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When Rules Last Forever - Interruption Management
Once a rule gets in place it's very difficult to eliminate it even though the original reasons for its generation are long gone, according to author Roger von Oech. His prime example:
In the 1870s the leading manufacturer of typewriters at the time received complaints that too many of the typewriter keys were sticking together if the operator went too fast. In response to this, the company produced the QWERTY type keyboard -- a configuration standard on all keyboards -- to slow down operators so that the keys wouldn't jam together.
Today, technology permits us to produce typewriter keyboards that can operate much faster than any human could possibly type but the QWERTY configuration still dominates and likely will for the foreseeable future.
The nugget for us all: introduce new rules, new regulations, and new procedures carefully, and monitor their long term effectiveness.Labels: conformity, effectiveness, regulation, rules, von Oech
In the 1870s the leading manufacturer of typewriters at the time received complaints that too many of the typewriter keys were sticking together if the operator went too fast. In response to this, the company produced the QWERTY type keyboard -- a configuration standard on all keyboards -- to slow down operators so that the keys wouldn't jam together.
Today, technology permits us to produce typewriter keyboards that can operate much faster than any human could possibly type but the QWERTY configuration still dominates and likely will for the foreseeable future.
The nugget for us all: introduce new rules, new regulations, and new procedures carefully, and monitor their long term effectiveness.
Labels: conformity, effectiveness, regulation, rules, von Oech
posted by Jeff Davidson at 2:16 PM |
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