Life Is A Blur: Photo Credit Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2008PMS Is Not What You Think
Have you noticed that we’re all speaking in short forms? The online dictionary of abbreviations lists 662,000 short forms of words in 11 categories, including one of “modern slang”. I couldn’t resist. I had to peek.
LOL’s most common interpretation is Laughing Out Loud or Lots of Love, but its meaning has spread to Little Old Lady and Loser of Love. What about OOO? Out Of Office. How about SEX? That’s Software Exchange, or Shipment Exception Code. WTF is a Waste Treatment Facility. Let’s just combine all of that and what do we get? OOO – SEX - WTF!
The point is, that communication is speeding up. Everythins is a blur. When did it become easier to message someone across the room instead of walking 20 steps to talk? Or instant dial? There’s a problem or two building up. It scares the SOOM: something out of me.
There’s a whole new consulting industry emerging from team communication dysfunctions. Emails are one of the hottest problem areas in many organizations. What people write may not be what the other person “reads”. Relationships and teams easily fall apart and time is wasted in correcting assumptions and misinterpretations. People get P.O.’d by the tone of your “voice” when the intention of the message loses its true meaning.
Have you noticed that we’re all speaking in short forms? The online dictionary of abbreviations lists 662,000 short forms of words in 11 categories, including one of “modern slang”. I couldn’t resist. I had to peek.
LOL’s most common interpretation is Laughing Out Loud or Lots of Love, but its meaning has spread to Little Old Lady and Loser of Love. What about OOO? Out Of Office. How about SEX? That’s Software Exchange, or Shipment Exception Code. WTF is a Waste Treatment Facility. Let’s just combine all of that and what do we get? OOO – SEX - WTF!
The point is, that communication is speeding up. Everythins is a blur. When did it become easier to message someone across the room instead of walking 20 steps to talk? Or instant dial? There’s a problem or two building up. It scares the SOOM: something out of me.
There’s a whole new consulting industry emerging from team communication dysfunctions. Emails are one of the hottest problem areas in many organizations. What people write may not be what the other person “reads”. Relationships and teams easily fall apart and time is wasted in correcting assumptions and misinterpretations. People get P.O.’d by the tone of your “voice” when the intention of the message loses its true meaning.
Fact and feeling are closely related, just like IQ and EQ – the intellectual quotient and emotional quotient. Short-cuts in communication also cut productivity, efficiency and effectiveness - when the workforce is anonymous. Abbreviated phrases have transformed into ETS: Electronic Translation Systems and the translations may be far less the perfect. SOS!
PMS in my vocabulary means, Preventative Maintenance Systems. Yes, I acknowledge the other common female connection, as well as Please Make Snacks and Psammomatous Melanotic Schwannoma.
The point of stopping to study our acronyms, is to take a moment to reflect on what it takes to “get along around here”. In our efforts to save time, to condense our lives into cubicles of acronyms, when do we schedule our own PMS? It’s OK for industry and manufacturing to shut down for maintenance. What about Preventative Maintenance for our “people systems”? What about catching up on red tape and organizing tools? Cleaning out that inbox? Talking to real people about real opportunities and what everyone is thinking? Leading by walking around instead of hitting "send"?
PMS means we take the time to celebrate achievements and partial successes, or to bury failed projects.
PMS in my vocabulary means, Preventative Maintenance Systems. Yes, I acknowledge the other common female connection, as well as Please Make Snacks and Psammomatous Melanotic Schwannoma.
The point of stopping to study our acronyms, is to take a moment to reflect on what it takes to “get along around here”. In our efforts to save time, to condense our lives into cubicles of acronyms, when do we schedule our own PMS? It’s OK for industry and manufacturing to shut down for maintenance. What about Preventative Maintenance for our “people systems”? What about catching up on red tape and organizing tools? Cleaning out that inbox? Talking to real people about real opportunities and what everyone is thinking? Leading by walking around instead of hitting "send"?
PMS means we take the time to celebrate achievements and partial successes, or to bury failed projects.
Take a good look at industries which excel in the world’s competitive marketplace. Bombardier, for example, puts “People First”, and then quality, responsiveness and cost. Does this sequence make sense for your work and leadership?
Warning: If people are condensed into faceless acronyms in your workplace, it’s time to change.
Warning: If people are condensed into faceless acronyms in your workplace, it’s time to change.
Maggie Chicoine is a professional speaker, master coach and team facilitator specializing in Strategies to Think Ahead. Reach her at 1 800 587 1767 or www.theideasculptor.com
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