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Back in graduate school, in my electric-fish-research phase, my advisor won a National Geographic grant that took the two of us to Gabon. One of the terms of the grant was that National Geographic had first right of refusal for any photographs we took.

At the time I fancied myself a professional-grade photographer, and so it was that we each sent in the best we’d taken while on the trip. My photos were crisp, well-composed, and attractive.

National Geo’s response: “While your photographs are technically well executed, here at National Geographic we like to have a bit of life in the ones we use.”

But you aren’t reading Keep the Joint Running for tips on taking better pictures, let alone getting the tips from someone whose photos earned a rejection slip.

So instead (drumroll) … here are some tips on IT management that are derived from parallels drawn from what I’ve learned about that subject. Some are more of a stretch than others, so I’m including some recent photos to keep your attention.

Tip#1: Know the current state

Green heron at rest

When shooting (for example) a green heron, capture it at rest while you can. Motion is harder; don’t miss the shot altogether.

When figuring out your IT management priorities, make sure you understand your department’s current state – “at rest,” so to speak – before you start making plans for motion … for change where change might be needed.

Tip#2: Notice motion

It’s doing something. Not sure what …

Capturing motion makes for better photos. Recognizing motion in your organization gives you a chance to reinforce that you value initiative right away, when it occurs. Even if what you’re seeing is just random movement, you can still take advantage of it as an object lesson in what you want to see.

Tip#3: Listen

It’s talking! Are you listening?

Observation is an important tool in your toolkit – so much so that for many managers one of their top priorities right now is figuring out how to engage in “management by calling around” with remote employees, for whom management by walking around doesn’t work.

But beyond observation, pay attention when employees take the initiative to vocalize in your general direction. When the sound is coming from a green heron it might be trying to let you know you’re getting on its nerves.

When your employees are making sounds in your general direction they just might let you know something important about what’s getting on their nerves, even if it isn’t you.

You just have to pay attention.

Tip#4: Give your subject some space

Wait! I didn’t get the shot yet!

When photographing an interesting subject (in this case a great blue heron) it’s tempting to go for the close up. But that can backfire – you get the motion National Geographic likes, but at the risk that what it you’re trying to capture in motion doesn’t want to stick around while you take more photos of it.

When managing IT you might be tempted to get the results you need by overseeing the work that’s getting done too closely. Not every IT professional will sit still for managers who get too close, either. They’ll call it micromanagement and even if they’re wrong they’re right, because there are no precise metrics for identifying micromanagement.

Only gripes when it’s perceived.

Bob’s last word: There’s a near-iron-clad law of avian photography – birds have a remarkably precise ability to know the exact focal length of the lens you’re shooting photos with, and the exasperating habit of perching just beyond what that focal length will support.

It isn’t all about the lens. But the right lens sure does help.

Great glass does make a big difference. But patience can make an even greater difference.

With your employees, providing the best tools of the trade is the parallel to shooting photos with the right equipment. It can make a big difference in employee performance.

But as with photography, when it comes to encouraging the best performance, patience counts for even more.

Bob’s sales pitch: It’s time for you to hop over to CIO.com again to read the next article in my “IT 101” series. This time the subject is technical architecture. And if you don’t mind, take the time to let me know what you think of the series so far.

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If you’re among those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, read Michael Lewis’s (no relation) The Premonition: A Pandemic Story. If you aren’t, you’re probably living in New Zealand and might not find it as interesting.

I know I can’t provide a summary that does the book justice. Heck, I’m not sure I can even explain what it’s about. What I know is that after having read the book I know more and understand less about the pandemic – not because Lewis does a poor job of things, but because he does such a good job of it.

And anyway, as one of his reviewers commented (I’m paraphrasing), “If Michael Lewis published an 806-page book on the history of the toaster, I’d read it.”

* * *

Members of the KJR community know I generally hold up scientific inquiry as the gold standard for understanding how something works. But scientific inquiry has its limitations. Lewis provides an example in the CDC’s early response to the emerging pandemic.

The CDC, to its credit, bases its recommendations on science. But that limits its ability to carry out its mission: In the early stages of a pandemic, leaders have to make policy before there’s enough science to provide reliable guidance, just as military leaders sometimes have to plan for combat without good intelligence to guide them.

Lewis quotes Charity Dean, one of the book’s protagonists, who suggested the CDC is, as a result, mis-named: It should be called the Centers for Disease Observation and Reporting. By the time it had enough science to provide useful policy guidance the disease was already spreading according to the mathematics of compound interest.

* * *

Science is the gold standard for understanding how things work. That doesn’t make scientists the gold standard among human beings for objectivity and insight. The reason we do (or at least should) trust science is because it’s a self-correcting process designed to compensate for the all-too-human scientists who practice it.

Example (and thanks to “Robert B” for bringing it to our attention in the Comments last week): According to peer-reviewed research by John P A Ioannidis, the fatality rate among those infected by the virus is 0.23%. This is quite a lot lower than the reported U.S. fatality rate, which is 611,000 fatalities out of 34,600,000 cases – 1.8%.

So far as I can tell, the discrepancy arises from two causes. The first: Ioannidis based his 0.23% statistic on a worldwide “study of studies” methodology. His denominator is the presence of the virus in study subjects’ bloodstreams.

That’s in contrast to the 1.8% mortality rate. Its denominator is the number of (presumably) symptomatic cases reported in the U.S.

Neither mortality rate is wrong. Both are important pieces of information. Policy makers, and this includes private-sector Chief Risk Officers (CROs), need to understand these subtleties to do their jobs well. They need to factor in the levels of contagion and morbidity alongside rates of fatality.

They also need to recognize when any decision is better than no decision.

* * *

Each of us is our own CRO. We … every one of us … sets “policy” for ourselves in the form of decisions like when to wear masks, when to practice social distancing, and whether to be vaccinated. With less expertise than CROs can build into their organizations we’re more reliant on who we choose as our sources.

And that’s a tough call. Even if you ignore the political and media bloviators completely (recommended), the line separating the need for knowledgeable scientists to debunk quacks and propagandists from the temptation to vilify colleagues with whom they disagree is neither sharp nor bright. The case of Professor Ioannidis is, in this respect, instructive (see “The Ioannidis Affair: A Tale of Major Scientific Overreaction,” Shannon Bownlee and Jeanne Lenzer, Scientific American, 11/30/2020).

Whatever else you do, check your own source selection carefully. In the case of COVID-19, confirmation bias can be lethal.

Bob’s last word: Had we as a society treated the creation of the coronavirus vaccines as we did the Salk and Sabin polio vaccines, we would by now have achieved the herd immunity that would let us put this pandemic behind us.

As business leaders, as pointed out in last week’s column, we all have some ability to nudge society in the right direction.

Bob’s sales pitch: I’m on a roll with CIO.com. New this week: “11 dark secrets of application modernization.” Check it out.

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