Random interruptions can only result in random, short and trivial answers.

In recent months much has been written about the huge boom in the use of the iconic BlackBerry handheld device among consultants and senior managers.

In a long article in Børsen on Tuesday 6 September, Henrik Ørholst of PA Consulting Group talks about how his dependency on the BlackBerry has become “heavy and solid” – a dependency that he cannot do without.

Another article in Børsen on 30 August, entitled “Senior managers’ handhelds growing apace”, talks about the enormous growth in the use of BlackBerrys among senior managers and businesspeople.

In the first place the article about Henrik Ørholst’s dependency appears captivating. The man is completely in thrall to this little thing – to such an extent that he even has to take it with him when he’s on his bike. When he stops at a red light he has time to check a couple of e-mails, and when he’s out shopping on a Saturday morning he can also manage a couple of e-mails!

Distracted minds

Although the BlackBerry is portrayed as a little marvel – a time-saving device for its owner, who can reply to e-mails whenever he has a spare 30 seconds – it is also quite clearly a source of distraction for the owners who are incapable of managing their leisure time flexibly.

It is obvious that neither Ørholst nor others are able to concentrate properly on the traffic or their shopping when they are constantly allowing themselves to be distracted and entertained by random e-mails, which divert their attention from the things that ought to be occupying their minds.

Dependency

In the case of Henrik Ørholst, this dependency affects his concentration in traffic and when shopping. However, it could just as well be the tasks he is supposed to prioritise in his daily work that are affected by these constant interruptions, which divert his attention and cause his mind to lose focus. No doubt he also has it in silent mode when he is participating in conferences or meetings, or when he has to concentrate on his – hopefully more interesting – daily work.

The “solid and heavy” state of dependency, which Ørholst unfortunately is not the only person to experience, is closer to gambling mania and autopilot than the ability to prioritise well. The excuse is pressure of work – you have just got time to fire off an extra, routine e-mail. People wish for flexibility and the chance to fill up wasted time. But this is not true! It is not due to pressure of work.

It is due to a lack of ability both to prioritise and to focus on what is important rather than on random trivia.

Flexibility requires you to be aware of what is important and what is unimportant, so that you know why you are engaged in a particular activity. When cycling, you should concentrate on this activity and not be distracted, and similarly you should concentrate on other important assignments in connection with your work.

Random interruptions can only result in random, short and trivial answers – and even less time, because your focus has been distracted. And what would the reaction of your wife, your clients and your employer be to this? I would be extremely irritated by a person who chose to cut himself off from what was going on around him.

There is not much doubt that many managers, consultants and other businesspeople, like Ørholst, have forgotten their real goals, and in doing so have ceased to focus on what is important in favour of games, autopilot and gambling mania. Give it a rest!

Also published in the Danish business newspaper ‘Børsen’, section 1, page 3, OPINION, on 13 October 2005.

Show your true character by means of visible action, said Alfred Josefsen, the boss of the supermarket chain Irma, on 2 December in Børsen Weekend. Using this philosophy he has turned a loss-making business into a success. On the face of it this seems to be a simple and straightforward piece of advice, but this is far from the case. The type of action you take is by no means unimportant, as Josefsen himself expresses indirectly. He says that you have to know what you want. You have to be enthusiastic about it and stick to it – and one could add that you have to know why and how you want something.

The reason for this is illustrated very well in ‘Alice in Wonderland’:

At one point Alice meets a grinning Cheshire Cat, whom she asks: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where – “ said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“- so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

To which the Cat replied: “Oh, you’re sure to do that, if you only walk long enough.”

They’re mad

Alice felt that this could not be denied, so she tried another question: “What sort of people live about here?”

“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw round, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.

“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”

In other words: The route you choose is only of minor significance if your goals are unclear. Alice needed clarity with regard to her goal. She needed to know which way she should go, and how she could decide whether she was going the right way.

By showing his true character, Josefsen is creating clarity with regard to his goal and how it is to be reached. If he shows his true character in the right way, as everything suggests he is doing, this is achieved by stating clearly his vision and strategy to the employees.

Behaviour is driven by means of metrics, and this behaviour drives the results.

It is presumably the lack of coordination between vision, strategy and metrics that causes some employees to describe their workplace as a “funny farm” or a “madhouse”.

So regardless of what the Cheshire Cat said, something can be done about this situation. But you have to know what you want, why you want it, how you are going to achieve it – and then you have to stick to it. That is what the boss of Irma does better than most.

Also published in the Danish business newspaper ‘Børsen’, section 1, page 2, OPINION, on 15 December 2005.