Reporting crap… or crappy reporting.

I am currently finishing listening to an audio version of Columbia space shuttle disaster report. This is something what every manager who is concerned with at least a bit of quality should read. And especially those who are managing Research&Development departments because this is exactly what this report is about.

This report contains many important observations and hints related to safety, quality and process management. Today however I would like to focus on just one of them.

Do You report to Your boss?

One of first things modern managers do expect from mid-level managers or even from those at the same bottom of the hierarchy is “reporting”. You need to email or fill some tables in some stupid software. You do need to spend precious hours on doing it, not even knowing if anyone reads it.

Yep. Even tough reports should be read they are often not. At best skimmed through. Thous this is wise, of course if You have a boss with a sense of humor, to inject sometimes something what can be funny but also troublesome. Like some language which shouldn’t left the company or, what my colleagues did in their high school works, a page long quotation from some erotic book. I assure You that if You will try doing it, then they will always carefully read Your reports before passing them up.

Of fire You. It depends.

The idea behind reporting is that employees should provide managers with necessary information about progress and problems.

Why Your boss needs it?

We, employees usually think that they need reports to:

• Spank our bottoms because we had to report we missed the deadline again.
• Need to stuff something into mouths of the higher-ups.

If however You will have a chance to become a manager even for a short bit of time, You will notice that all this reporting is needed for a decision making.

Yep. The informed decision making.

No manager can make a wise decision without knowing things.

Reports are… fake

In 95%. This is something what the Columbia accident report is stating between lines. When people need to report they will tend to cover problems with sugar and cover up their own weaknesses with careful wording. And If Your company happens to have a strict hierarchy they will also try to formulate report in a way which will be proper and with accordance to their position in hierarchy.

Next, what also commission pointed out, is the fact, that the more levels the report needs to climb/descend through the more “fake” it becomes. When it is going up it becomes stripped out of details and over-simplified. When it is going down it is augmented with unnecessary additions, comments and miss-interpretations.

Three levels are usually enough to make it so far from truth that it becomes useless. I have been there, seen it, had to deal with it. Now usually when my boss, coming back from managers meeting, is telling me: “There is such and such problem with such and such thing at the production floor” all what I do ask him about it is: “Who told You that?”. Then I go to that person and ask again: “Who told You that?”. And so on, and so on, until I will stand in front of a guy who will answer: “Yep, it is me. I told something in that manner”. Now I can gather untainted information I can work with. Notice, quite often the problem was far away from what my boss told me.

Reports are just signals

I think that what we do call “routine reporting”,“daily reporting” or “progress reporting” should be treated by managers only as signals. Like a cough in the gentleman’s club room.

Active information gathering

The commission observed, and I being an engineer fully agree with that, that the manager must actively search for information. There are many reasons behind that.

First it is what I stated above: that reports may be worded in a way which covers shit with sugar, may be reluctant to provide some information which may be harmful to reporting person, or may refrain from providing information which may be seen against the hierarchy.

Next, what is also stated above, the manager should be very, very careful if one is presented with a “report about report about report”. The summary about summary about some report is usually worth as much as monkey screaming on the sight of the banana. It is like with JPEG – each conversion is lossy. Each time someone reports about what one read in a report something is lost and something is added. Important becomes not important and urgent becomes non-urgent.

Then, what also commission pointed out, the language of report will be usually technical while manager needs to use processing and decision making language. Even reading the untainted report may create false impression because of language problems and difference in background knowledge between report author and the manager.

And finally, at least 90% of important information won’t be present in the report. Because that information is so obvious to the author, that it is not necessary to write about it. Remember, authors of technical reports will be usually not skilled in literature and won’t be able to write well. The may be writing tens of pages bragging about the maximum percentage of NO₂ per liter of hydro-carbon mixture and yet not mention even a single word that the car won’t go without a gasoline.

You, dear manager, must ask.

All right, so do You have something to say?

The commission was kind enough to point out that this is not the proper way of gathering information. The manager must learn how to ask proper questions.

For an example imagine a guy being asked “Can You do it till September?” answering “Yes, sure!”.

What have You really asked him about? And what really had he answer You? Think about it using the skills You gained at Your psychology course.

In fact Your question was: “It is important for me to have it done till September. I am not sure however if You are the right person to do it. Are You sure, You are good enough?”. That guy answer was: “I like You to be pleased, because I like working here. I think that if I will work hard I have a chance to do it in that time-line, and if nothing surprising will come out, so I may say yes to not show that I am un-qualified for my position”

You, dear manager, must ask control question. For an example: “Fine, good. Can You please give me some hints about what exactly will You have to do? Some few steps, so that I will be able to get a grip on what resources You need”

This is very hard to answer that kind of question without showing You that there is in fact a hell lot of work to be done, there is a hell lot of uncertainties and numerous safety margins needs to be cut-off to make it in a proposed dead-line.

Summary

I think You already know my opinion. Do not rely on reporting. Do not insist on reporting, unless You really, really need it. And if it is the case make sure, that Your people will know that You do read them.

Actively gather information. Be investigative and remember about freezing effects of hierarchy on people and losses happening when information is passing through hierarchy levels.

Only then You will be able to make informed decisions.

Unless, of course, You need to report to Your own boss and You need something to stuff his ugly mug with. In that case however You don’t need hints about informed decision making but a through course in ass licking. Which, unfortunately, I cannot provide You with.