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INTERNET-DRAFT Donald E. Eastlake 3rd
Motorola Laboratories
Expires February 2005 August 2004
How to Gain Prominence and Influence in Standards Organizations
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<draft-eastlake-prominence-01.txt>
Donald E. Eastlake 3rd
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Abstract
Following some simple guidelines can make it easier for you to gain
prominence and influence in most standards or other organizations.
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Table of Contents
Status of This Document....................................1
Abstract...................................................1
Table of Contents..........................................2
1. Introduction............................................3
2. Characteristics of Human Organizations..................3
3. Eighty Percent of Success is Showing Up.................3
4. Sit Up Front............................................4
5. Break Bread.............................................4
6. Be Helpful..............................................5
7. Learn The Traditions, Rules, and Procedures.............5
8. Develop Some Friends and Mentors........................6
9. Know the Acronyms and Special Terms.....................6
10. Pick Your Points and Fights............................7
11. Technical and Communications Skill.....................7
12. Do Not Try Too Hard....................................8
13. Informative References.................................9
Copyright and Disclaimer...................................9
Authors Address...........................................10
Expiration and File Name..................................10
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1. Introduction
There are some guidelines that can help your prominence and influence
in most standards organizations or other human organizations. They
can be followed with reasonable safety and moderate effort, assuming
you have at least normal communications and technical skills.
2. Characteristics of Human Organizations
All organizations are composed of human beings and give the
appearance to newcomers of having an inner clique that runs things.
This is true whether there is a semi-permanent cohesive inside group
that is actually trying to keep all power in its own hands or those
in positions of power are genuinely trying to be open and willing to
share and there is a system for their regular replacement. This is
just the nature of human society. It always takes time and effort to
get to know new people. [Carnegie]
All organizations have procedures. It always takes time and effort to
learn how things are done in an organization. In an organization of
any size, those who happen to be in positions of authority just can
not spend equal time talking with everyone about every issue in the
organization. Their positions mean they will necessarily be in many
conversations with each other and fewer conversations with the
average member. And there really are some types of information that
should normally be kept confidential, at least until verified, and
sometimes even then. For example, charges of ethical or other
violations against individuals.
But, despite all this, by following some simple guidelines you can
greatly accelerate the rate at which you will become favorably known
in an organization.
Favorable prominence can increase your chance of being selected for
positions such as editorship of documents, secretary or clerk of a
group (so you get to produce the record of what *actually* happened),
or possibly even some level of chair or deputy chair position.
3. Eighty Percent of Success is Showing Up
It is the simplest thing! If you are absent, how can you have much
prominence or influence?
This applies to all venues, email/messaging, telephone/video
conference, and especially in person or face-to-face meetings. You do
not need 100% attendance but your absences should be rare and, if
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possible, only miss less important events.
Attendance is obviously most important at meetings of the specific
body in which you are interested. But you should also be on the look
out for higher-level or lower-level meetings that are open. Many
standards groups have a multi-level structure. As well as attending
the group you are interested in, if there are open meetings of
various group chairs or the like, attending those can be a fast track
even if you only get to observe and be noticed. And if there are sub-
groups of the group you are most interested in, consider attending
them also to become better known more quickly. Higher-level meetings
may be before the beginning or after the end of the regular member
meetings so if you are really serious, you should be prepared to
arrive early and leave late.
4. Sit Up Front
If a meeting is small enough, it does not make as much difference.
But for meetings of any size, especially when starting with an
organization, sit up front. Do not be afraid of the first row even if
it is empty, although the second and sometimes even the third are not
too bad. Show up early if you need to, but it is usually not
necessary as most people are extraordinarily reluctant to put
themselves in an exposed place, like the front row.
After you have some experience, there may be some group that sits in
some part of the audience you want to sit with. But, for larger
meetings, the prominent people generally sit either up near the
front, or way at the back. (Being in the back generally means you can
wander around and talk to people, to some extent, without disrupting
things.)
5. Break Bread
All meetings of any length involve refreshment and meals. Otherwise
the attendees would starve.
If there is a group catered meal, try sitting with different groups
or factions to get an idea of the different viewpoints in the
organization. Or try to sit at a table and eat with people who have
some seniority and experience in the organization, if they seem
receptive.
Usually, for multi-day meetings, there is at least one big social
event where the attendees can get together. From small (attendance
under 100) and medium size (attendance under 500 or so) meetings, it
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is common for most people to go to the social. Typically some alcohol
is available, people are more relaxed and informal. These are good
events at which to approach high-level officials to exchange a
pleasant word or two or even make a small request. But do not count
on being able to engage in detailed technical discussions. Social
events are commonly at noisy locations. Sometimes, as organizations
get larger, well over 500, the socials get so large and congested
that many of the most prominent people schedule informal meetings or
the like opposite them. You will just have to see how it works in
your organization.
But there will also be plenty of informal dinner groups and lunch
groups (unless they are all catered) and other get-togethers. At some
standards meetings you can more or less invite yourself along to such
meal groups, unless they are a small confidential group or a group of
employees of a particular company or the like. Usually people will
warn you if the group plans to spend much of the meal discussing some
particular issue and you can then decide if you want to go with them.
6. Be Helpful
Within reason, volunteer to do some of the drudgery for which you are
competent, such as taking notes during meetings or helping someone
else draft a proposal, or volunteering to re-write part of a draft
for clarity and consistency.
This sort of thing will get you noticed and put some people in your
debt, at least in a minor way. But be careful not to volunteer for
more than you can actually do. Failing to follow through will damage
your reputation. If you do get over committed, seek help as soon as
you realize it. The worst possible thing is to fail to meet your
promises and not let anyone know about it until it is too late for
them to recover.
7. Learn The Traditions, Rules, and Procedures
It is quite important to know the traditions of an organization, how
things get done, what rules are ignored, how rules are interpreted,
and what rules are rigorously enforced.
While traditions are more important, it cannot hurt to know the
official rules and procedures. The probability that the lowest level
groups in the organization actually operate according to the
officially adopted rules and procedures in minute detail is quite low
unless the organization has pretty informal rules.
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Do not try to gain prominence by objecting to procedure just for the
sake of objecting. If you invoke little known and rarely used
official rules in small matters, it is a sure way to make people
assume that what you have to say is silly or obstructionist until
proven otherwise. If you invoke the official rules so as to override
tradition in an important matter, be aware that you are playing with
a weapon of mass destruction. You may or may not accomplish your
immediate goal but the blowback will probably damage any future
efforts in that organization.
Conversely, while it is always the path of least resistance to follow
tradition, knowing the official rules makes you aware of when they
could be invoked against you. This may enable you to adopt a path
that is reasonably congruent with both the traditions and the rules,
maximizing your chances of success.
8. Develop Some Friends and Mentors
Trying to get things done and learn what is going on entirely by
yourself is very hard. If you can, find a few people with more
experience that you can go to with questions.
Introduce yourself to people and be friendly. But do not necessarily
link up with the first people you meet. You want people who is
knowledgeable and of whom their is a favorable impression within the
organization.
If you follow the advice in Section 6 above about being helpful, you
should have plenty of opportunity to get to know experienced people
in an organization.
9. Know the Acronyms and Special Terms
Essentially all technical standards efforts wallow in acronyms and
special "terms of art". It sometimes seems as if no effort or sub-
effort is really rolling until it has come up with several non-
obvious terms to confuse those who have not been involved for a
while. Nor are acronyms constant. Especially in the early part of a
standards effort, when ideas are flopping around, acronyms and
special terms frequently change for further confusion of those not in
the most active part of the group.
In fact, if you read an explanation of some deep technical matter
written so someone outside that field can understand it, you can be
virtually certain that it is not how experts in the field communicate
with each other, verbally or in writing. This is true of all fields.
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Read something about engineering big "air vents" and "water pipes"?
Experts use "plenum" and "penstock".
It is not a good strategy to get lost in acronyms you do not know, so
you cannot understand what people are talking about and may make a
fool of yourself if you guess wrong. The best thing is to find out
about and learn the acronyms in advance. Failing that ask about what
acronyms or strange terms mean as soon as you can, preferably the
first time you encounter them. Making a written note of their meaning
could not hurt. Usually there will be others who also wanted to ask
but were afraid to and will be grateful you took the initiative.
10. Pick Your Points and Fights
Think a bit about the impression people are going to get of you.
If you insist on speaking to every issue, you may get a reputation as
a blow hard that usually is not adding much and just gets in the way
of getting things done. If you speak rarely, but have solid points
to make when you do, people will pay much more attention to your
occasional speeches.
Similarly, if you quibble about everything, you will use up good will
you have acquired and may be viewed as an obstructionist who
needlessly delays things. If an organization is doing or developing
something complex, all the decisions are not going to go the way you
want. If you consider the points where you could try to get your way,
figure out how important they are to you, how strong your arguments
would be, and how much opposition you are likely to encounter. Based
on this, you can make a reasoned choice of where to really put up a
fight and possibly recruit allies or call in favors.
This is not to say that you should ignore minor issues and not speak
up about them if you have new information or opinions to contribute.
Just do not invest a lot of effort in fighting an issue unless it is
important to you and you judge that you have a reasonable chance of
winning.
11. Technical and Communications Skill
You may be surprised that I have said very little about technical and
communication skills although in the Introduction above, it was
assumed that you had normal skills in these areas. Certainly, you
need to understand the technical aspects of what is going on so that
you cannot be easily bamboozled.
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If you are very strong technically and can make substantial
contributions, this can be helpful in accomplishing your goals, if
you can do it in a way that does not offend too many people. But,
especially in a large technical standards body, not everyone can be a
strong technical contributor.
If you have strong verbal and written communications skills, this can
also be helpful in accomplishing your goals. But if you are not
fluent in the dominant language of the organization you are
interested in, you will be at a disadvantage. While the organization
should make some attempt to be approachable by those for whom its
dominant language is a second language, the best thing to do is to
put in the time and effort to become fluent. [Farber] As a stop gap,
you can team up with someone with whom you communicate well and who
is fluent in the standards organization language. They can speak for
you in meetings, if necessary, and co-author written contributions
with you.
If you are the rare genius with superb technical, communication, and
interpersonal skills, you are wasting your time reading this and
might be able to get away with doing exactly the opposite of some of
its recommendations. But I would not count on it...
12. Do Not Try Too Hard
Lastly, after you have given it a bit of time and settled into an
organization, be reasonably assertive but do not be too pushy. And
try to never lose your temper.
Unless you are a genius at inter-personal relations, you will not
gain substantial prominence and influence in a standards organization
overnight. These things take time and patience.
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13. Informative References
[Carnegie] - "How To Win Friends And Influence People", Dale
Carnegie, 1990, ISBN 0671723650.
[Farber] - "How to Learn Any Language", Barry Farber, 1991, ISBN
1-56731-543-7.
Copyright and Disclaimer
This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
contained in BCP 78 and except as set forth therein, the authors
retain all their rights.
This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
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ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
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INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
D. Eastlake 3rd [Page 9]
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Authors Address
Donald E. Eastlake 3rd
Motorola Laboratories
155 Beaver Street
Milford, MA 01757 USA
Telephone: +1 508-786-7554 (w)
+1 508-634-2066 (h)
EMail: Donald.Eastlake@motorola.com
Expiration and File Name
This draft expires February 2005.
Its file name is draft-eastlake-prominence-01.txt.
D. Eastlake 3rd [Page 10]
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