PAPod 536 - Challenging the "Move Fast and Break Things" Mantra

Move fast and break things. If I hear that one more time, I don't even know.

Let's talk about this a little bit because I think it's an interesting time to have a further discussion around uncertainty. Music.

Hey, everybody. Pre-X-Fan Investigation, Todd Conklin. And it's another podcast on another exciting day. Well, it's snowing like crazy in Santa Fe. That's kind of the secret thing about living in the high desert. So, you know, Santa Fe's at about 7,800 feet. Like my house, there's a little benchmark across the street in the park that says 7,800 feet. So we're pretty high up. And our snowiest months are usually March and April.

The crazy thing is, is we forget about it and you kind of get spring fever late February and starts to have kind of nice weather and it's warm and you forget that you're still in for a big old bunch of snow, which is exactly what's happening now. But I'm not complaining because it's water. And the one thing we need is water. So water would be a good thing. I also worried that I'm becoming an old man. Let me take that back. I'm not worried I'm becoming an old man.

I'm quite certain I'm becoming an old man. That's happening before my very eyes. But I think I'm a little too fixated on weather. There's a whole world out there, and yet weather seems the safest, most important thing to talk about. And so that's what we talk about. The other great news is things are plugging along. It looks like it's going to be kind of an interesting year.

I don't know how you guys are seeing the world, But, you know, I've gotten to hang out a little bit with some peers from around the globe, and it's always fun to see everybody. That was great fun. And it's exciting because there's so much going on that people are really – they're really motivated to do the right things and make the world a better place. And so that's always encouraging. I mean, that's a great place to start thinking about things.

And I've been thinking about things a lot, you guys. So, you know, Jenny and I, Jennifer Long, and I just finished a book, and it's a little out of my wheelhouse, this book, but it was really fun to put together. I'm sure I'll talk about it more. But we looked at five or six organizations and tried to understand what is happening currently around workers. And by that, I mean, it's the and you guys know this because you're living in the heat of it.

But things have changed kind of dramatically. I mean, faster than this kind of change normally happens. And workers are are much different now than they were, for instance, 10 years ago. Not that the workers have changed. I mean, they're the same. Don't get me wrong. but kind of what motivates people in an organization has changed. And so we started looking at that because it became really an important part of the safety discussion.

So Jenny and I were talking about kind of this overall safety push and how you really see things kind of move forward and then fall back and then move forward and fall back and move forward and fall back. And one of the indicators that I was telling Jenny that I think is really an important one to watch is how organizations think about the workforce.

Because if they see the workforce as the problem, then we start to see these safety programs or these reliability or resilience programs, production programs, quality programs, they're all kind of the same. They're really focused at fixing that worker, make the worker better, make them jump faster and run quicker and smile prettier and all those kinds of things.

If they're not focused on the worker, then they're starting to look at the overall organization, the culture, the systems, what's going on. And you can sort of tell where organizations are on this journey by kind of their language, by what they talk about. And then in the midst of that, what came out of this was Jenny said, but they're talking about workers differently now than when these ideas first became apparent. Is this metric still accurate? Is it a good way to monitor a system?

And that was actually a really good question because we've seen a real difference. And that's what this book talks about is the idea that a worker will become a long-term part of an organization has really changed pretty dramatically. And that's changed how organizations interface with workers. And so discussing this and watching this has been very, very, very, very enlightening. And I'll tell you, I'm sure we'll talk about, I know we're going to do a podcast and talk about it in more detail.

So the interesting parts of the book, you'll have to kind of see. We'll talk about it. I'm not keeping it a secret. You can have it. But that caused a lot of thought around, well, where are we now? And the crazy thing is, is that I actually think that's a pretty good precursor into what we should probably talk about today, because today's going to be an interesting day, because the idea that we can...

Sort of see the world differently is easy to talk about, but we're so biased towards what we think is right or true or correct or proper. Put in any word you want to put it. Here's a little blank, fill it in right there, right? And that bias kind of has influenced how we think about moving forward and what's happening. And you're starting to see it. It's kind of an important thing to think about.

I know I'm not making a lot of sense yet, but I promise at least my goal is to make sense at some point during this discussion. It's kind of an interesting thing to think about because as the world has changed, and it pretty dramatically has changed, and as uncertainty increases, and that's very true, I mean, in many ways, some basic foundational belief systems are kind of turning on their ears, that's changing how we interface and work.

And it's really changing what our organizations look like. So let's talk about it, because I think we should talk about this because I think it's worth talking about. And I started with the idea of move fast and break things, which is kind of a tech bros mantra that they've been saying for a long time. And I get the idea that disruption is one way to facilitate change.

It's not the only way to facilitate change. And I'm not sure it's the best way, although I don't think it's the worst way to facilitate change. But the idea that you can move in, move fast, break things, and you've disrupted the system so that the system has to right itself again is a very interesting idea, but it's an idea that's not without consequence.

And so that becomes a really important part of what we want to think about, because in many ways, what we do in assuring safe and reliable operations so that people don't die or get injured or things don't blow up, I mean, that's kind of the job you do. I mean, I don't know if people have said that to you, but you have a pretty important job because you're the one that thinks about not dying or not blowing up or not getting injured.

Breaking things oftentimes then leaves us in a position where there's more uncertainty and as uncertainty grows, well, we have to think about it. Now, we've talked about uncertainty a bunch, I mean, because we've really been in the midst of uncertainty. Who knew that the world would be the world we live in.

And we know a couple of things about uncertainty. One is that it's really important to recognize uncertainty and Because if you live in sort of denial and believe that uncertainty is a temporary problem, then that seems to have some pretty significant consequence that'll hurt you. And more importantly, it hurts your organization. But what it really does is kind of it paralyzes you. It sort of freezes you up. So we know we have to recognize uncertainty is there. That's kind of the first

step. And that's an important step. And then we know a couple of things. One is you want to get more information from more diverse places within your organization. And so we really want to look for a diversity of data. We want to look for lots of different data sets from lots of different places. Because the more data we have, the better we are at knowing where we are.

I'm not certain more data makes us more able to predict. Because that's really the pickle of uncertainty is that normal prediction tools don't seem to work. So probability ones and zeros, those are really great ways to think about strategically moving forward unless the system is so uncertain, so unstable that it's filled with ambiguity. And if it's filled with ambiguity, then our initial thought, this is kind of the third step, is that we have to disambiguate.

We have to understand where we are in order to understand where we're going to go. You guys know all this stuff. We've talked about it a million times. Where this takes us, I think, is to a really healthy discussion, one that we probably should have been having earlier, of the importance of understanding first principles.

So as crazy as this sounds, and I think it might sound kind of crazy, as screwed up as the world is, as uncertain as the world is, that kind of causes us to double down on the principles we know make a difference. So in our case, I'm thinking of the principles of kind of how humans perform, that people will make mistakes. That's pretty normal, right? That blame is incipient and doesn't really help us.

In fact, it kind of hurts us. It stops improvement. that we have to be attuned towards learning. Learning is really valuable. That culture and context really drive behavioral outcomes. So the sense that a worker has agency is an important idea, but they live in an organizational system that has lots of power. And then finally, how leaders respond makes a difference. And you hear these all the time. I mean, They're quite commonly talked about.

And that's, I think, very helpful because the more uncertainty we have or the more uncertain the world is, the more we need to be able to go back to certain ideas to help us manage uncertain outcomes. So if you think about it, what we know is those principles probably won't change. And because they're not changing, even in the midst of uncertainty, people still make mistakes. We still need to learn how you respond as a leader matters, all those things.

Because those are so valuable, we can actually create an environment where we do know how to say actually comforting and important things to help people have the confidence and the capacity to move in a direction that is stable and reliable. So they're not getting hurt, killed, or things blow up. So the idea that we move fast and break things, which I think is kind of in a tech bro way attractive, is really hard to operationalize in normal operations.

Like you don't really want that to happen on an airplane, or you don't really want that to happen on a production floor, or you don't really want that to happen on a rig. Those aren't good things. Moving fast and breaking things doesn't make the world a better place. But we do know that we live in a world that has uncertain outcomes. And so because the outcomes are uncertain, we have to manage it with certain control. So we increase our understanding of the principles, which allows us to build

confidence for what is going to be an uncertain outcome. Does that make sense? Because I can't tell you what the future is going to hold. I mean, I've never been able to tell you that, but generally speaking, it's really hard to predict what's going to happen next. It just is. And you have to feel this. I mean, I certainly do. Everything I think, well, that's it. It can't get any weirder. Then it gets weirder.

And this idea that we're moving fast and breaking things in order to build improvement, I mean, maybe it's correct. You guys all have to tell me. But my guess is it's having an opposite effect, that that has consequence. And one of the consequences is an erosion in confidence and an erosion in capacity. So we have less margin for variation in variability, which we need because that's how we manage sort of the future is by creating margin.

And we have less confidence that we're the right people to actually do the work, touch the hazard, make the production take place, fly the plane, drive the truck, move the bulldozer. That I think is really significant. And it all kind of leads, if you ask me, to one pretty clear message. It's one I've been thinking about a lot. And that is, I think our job is, in the midst of all kinds of conditions.

In all types of uncertainty, in all sorts of weather, our job is to deliver the most excellent work we can deliver as consistently as we possibly can. And this idea of delivering excellence actually is the biggest weapon. I hate to use the word weapon. Did you hear me pause there? It's the biggest tool, maybe tool is a better word. It's the biggest tool we can have against the potential unintended consequences of uncertainty.

By delivering excellence, We reduce fear By delivering excellence We reduce ambiguity By delivering excellence We reduce uncertainty.

And that is because we know the one thing we can count on is our excellent delivery. Now, I don't know if you've followed closely, but there's a term, and actually Dr. Woods talked about it quite a bit in that recent podcast, that conversation that I had. I love David Woods. It's so fun to talk to him. And it's kind of interesting when you do a podcast because I don't really need to be there. You just sort of turn him on and then 30 minutes later turn him off.

I mean, he's going for it. He's got lots to say, but I love that. But he talks about the encrapification. He doesn't use the word crap. He uses another word that starts with S and ends with T, but the encrapification of our systems. And the funny thing about that phrase encrapification is that, in fact, that's a pretty legitimate term that you're starting to hear. You hear it actually kind of a lot around software development, the DevOps community, that side of the house.

And what it is, for instance, let's use an app as an example. You deliver an app that does exactly what you need it to do. And then over time, you make the app less effective and maybe cost more. So what you used to give free, you now charge for. Or what used to work beautifully automatically, you now have to actually do something or submit something, And what's happening is that the good idea over time becomes less of a good idea. It becomes encrapified.

Although, remember, they use a different term for this. So you might have to translate this. And because systems are encrapified, because there's an encrapification of our processes, which you really see in. I mean, you see it almost in everything we do. There's a million examples of it that I can think of immediately. All of them would probably make people angry if I said them out loud, but you can sort of fill in the blank where I am.

As we encrapify these systems, what's happening is the system becomes less valuable for the end user and actually starts to serve some kind of different purpose for the greater data collection process or the greater organization or the owner of the web, whoever it is. That idea is the exact opposite in crapification is the exact opposite of delivering excellence.

So if you think about it, and I would challenge you to kind of think about this a little bit, ultimately, what's going to keep us sane, what's going to keep us healthy, happy.

Mentally stable, what's going to allow us to do our job, what's going to help people work in an environment that's more reliable and more resilient, where there are less injuries, less fatalities, less explosions, is not to make the system slowly worse, but in fact to continue to deliver a system that becomes slowly better. Delivering excellence. It's a really important part of how we do that. And it's a foundational part of, for instance, the five principles. People make mistakes.

Blame fixes nothing. Learning is everything. Context drives behavior. And how leaders respond makes a difference. Those are all really important parts of getting better, of improving, of delivering excellence. My challenge to you is really simple. As things get crazier and crazier, and I don't think we're done, you guys. I mean, I kind of think things are going to get even weirder. I'm certainly feeling it where I am, and I know you're feeling it where you are.

I know you're seeing differences in the way international travel is happening or how you're recruiting, attracting and retaining workers or how long workers stay, how soon they leave. All those things are a part of this uncertain world in which we work. The only tool we have is a tool that's as much inward focused as it is outwards focused. And that tool is to continue to deliver excellence. That's the standard. Not perfection, because perfection is a trick. We'll never be perfect.

And questing to be perfect is just stupid. We know we're going to be imperfect.

But that doesn't stop us from continually improving, from delivering excellence. Music.

So that's the pod for today. It's a short and sweet one, but I think it's actually an interesting one for us to think about. This idea of delivering excellence, that's key. That's foundational to what we do. But not just because it's the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do. No question about it. But more importantly, I think it's also a very important mental health tool that we can use.

Because as long as you know you're doing the best you're doing, as long as you know you're delivering excellence, your check, your test is that you deliver excellence, then you're sort of protected against any other kind of criticism that could possibly fly your way. Trying to play the game, trying to respond politically, that's important. It's about survival, but it's not very satisfying and it doesn't offer long-term protection. Doing excellence is.

Delivering excellence is always defensible. You can always make a pretty good case at any time to you, to your maker, to whoever you see in the mirror every day, to your bosses, to your coworkers, to your peers, to your workers, that no matter what, the test you used was, does this make it better? Does this deliver excellence? And I think that's a pretty good idea, you guys.

It's one I've been thinking about a bunch. I have another pod I need to talk to you about that's a little bit more controversial, but it kind of falls in this same line because you can't not be alive right now and not be thinking about what's next and what does this mean and how's this going to influence my organization and how's it going to influence my peers? How's it going to influence the people who work with us and for us?

And how's it going to impact me? And those are all really important questions. There's no doubt about it. And it's something for us to think about. Remember, if you think of nothing else, if your standard is that you continually deliver excellence, you'll always have protection. You'll always be on the right side of the equation. And when change happens, it's really important to be on the right side of that change. That's the pod for today. Learn something new every single day.

Think about this one because I'll be curious to see what you think. Give me some feedback if you want to. I'm wide open to it because, you know, it's snowing like crazy here and I'm thinking about these things. Have as much fun as you possibly can. Be good to each other. Be kind to each other. Check in on one another, for goodness sakes. And at the end of the day, for golly sakes, be safe. Music. Move fast and break stuff god that's just ridiculous.