We all talk about setting off the alarm bells as an 'early warning sign' in your head. However, how often do we really recognise these warning signs - and what kind of triggers do most people have that actually make sense?
I had a real life manifestation of 'alarm bells' tonight when I re-entered my office after hours from a side door only to find that it was armed and ready to trigger. I stepped in, hesitated, decided to step out, then rethought the move and walked through the building to the reception desk to get a security number. However, no one was reachable at security and I ended up calling about 5 numbers before someone answered. I also realised that my car would have been locked in - and was running worst case scenarios through my head at the time in a panic whilst thinking about how dead I was going to be with my boss the next morning.
Apart from the obvious silly move to come back to the office at such a late hour, I had also made a series of decisions that in hindsight sprouted from a case of convoluted logic - where I was trying to save hassle and money and being very inconvenient about the way I did things. However, there is also a separate issue at play - which is how an alarm system would allow people to enter after hours. Were there building measures that would have been better able to avoid the whole schamozzle?
I distilled a few key messages from the incident above. Some personal and some system related and thought I'd share them with you as food for thought.
1) Lifestyle is more important than hassle.
For the cost of $5 dollars tonight I would have been able to drive to the city , not sit in a stinky train from work and back and be able to get home. The flexibility premium should always be considered for lifestyle options.
2) Controls should be preventative rather than 'alarms'.
Alarms that are set to 'voice' themselves as exceptions are less efficient that alarms which are warning signs. Which alarms are you paying attention to?
3) When you make choices or give your employees choices - always allow for an easy scot-free exit.
I would have killed to have gotten out of that carpark tonight without a big showcase. It was both embarrassing and a huge inconvenience. Are we doing this inadvertently in our workplaces and lives? Give people room to manoeuvre and exit with grace.
What do you think? Have your say in the comments area down below.
Jonathan.
www.whatsupjono.com
interesting thoughts to ponder.
I had a real life manifestation of 'alarm bells' tonight when I re-entered my office after hours from a side door only to find that it was armed and ready to trigger. I stepped in, hesitated, decided to step out, then rethought the move and walked through the building to the reception desk to get a security number. However, no one was reachable at security and I ended up calling about 5 numbers before someone answered. I also realised that my car would have been locked in - and was running worst case scenarios through my head at the time in a panic whilst thinking about how dead I was going to be with my boss the next morning.
Apart from the obvious silly move to come back to the office at such a late hour, I had also made a series of decisions that in hindsight sprouted from a case of convoluted logic - where I was trying to save hassle and money and being very inconvenient about the way I did things. However, there is also a separate issue at play - which is how an alarm system would allow people to enter after hours. Were there building measures that would have been better able to avoid the whole schamozzle?
I distilled a few key messages from the incident above. Some personal and some system related and thought I'd share them with you as food for thought.
1) Lifestyle is more important than hassle.
For the cost of $5 dollars tonight I would have been able to drive to the city , not sit in a stinky train from work and back and be able to get home. The flexibility premium should always be considered for lifestyle options.
2) Controls should be preventative rather than 'alarms'.
Alarms that are set to 'voice' themselves as exceptions are less efficient that alarms which are warning signs. Which alarms are you paying attention to?
3) When you make choices or give your employees choices - always allow for an easy scot-free exit.
I would have killed to have gotten out of that carpark tonight without a big showcase. It was both embarrassing and a huge inconvenience. Are we doing this inadvertently in our workplaces and lives? Give people room to manoeuvre and exit with grace.
What do you think? Have your say in the comments area down below.
Jonathan.
www.whatsupjono.com
interesting thoughts to ponder.
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