The sociological health-centric Reasonable Person Model as it applies to increasing productivity in the workplace, in annotated PDF form for presenters

1. 1

2. • Everyone
has
a
mental
map
of
how
the
world
works
–
map
of
ideas
rather
than
loca8ons.
If
these
maps
do
not
overlap
sufficiently
between
workers,
coopera8on
will
suffer,
team
projects
will
take
longer,
and
produc8vity
will
suffer
• It
is
worth
no8ng
that
this
is,
essen8ally,
the
ideal
scenario;
you
can
shape
your
employees
mental
models
to
fit,
but
only
to
a
certain
extent,
as
ideas
and
preconcep8ons
are
shaped
by
all
of
life
–
and
while
viewpoints
and
though
processes
need
to
overlap
enough
for
shared
goals,
methods,
and
communica8on
across
the
team,
lack
of
overlap
can
bring
poten8ally
valuable
fresh
ideas
in
2

3. • Your
goal
is
to
be
in
the
yellow
sec8on
of
this
pie
chart,
but
leave
enough
leeway
in
those
guidelines
to
allow
for
differences
between
employees
–
have
enough
of
a
procedure
when
orien8ng
new
employees
that
everyone
has
the
same
key
informa8on
about
the
company,
their
jobs,
and
the
significance
thereof,
but
remember
that
everybody’s
mental
map
is
different,
and
the
point
of
orienta8on
is
to
expand
that
map
so
it
overlaps
with
everybody
else’s;
as
such,
you’ll
need
to
vary
orienta8on
to
connect
where
they
are
now
mentally
with
where
you
need
them
to
be
mentally
• don’t
just
show
employees
their
cubicles
and
how
to
do
what
is
expected
of
them.
Take
the
8me
to
explain
the
organiza8on
and
how
their
work
maJers
to
the
big
picture
–
make
sure
they
understand
the
context
in
which
their
work
is
important,
rather
than
just
what
their
work
is
3

4. • Absolutely
vital
to
orienta8on
and
avoidance
of
problems
ranging
from
inconvenience
to
disaster
• Illustrated
is
the
Mars
Climate
Orbiter,
intended
to
orbit
Mars
and
take
climate
data.
Less
than
five
minutes
aQer
entering
Mars’
orbit,
it
fell
down
to
Mars,
disintegra8ng
in
the
process,
losing
NASA
$274
million
in
today’s
dollars.
Cause
of
failure:
mostof
the
systems
onboard
had
been
programmed
to
calculate
in
metric,
while
onehad
been
programmed
to
calculate
in
Imperial
–
in
essence,
some
of
the
engineers
working
on
it
were
using
one
set
of
language,
and
the
rest
were
using
another.
• Obviously,
this
is
a
worst-­‐case
scenario
of
the
consequences
of
failing
to
make
sure
everyone
uses
the
same
language,
but
it
is
nevertheless
a
vivid
illustra8on
of
what
can
happen
when
mental
models
do
not
overlap
on
language.
Always
make
sure
new
employees
know
all
the
relevant
jargon,
acronyms,
and
terms
–
give
them
a
cheat
sheet
if
need
be,
or
encourage
them
to
write
their
own.
4

5. • There
are
fundamentally
two
kinds
of
aJen8on:
directed
and
involuntary
• Directed
aJen8on,
the
sort
needed
for
work,
is
inherently
limited
• Result:
Near-­‐universal
problem
of
late
aQernoon
exhaus8on,
lethargy,
irritability,
need
for
endless
stream
of
coffee
even
when
technically
well
rested
and
not
physically
exerted
• Studies
have
shown
that
engaging
in
involuntary
aJen8on,
most
par8cularly
relaxa8on
in
what
is
perceived
as
a
natural
seng,
can
recharge
directed
aJen8on,
increasing
produc8vity
5

6. There
are
several
ways
companies
can
provide
such
produc8vity-­‐enhancing
sengs
• Sponsor
a
nearby
public
park
• Have
greenery
and
benches
nearby
your
building
in
lieu
of
a
larger
parking
lot,
if
your
business
property
is
big
enough
to
allow
for
such
• Consider
a
rooQop
garden
if
local
property
setup
or
costs
prohibit
either
of
the
others
• Furthermore,
try
to
have
something
nature-­‐like
visible
from
office
windows.
If
the
distracted
person
in
the
previous
slide
is
going
to
look
around
in
distrac8on,
it’s
beJer
to
have
something
known
to
recharge
his
directed
aJen8on
in
his
field
of
view
so
looking
around
serves
to
get
him
back
to
work
and
work
harder,
rather
than
serving
as
a
waste
of
8me
• This
is,
of
course,
a
func8on
of
where
your
office
is,
what
8me
of
year,
and
the
neighborhood.
Be
reasonable
–
encourage
employees
to
have
lunch
in
the
park
whenever
prac8cal,
but
if
the
weather
is
20˚
below
zero,
any
form
of
encouragement
saying
that
will
make
you
seem
out
of
touch
6

7. •
An
employee
that
feels
like
a
cog
in
the
machine
isn’t
mo8vated,
and
produc8vity
suffers
• There
is
an
important
dis8nc8on
between
par3cipa3on
and
control.
People
want
to
feel
like
they
have
had
a
meaningful
effect
on
their
surroundings
–
but
they
also
don’t
want
the
responsibility
and
stress
of
having
control
over
final
ac8on
and
decisionmaking
process
• This
dovetails
nicely
with
the
managerial
need
to
make
decisions
for
the
group
for
efficacy.
• The
trick,
then,
is
to
make
them
feel
like
they
have
a
say,
without
delega8ng
responsibili8es
to
them.
Be
careful
to
be
respeceul,
rather
than
condescending,
in
this-­‐employees
are
smart
enough
to
spot
transparent
ploys,
and
will
suffer
mo8va8on
loss
as
a
result
7

8. • Ties
directly
into
the
importance
of
communica8on
I
men8oned
earlier.
Don’t
be
afraid
to
take
sugges8ons
–
and
don’t
be
afraid
to
explain
the
reasons
said
sugges8ons
may
not
work
–
make
it
a
discussion.
If
your
explana8on
for
why
their
contribu8on
is
impossible
is
just
a
sentence
or
two,
they
may
come
out
feeling
you
aren’t
telling
them
the
whole
story.
• Try
to
set
aside
part
of
at
least
one
mee8ng
a
week
for
sugges8ons
and
concerns
–
just
remember
to
make
it
a
real
discussion;
if
they’re
talking
to
a
wall,
you’re
hur8ng,
not
helping
produc8vity
• Always
take
concerns
by
employees
into
account
–
don’t
guarantee
that
you
will
agree
with
their
concerns,
but
agree
that
you
will
listen
and
consider
them/
Remember
that
Mars
satellite
disaster
I
men8oned?
There
were
several
operators
who
no8ced
the
problem
once
the
project
was
heavily
underway,
but
whose
concerns
about
soQware
compa8bility
were
ignored.
This
illustrates
the
win-­‐win
nature
of
listening
to
employee
concerns.
8