{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/68357ec21b846c88bdcd7480/696fea603738e9e7d196e2f5?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"134: The Protocol Problem part 1 – Geoff's shadow spreadsheet sprawl","description":"<p>\"Geoff\" has been running critical parts of every business on a Byzantine spreadsheet empire for 20 years. Every IT department wants to regulate him. Who's right? (Trick question: you need both.)</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, we feel our way through the murky territory of protocols—from life-saving surgical checklists to shadow IT empires built by people like Geoff, who just want to get their jobs done without asking permission. What we discovered: protocols aren't the enemy. Neither are the people who break them. You need both, and—whether you like it or not—you're going to get both anyway.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Fascinations:</strong></p><ul><li>Why giving someone just enough control over how they wash dishes is a vital part of management</li><li>The novel \"tracer dye\" method for tracking shadow IT (and why Geoff will quickly find a way around it)</li><li>How a 19th-century doctor was ejected from the medical community for [gasp!] suggesting surgeons <em>wash their hands</em></li><li>How expert oil rig workers can land helicopters in storms through tacit knowledge no checklist could capture</li><li>The difference between a checklist, a flow chart, and knowing when neither will save you</li><li>How social norms function as soft protocols (and why London Tube etiquette is more fragile than you think)</li></ul><p><br></p><p>This one's for anyone who's ever tried to bring order to chaos — and for anyone resisting someone else's attempt to do the same.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Links and references</strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Venkatesh Rao – \"Summer of Protocols\" / protocolization concept</li><li>Vaughn Tan – \"boring tiny tools\" concept <a href=\"https://vaughntan.org/bttparadigm\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://vaughntan.org/bttparadigm</a></li><li>Ignaz Semmelweis – 19th-century physician who pioneered handwashing</li><li>Atul Gawande – Author of <em>The Checklist Manifesto</em></li><li>Dave Snowden – Cynefin framework / oil rig helicopter story</li><li>Gary Klein – Expert intuition and pattern recognition</li><li>Procrustes – Greek mythology (innkeeper with the \"one-size-fits-all\" bed)</li><li>Chick sexing – Example of tacit knowledge that can't be articulated</li><li>Social protocols – Norms like cheek-kissing customs across cultures</li><li>Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) / Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) – Technical protocol examples</li></ul><p><br></p><p><br></p>","author_name":"Tom Kerwin"}