Dr. ChangeLove

Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Technology

Roy TennantCalifornia Digital Library

The Lay of the Land

• Technological change is fast and getting faster

• Retirement is no longer the solution• We must learn to cope (“Resistance is

futile”)…• …and embrace — and in so doing shape

new technologies into the essential tools and services of tomorrow

Forms of Technostress• Frustration • Information overload• Underwork and routine jobs• Job insecurity and demotivation• Uncertainty about job role• A basic conflict between our urge to

do things quickly and our passion to do them right

• Anxiety

Anxiety and Resistance

• Fear of the unknown• Helplessness (lack of control)• Being faced with unrealistic

expectations• Being forced to take interest in things in

which you have no interest• Anxiety and resistance can be

helpful as well as harmful

What the Organization Owes You• A work space and environment that is not

harmful• Adequate hardware and software• Good training and documentation• Anticipatory and responsive support• Clear priorities• Support for different learning styles• Excellent communication• Rewards for desired behavior• Formalization of informal roles

What You Owe the Organization

• Acceptance that change is a constant

• As much flexibility as you can muster

• Excellent communication

• Suggestions for improvement rather than whining

• Your best effort (a “can do” attitude)

What You Owe Yourself

• Job #1: Take care of yourself (put on your own oxygen mask before helping others)

• The permission to not do low priority tasks

• Acceptance that you can’t “know it all”

• Strategic learning

Strategic Learning• Categories:

– Trash (“don’t go there”)– Monitor (“distant early warning”)– Dabble (“what’s this about?”)– Need to know (“like, yesterday!”)

• Strategy:– Slot new technologies using the above categories– Periodically revisit your assessments– Learn just enough to do what you want– If it has staying power, learn it more

thoroughly

Strategic Learning: My Example

• Trash:– SGML, RDF

• Monitor:– E-books

• Dabble:– Open Archives initiative

• Need to Know:– XML

What Systems Staff Should Know About Their Colleagues• Other staff are not idiots — their skills simply

lie in other areas• They speak English — you should too• “No” should not be the first word out of your

mouth• Realize that you probably know next to

nothing about user needs • Don’t expect others to know the

possibilities technology offers

What Non-Systems Staff Should Know About Systems Staff• Systems staff are not better than you, they

just tend to act that way• Take responsibility for knowing the basic

operations of your own computer and simple troubleshooting

• Ask systems staff (nicely) for what you need• Be prepared to describe (in detail) what you

need• If you really need it, don’t let the first

“no” stop you

What Managers Should Do• Build an agile organization• Hire good staff, then stay out of their way • Discover what your employees need to

accomplish their jobs, and get it• Tell them what you’re planning and listen to them

about what’s going on• Appreciate them for what they do• Work with those who underachieve• Put whiners in charge of what

they’re whining about

What Staff Should Do• Quit whining and take responsibility• Tell management specifically and

constructively what you need to do your job

• Speak up when something can be fixed or improved — do not hold back for lack of visible resources

• If you feel like you need a better computer — you do

What to Expect

• The only sure thing is change

• You will make mistakes — so what?

• You cannot make progress without taking risks

• We must foster comfort with uncertainty and delight in change

• We cannot stop what we are doing to build the future, so we must…

Build the Airplane While Flying It