Mikey Chews His Bone

​"Throw them a bone" - Keeping upper management occupied and off -your -back.

Mikey loves to eat his bone.  He takes it to his favourite place on the living room floor and begins to gnaw.  A distraction that has him snarfling in happiness for hours.

​When projects appear to be planned effectively or there have been few complaints, upper management gets scared.  Option 1 - because there is something wrong with the project process and no one is talking or Option 2 - they are bored and want to make sure it appears they are still in control.  With Option 1, you have bigger issues and should re-evaluate your position or ask for help.  Option 2 - it is time to find a small element of the project you can toss to the boss to chew-on while you keep the project moving forward.

​The bone (element/item/issue) you throw should not have a major impact to your overall deliverable or have negative consequences if the chewing gets out of your control.

​The bone is not to be taken away until it is finished or devoured.  If the bone is taken away too early, then said management is left dissatisfied and looking for more.  Do not take toys away until everyone is finished playing.

​Distractions in the workplace are good when regulated.  Visual distractions - there is nothing wrong with eye-candy in the office male, female, or gender neutral.  Verbal distractions - chatting about the weekend with your pod-mates.  Food distractions - getting up from your desk to have a treat.  Project distractions - discussing other project success and failures with the office.

​The infamous multi-tasking theory is also known as multi-distractions.  There are some individuals who can do one or more tasks simultaneously.  They live in the ocean and have 8 tentacles. 

Attention to a specific task or element can ensure success as it has your concentrated efforts.  Leaving issues that have not been carefully evaluated creates more work to fix after the team realizes there are errors in the decision making.  Knowing when and where to give your full attention is a separate topic, but reviewing items with complete attention by yourself or the team can get good results.

​Mikey finishes his bone, licks his chops, and settles for a nap.  He is content until he needs another bone.  Meanwhile, the work keeps getting done.

                                                                    Mikey can be found at - www.britannicafitness.com