“Work expands so as to fill the time allotted for its
completion." C. Northcote Parkinson
Josh Kaufman’s description of Absence Blindness has implications in the brain drain phenomenon that all businesses endure.
Absence blindness is an example of a cognitive bias, and the only semi-reliable way I’ve found to overcome it is checklisting. By thinking in advance what you want something to look like and translating that into visible reminders you can refer to while making decisions, checklists can help you remember to look for the absence of qualities in the moment.
So make a note to remind yourself to handsomely reward the low-drama manager who quietly and effectively gets things done. It may not seem like their job is particularly difficult, but you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
My bias is that the success of a business is due entirely on the relationships that business cultivates with its customers and by extension its employees. When an employee or a customer who is adept at forming relationships enters into the collective consciousness of the business, the impact is immediate. What is not quantifiable however is the dollar impact of that customer or that employee. Let’s call the relationship the “x factor.” When the “x factor” is not present at the inception, it is not missed. No one knows it is not there, however the entrepreneur has a nagging feeling that something is missing. When the “x factor” arrives, the clouds break, the sun shines brightly, the bird sings a sweet song and the business which had been plodding along suddenly becomes a hit.
Sadly when that one employee or customer leaves the sphere of the business, for whatever reason, the “x factor” leaves as well. This is where the brain drain occurs. In this context I am expanding the definition to include the collective consciousness of the business. The “x factor” leaving is never accompanied by corporate memo telling all interested parties that a change has occurred. No, the usual consequence is that the level of activity in the business dissipates like air being let out of a balloon. At first the results are not perceptible, however over time the energy in the business changes and the business financials reflect the new reality. The restaurant is no longer the “hot spot” in town and no one knows why.
There are two steps a business can take to mitigate the brain drain from the collective consciousness.
1) Knowledge management, as much as possible detail every process in your business.
2) Make customer relationships central to your business. The expectation is that if there is robust interaction between all of your employees and customers that the “x factor” will spread like a virus from the initial carrier to every member in the collective consciousness of the business. Thus when the initial carrier leaves the virus of a successful business remains and continues to thrive.
