‘just instantanity’!
Yet again I find myself preparing my breakfast, which consists of just tea and cornflakes, and thinking how better I could organise myself. Could I have got the cornflakes out of the cupboard and pour them into the bowl whilst the kettle was boiling? Can I remember not to put the milk back into the fridge after pouring it onto my cornflakes, so that I don’t need to take it out again to pour in my now brewing tea? This time and motion madness then extends into the day; I get angry at the cash machine for taking about 5 seconds to produce my money. If the train is late then I shall lose the 5 minutes I have to grab a coffee, before my connection arrives. Why do web-sites take so long to download? Where’s the nearest Starbucks; if I have my sandwich there then I can use their W-LAN and download my emails at the same time… I think I need therapy!
Then to top it all, someone asks me if I could ‘just do something’ for them. ‘Just do something’! ‘Just’ is a word I have learnt to hate; it shows a total lack of understanding in the real needs of the situation. In past years, as an architect, I had clients who would say, “I want some changes carried out to a drawing; you ‘just’ have to push a few buttons these days don’t you and your computer does it all for you”. Yes I ‘just’ have to push a few buttons and the computer spews out the corrected drawing. But before ‘I just push these buttons’, in the correct sequence, the result of a long period of study and practice; I must first research if the solution you require is feasible, in terms of 3 dimensional space, construction legislation, structural capacity, cost, planning regulations, work scheduling, etc, etc. All tasks that require professional skill and judgement, and thought processes that take time and could never be described by the word ‘just’.
‘Just’ is a much overused expression to suggest that something is simple and can be done easily and quickly and is variously misused within the business world, just do it, just in time, I’m just doing…
If we look deeper into what is actually meant or implied by the above ‘just’ phrases we can begin to truly understand many of the misconceptions of modern business.
For starters, ‘Just do it’, the Nike slogan, literally its meaning is, don’t consider your actions just act without prior forethought. Implied meanings include, just go out and buy Nike sports gear, and perhaps just play sport.
Somehow the literal meaning epitomises a common attitude in business, I am sure we would all agree that not considering your actions is not at all professional, but all too often unrealistic time schedules dictate such an approach. Thus, ‘just do it’, said with expectant enthusiasm, becomes the frustrated imperative, ‘just do it will you!’
‘Just in time’, literally, it will be completed just prior to the deadline. It also implies that everything will function perfectly. Experience suggests the opposite, as in, “we caught the flight ‘just in time’”. “We were stressed, the taxi was late, we had to run, waited forever at check-in, feel sweaty and uncomfortable, missed duty free and are not happy about the start of our holiday”. That is the true reality of just in time, is it not?
‘I’m just doing…’ another overused excuse used by employees to their enquiring bosses. It suggests that the job in hand is inconsequential and will be done quickly without effort; interestingly the work referred to is often issued by the same boss using the words ‘will you just do this for me’. Here we can see that either the boss has not appreciated what is actually involved in doing the work or is suffering from short-term memory loss, or both.
What ‘pushing a few buttons’, or modern IT technology, actually gives us is the ability to save time; what we have mistakenly done is actually filled in the time saved with other button pushing, rather than using it to think things through properly. Despite claims to the contrary, what IT gives us is only access to information and the ability to manage, manipulate and modify this information; what it doesn’t give us are faster brains; the thought processes are still the same. Taking a mental decision still takes as long now as it did 50, 100 or 150 years ago. People still need time to think to consider the rights and wrongs and the merits of each case. The consequences of not taking the time are mistakes, failure and stress; there has never been a time in which the phrase ‘more haste less speed’ is so ably demonstrated than the present day; or perhaps I haven’t lived long enough.
Ironically, Microsoft is a prime example of this ‘just’ attitude. In order to deliver the next version of its software, it releases versions that are not fully tested or investigated and as such mistakes have arisen, the software fails, viruses infect it and the consequential stress is enormous.
I would be very interested in the statistics that show the percentage time lost due to software failure against the time, supposedly, saved by having the software in the first place. ( Hence I work with Mac )!
Consider for a moment if anything of true merit was ‘just’ produced? Did Mozart just compose his operas? Did Einstein just think up his theories of relativity? Can you imagine Monet’s wife calling to him in his studio, ‘Claude what are you doing’? ‘I’m just painting a few water-lilies dear’; no!
So, next time someone asks you ‘to just do something for them’, take the chance to ask them, ‘what exactly do you mean by ‘just’? “Are you happy that I carry out your request to the letter, i.e. do just what you ask, without all the other very necessary work that is needed”? “Or, are you by implication, asking me to act in a professionally responsible manner and take liability for what I am doing; if so, please rephrase your request and leave out the ‘just’!
simon quick ( Hear this blog as a Podcast on iTunes search Blogosophy ).
Yet again I find myself preparing my breakfast, which consists of just tea and cornflakes, and thinking how better I could organise myself. Could I have got the cornflakes out of the cupboard and pour them into the bowl whilst the kettle was boiling? Can I remember not to put the milk back into the fridge after pouring it onto my cornflakes, so that I don’t need to take it out again to pour in my now brewing tea? This time and motion madness then extends into the day; I get angry at the cash machine for taking about 5 seconds to produce my money. If the train is late then I shall lose the 5 minutes I have to grab a coffee, before my connection arrives. Why do web-sites take so long to download? Where’s the nearest Starbucks; if I have my sandwich there then I can use their W-LAN and download my emails at the same time… I think I need therapy!
Then to top it all, someone asks me if I could ‘just do something’ for them. ‘Just do something’! ‘Just’ is a word I have learnt to hate; it shows a total lack of understanding in the real needs of the situation. In past years, as an architect, I had clients who would say, “I want some changes carried out to a drawing; you ‘just’ have to push a few buttons these days don’t you and your computer does it all for you”. Yes I ‘just’ have to push a few buttons and the computer spews out the corrected drawing. But before ‘I just push these buttons’, in the correct sequence, the result of a long period of study and practice; I must first research if the solution you require is feasible, in terms of 3 dimensional space, construction legislation, structural capacity, cost, planning regulations, work scheduling, etc, etc. All tasks that require professional skill and judgement, and thought processes that take time and could never be described by the word ‘just’.
‘Just’ is a much overused expression to suggest that something is simple and can be done easily and quickly and is variously misused within the business world, just do it, just in time, I’m just doing…
If we look deeper into what is actually meant or implied by the above ‘just’ phrases we can begin to truly understand many of the misconceptions of modern business.
For starters, ‘Just do it’, the Nike slogan, literally its meaning is, don’t consider your actions just act without prior forethought. Implied meanings include, just go out and buy Nike sports gear, and perhaps just play sport.
Somehow the literal meaning epitomises a common attitude in business, I am sure we would all agree that not considering your actions is not at all professional, but all too often unrealistic time schedules dictate such an approach. Thus, ‘just do it’, said with expectant enthusiasm, becomes the frustrated imperative, ‘just do it will you!’
‘Just in time’, literally, it will be completed just prior to the deadline. It also implies that everything will function perfectly. Experience suggests the opposite, as in, “we caught the flight ‘just in time’”. “We were stressed, the taxi was late, we had to run, waited forever at check-in, feel sweaty and uncomfortable, missed duty free and are not happy about the start of our holiday”. That is the true reality of just in time, is it not?
‘I’m just doing…’ another overused excuse used by employees to their enquiring bosses. It suggests that the job in hand is inconsequential and will be done quickly without effort; interestingly the work referred to is often issued by the same boss using the words ‘will you just do this for me’. Here we can see that either the boss has not appreciated what is actually involved in doing the work or is suffering from short-term memory loss, or both.
What ‘pushing a few buttons’, or modern IT technology, actually gives us is the ability to save time; what we have mistakenly done is actually filled in the time saved with other button pushing, rather than using it to think things through properly. Despite claims to the contrary, what IT gives us is only access to information and the ability to manage, manipulate and modify this information; what it doesn’t give us are faster brains; the thought processes are still the same. Taking a mental decision still takes as long now as it did 50, 100 or 150 years ago. People still need time to think to consider the rights and wrongs and the merits of each case. The consequences of not taking the time are mistakes, failure and stress; there has never been a time in which the phrase ‘more haste less speed’ is so ably demonstrated than the present day; or perhaps I haven’t lived long enough.
Ironically, Microsoft is a prime example of this ‘just’ attitude. In order to deliver the next version of its software, it releases versions that are not fully tested or investigated and as such mistakes have arisen, the software fails, viruses infect it and the consequential stress is enormous.
I would be very interested in the statistics that show the percentage time lost due to software failure against the time, supposedly, saved by having the software in the first place. ( Hence I work with Mac )!
Consider for a moment if anything of true merit was ‘just’ produced? Did Mozart just compose his operas? Did Einstein just think up his theories of relativity? Can you imagine Monet’s wife calling to him in his studio, ‘Claude what are you doing’? ‘I’m just painting a few water-lilies dear’; no!
So, next time someone asks you ‘to just do something for them’, take the chance to ask them, ‘what exactly do you mean by ‘just’? “Are you happy that I carry out your request to the letter, i.e. do just what you ask, without all the other very necessary work that is needed”? “Or, are you by implication, asking me to act in a professionally responsible manner and take liability for what I am doing; if so, please rephrase your request and leave out the ‘just’!
simon quick ( Hear this blog as a Podcast on iTunes search Blogosophy ).
posted by Simon Quick at 7:40 AM
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