Teamwork is a big part of collaboration. But there is more to it than that.

Why is collaboration important? Several things come to mind. Dan, UEN Operations Associate Director, and I have talked many times about the importance of working together. One of the examples that I like to use with Dan is what it takes to set tiles. Both Dan and I have done a good bit of tile setting, so we can both relate.

If you have to do the whole job by yourself it can be frustrating. First, the old floor has to be removed. Then there the preparation for the next floor. Cleanup is continuous. Mixing the thin set and setting the whole tiles is next. Followed by cutting and setting the partial pieces. Once all of the tile is in place it's time to grout. Grouting usually turns into a big mess and requires another big clean-up. Finally the trim pieces are put in place. With a bit of touch up paint the job is finished.

Why is working alone so hard. Well, nothing happens, not a thing moves, unless you move it. But with a little help, someone to keep things straight or haul tiles, the job can seem much easier. So, even if the helper doesn't have any great skills, anything they contribute makes a big difference. In the NOC we need to have more collaboration. It will make a difference.

Another aspect of collaboration is that people don't make very good machines. So giving us a repetitive task and asking us to do the same old thing day after day after day doesn't work very well. A good example is found in what we eat. Variety is important. Take a food you like. Steak, for instance. If you eat steak day after day after day, most of us would get very tired of eating steak. Sure, there are some of us who wouldn't get tired of it, but for the most part, as humans, we need variety.

So in the NOC, and in general, it is important that we divide up the tedious jobs and share in completing them. For the NOC it is likely that the most tedious job is that of answering the phones. It's not that helping the stakeholders is problematic. It's more the idea that calls come randomly and those responsible to answer them are tied to the phones waiting for them to ring.

Another important reason to collaborate is to share knowledge. The more we work together the more we talk. And with more discussion the greater our pool of knowledge. Spreading this knowledge is extremely important. It goes to our ability to understand our network. The better our understanding the greater our ability to continually enhance the performance of the network.

Here are some rules for teamwork:

1. Working with someone else is preferable to working along. We should have a bias toward teamwork.

2. People don't make good machines. Share mundane tasks. Don't give all the crap jobs to the same few people.

3. Working together builds everybody's skill set. Encourage the idea of teaching each other as we work together.

Finally, there is no silver bullet. Collaboration and teamwork won't guarantee, by themselves, success. This will take major amounts of work. It will also take a major commitment to customer service, the subject of tomorrow's entry..........
8:16:46 AM    comment []