Organization Management Rhythm (part 7.2): Analysis – Phase 2 Analysis, Conduct Assessment

This article is part 7.2 of a series of articles on Organization Management Rhythm.

Phase 2 Analysis

As the questions in part 7.1 have been answered, the organization can begin to start the analysis.  Beginning with the events, start determining if what they are supposed to do is correct. Utilizing all the products that have been created previously along with evaluations of the meetings and events start forming the picture of what is not correct. If there is not enough time for staff to complete their work then annotate and suggest.

The ultimate decision to change the Organization Management Rhythm is up to the executive or a delegate they have assigned such as the Organization Management Rhythm Manager (OMRM). It is up to the staff to understand that change feels different. To ease the process of change, explain to the all the staff what has been gained or removed from the daily grind of meetings, work, and fighting for space.

For example, the following checklist can be used to effectively see if a meeting or event is actually what it says. If it is being conducted properly? Did it change rooms? Did everything get covered that was on the 7-Minute Drill? Did it start and end on time? Questions such as these will start to flush out the issues in the meetings, locations, and time of the staff.

Conduct Assessment

Once an existing Organization Management Rhythm is identified, conduct a detailed assessment consisting of a series of questions designed to highlight shortcomings or gaps in Organization Management Rhythm knowledge sharing and manageability. The products of the analysis model, namely the 7-Minute Drill Matrix/Event Matrix, Information Flow Diagram, Staff Matrix, and Organization Management Rhythm Event Schedule, serve as both assessment and management tools. The following considerations make up the assessment criteria.

Are the senior staff decision cycle touch points identified?

Understanding the senior staff requirements for touch points – interactions between the senior staff and staff – and individual preferences is central to creating an effective Organization Management Rhythm that supports the decision cycle. Include external touch point events the senior staff conducts such as organization field circulation or video teleconferences with the higher headquarters.

Are all information exchange requirements accounted for in the Organization Management Rhythm?

Normally documented as Organization Management Rhythm event inputs and outputs, information exchange requirements include named products, such as target list worksheets, or intangible products, like verbal leadership feedback. Properly identifying information exchange requirements brings visibility to both redundancy and gaps in the information flow of the organization. The Information Flow Diagram highlights the connections between Organization Management Rhythm events ensuring no events are isolated and all feed other events in support of the senior staff decision cycle. It also highlights the specified products and information inputs required by higher headquarters.

Are the critical paths defined?

Critical paths represent the information flow to decision makers and distinguish the operational critical processes within planning horizons from supporting processes. An Information Flow Diagram depicts staff information exchange requirements as input and output links between Organization Management Rhythm events. Color coding links by major lines of operation or lines of effort helps identify the critical path events.

Is the Organization Management Rhythm in sync with the senior staff decision cycle?

Not aligning the information flow with the senior staff decision cycle causes the staff to be out of sync and only able to concentrate on “the topic of the day.” If the Organization Management Rhythm is out of sync, the senior staff is unsure when required information will be provided for approaching decision points. Second-order effects often force longer lead times for information exchange requirements rendering information, and by virtue, decisions irrelevant.

Does the Organization Management Rhythm reflect only repetitive, cross-functional events that support senior staff decision making?

The Organization Management Rhythm consists of cross-functional events that support decision making. Meetings consisting of a single functional area are kept internal to that staff section as a normal course of staff work. In addition, the Organization Management Rhythm is not the organizational calendar. One-time staff activities like organizational days, VIP visits, or even a senior staff non-routine meeting are not Organization Management Rhythm events. Maintaining a separate Organization Management Rhythm Event Schedule, Organizational Calendar and Command Calendar – knowing there will be some redundancy – helps maintain understanding of the relationship of the Organization Management Rhythm to staff product development and time management.

Are Organization Management Rhythm events in a logical order?

Sequencing of events must allow outputs from one Organization Management Rhythm event to feed inputs to others. Sequencing events are typically done from the top down, or boards to working groups, factoring in the senior staff touch points and higher headquarters’ requirements. Organization Management Rhythm periodicity could ultimately be daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly and will vary per event. The Organization Management Rhythm Event Schedule represents the time sequence of Organization Management Rhythm events

Is the Organization Management Rhythm staff and subordinate element supportable?

Personnel time management is the most important and constraining factor for an Organization Management Rhythm. The Staff Matrix identifies when the Organization Management Rhythm is not supportable by the staff –  often a critical oversight. Low-density, high-demand staff sections and subordinate elements are easily overtaxed with event participation.

Does the Organization Management Rhythm have sufficient “white space”?

Maintaining sufficient unscheduled time or “white space” between events is crucial for the senior staff reflection time and staff product generation. This ensures that the outputs from one event are understood and staffed prior to using them to inform a follow-on event. White space should follow a ⅓ ⅔ rule in which a single staff member should only be in meetings 33% of the time and have 66% of the time to focus on work.

Does the Chief Information Officer approve all changes to the Organization Management Rhythm?

As the key staff integrator, coordinating and maintaining the Organization Management Rhythm becomes one of the Chief Information Officer’s primary responsibilities. The Organization Management Rhythm is a staff management process that is highly influenced by minor, innocuous changes. Only the Chief Information Officer has the staff oversight and sense of the senior staff most immediate priorities to evaluate the impact of changes to an organizational Organization Management Rhythm.

Are there enough supporting resources for event requirements?

Supporting resources include physical or virtual spaces and information technology requirements like video teleconference suites. Resources often become constraints when scheduling Organization Management Rhythm events and should not be overlooked when conducting the analysis.

Next part (part 7.3): Analysis – Phase 3 Implement Changes, Phase 4 Manage.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Tomi Antill, Keith Davis, Elise Keith from Lucid Meetings, JFHQ-C Leadership, and Kendra Albright from Kent State University, without whose support this series would not have been possible.

Header image source: U.S. National Archives, Public Domain.