|
|
|
|
|
|
|
unteered to set up a more functional inventory system at our company. When finished, he handed me a binder with a copy of all reports the system could produce, along with a written description. Exasperated that I seemed to have difficulty remembering what data each report showed, he decided to set up the report menu with questions: "What is the price for each video?" "Which titles need to be reordered when?" "How many copies have we sold of audio X in the last two years?" Finally, we were speaking the same language. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That's what I mean by making information easy and accessible. In any given situation, that may mean the labels you attach, the language you use, or the method (spoken, E-mail, written, satellite, or manual) you choose. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 99: Reduce the number of interpreters. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consider how often instructions get distorted when they pass through several people on the way to the user. Recently, I asked an assistant to check on prices and procedures for some photography: sitting fees for portraits, number of poses, makeup and wardrobe staff, product shots, and mass duplication for both color and black-and-whites of both portraits and products. My assistant had to talk to the photographer's receptionist, who talked to the photographer, who talked to the studio manager, who talked to corporate headquarters, who talked to their freelancers, who talked to the mass-duplication vendorwho then relayed all the answers back down the line. Needless to say, the answers we finally got did not match the questions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip 100: Interpret facts and statistics rather than serving them raw. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In a recent meeting with a speaking bureau, I overheard someone discussing a meeting planner's $80,000 budget for an upcoming convention. One account executive commented, "Speaker Smith charges $5000 for a keynote speech." (Meaning: Maybe we should recommend him to the meeting planner, who will be delighted to get such a good speaker at such a low cost.) The second account executive commented, "Yeah, you're right; the client will think the guy's no good unless his fee is at least $10,000. Maybe we should recommend Speaker Jones." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Statistics get jumbled even easier than facts. Our survey indicates employees want more control over discretionary vacation days and more time off during the 8-to-5 day. Twenty-nine percent said they wanted "More control" and half said "more time off." Is that half of the total displeased employees? Or half of 29 percent? Or are 79 percent displeased about vacation and time off? How displeased? How many vacation weeks did the typical dis- |
|
|
|
|
|