of anger, write them down on paper or on a whiteboard and address each concern.
  • Be careful of your body language. Relax. A red face, clenched jaw or fist pounding does not help.
  • Some clients express anger or disappointment passively. If a client is consistently slow to return emails or voice messages, misses meetings, stops contributing to discussions, check with them about their state of comfort with the project and ask them if there is a problem. Do not assume they are angry; just give them an opening to discuss their perceptions or concerns.
  • Provide realistic feedback. If you or the project created the problem, acknowledge it and see if there is an acceptable resolution. If the problem itself is not solvable, acknowledge both the concern and the reality of the situation. “I realize you wanted the entire system to be compatible with your legacy software, John, unfortunately that cannot be done because the systems handle data differently. To write a translator would cause the performance to degrade below your minimum expectations …” etc.

Best Practices

  • Whenever possible meet face-to-face.
  • Deal with the situation quickly – do not let anger fester.
  • Stay calm, speak quietly and do not escalate the situation.
  • Invite a senior member of your organization to the meeting to demonstrate your organization’s concern and commitment to improving the situation.
  • Follow up a confrontational meeting with a call or email that describes the resolution and your commitment to meet the new schedule, do the task or just check into current perceptions of the project.
  • When dealing with an angry project staff, follow many of steps suggested above – listen, accept the anger, be realistic and if changes need to be made either make them or make it clear you are working with decision-makers to improve the situation.
  • Keep the end goal in mind, you want to leave the meeting with the anger reduced or hopefully replaced with positive feelings.
  • Monitor yourself – stop breathe and take a pause to think.

Resources:
Seth Godin: How to Deal with an Angry Customer
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/09/how_to_deal_wit.html

Steven Flannes, Ph.D.: Working Effectively with the Angry, Critical Client: Real World Solutions to Help You Get the Job Done

http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi30/107-30.pdf

Bloomberg Business Week: Dealing with Angry Customers

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2007/sb20070620_974061.htm

Posted in General Project Management, Leadership, management, Professional Development. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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