Charts and Matrices and Graphs -- Oh My!
VANCOUVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
December, 2000

Essential Management Concepts
JONNIE MARTIN


I’ve come to believe that most people are not particularly organized or systematic.  Humans are feeling animals first and thinking animals second, a fact that is very useful for managers to know.  Computers are systematic.  Robots are systematic.  People are not — but with a system here and a process there, we can marshal our human thoughts and actions in an organized way that can serve our companies well.

That’s where charts and matrices and graphs and check lists and computer models and other organizational tools can come in very useful. They allow us to sort and display information in such a way that humans can make better decisions.

Author Edward de Bono has made a career out of studying how people think and how to organize those thoughts in a systematic and useful manner.  In his book, “de Bono’s Thinking Course,” he talks about some of the flaws in human reasoning.  For instance, he believes that people reach a conclusion first, out of instinct or experience, and then organize the facts in such a way to support that conclusion.  In his book he offers many types of charts and systems that encourage people to be open-minded in the early stages of analysis.

One such system organizes the various solutions to a problem in a serial fashion.  
  1. In the first step, the participants brainstorm all of the “possible” answers, without evaluating their merit.  
  2. Next, the participants evaluate those “possibilities,” selecting among them those that most “probably” meet the group’s selection criteria.
  3. Finally, the “probable” solutions are analyzed further, and a “best answer” is selected.  

To encourage participants to follow the process, a chart is first created on the blackboard or flip chart paper, divided into columns marked “possible,” “probable,” “solution.”  The chart organizes the group’s thinking so that it is more logical and systematic, leading to better decisions.

Many people use matrices of all sorts to help them sift through the many alternatives before them.  A matrix is very useful in helping a hiring committee identify the strongest of the candidates before them.  The left-hand column of the matrix would list the 10-12 major attributes or skills sought in the candidates.  These attributes would be directly matched to the company needs as reflected in a job description.  The right-hand columns would list the names of each of the applicants.  The interview committee then measures each candidate against those attributes, on a scale (such as 1-5), identifying the relative strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.  

While hiring should not be simply a mathematical event, this process does allow the hiring committee to eliminate the weakest candidates and to identify areas they need further exploration with their stronger candidates.  This quantitative marshaling of information can help the hiring committee from overlooking critical needs.

I am reminded of a young chiropractor who began private practice some years ago and went about the business of hiring a receptionist.  The job called for good customer service skills, a welcoming warmth of personality, empathy for the patients, wisdom and judgment.  The job did require a small amount of typing and computer skills, but these were lesser attributes.  The young chiropractor did not use such a quantitative approach, unfortunately, and ended up hiring a woman who wowed him with her computer skills.  Unfortunately she had a bear of a personality, and before she was terminated, managed to offend almost every patient.

When people are dealing with a large volume of information, it is particularly critical that they marshal those facts in some tidy, accessible manner.  You can make very bad decisions if you get lost in a sea of data.  One of my favorite books is a text that is often used for math-and-logic classes in college, called “Problem Solving Strategies:  Crossing the River With Dogs” by Ted Herr and Ken Johnson.  It is chock-full of examples of how to organize information.

In the Management class that I teach, I use one of those examples, called “The Telephone System.” In this exercise, the authors explain that the company’s telephone system is malfunctioning, and only certain people can connect with others.  Cherlondia can call Al and Shirley…Al can call Max… Carla can call Sylvia and Cherlondia…and the list goes on and on, listing about 10-12 employees and various connections.  The puzzle goes on to ask the class to calculate the shortest route from Cherlondia to Darlene…Carlo to Max…and so on.

Even with a workbook foot note that “this problem is more easily solved with a chart,” most students delve right into the middle of the facts, figuring out how to connect Darlene and Cherlondia. When you are solving problems with a myriad of facts, FIRST you must marshal facts into an organized chart and THEN you begin searching for solutions.  Successful students FIRST chart out all the possible telephone connections within the company and THEN solve the problems.

This skill applies throughout business. When your company is going to buy a new computer system, you don’t get in the car and drive to a computer outlet in the mall.  FIRST you research the needs of your people, the flow of information within the organization, the paper forms and other inputs and outputs, and so on.

If you are the decision-maker in your organization and you are not given to systematic thinking, surround yourself with people who are — so that you can improve on those instinctual knee-jerk reactions and gravitate toward more systematic and complete solutions.