The Control Tower – Learning to See What Is

Pascal Dennis, co-author of Harnessing Digital Disruption

See what is - Pema Chodron

Last time I talked about the cognitive biases that afflict human beings and hinder our ability to see. I used the Electromagnetic spectrum as a metaphor, explaining that we only see a tiny portion of what’s there. I suggested visual management, humility, diversity and going to see for yourself as possible countermeasures to our inherent near-sightedness.

How do you build all this into your management systems & daily routines? I’d like to talk about perhaps the most useful management system: the Control Tower (aka Big Room, Cockpit or ‘Obeya’). This is a large room in analogue and/or digital space that expresses ‘What is Actually Happening’ (WAH) and ‘What Should Be Happening’ WSBH with simple, clear visual systems. Typically, the Control Tower has three ‘walls’:

• What’s our Aspiration & Winning Logic?
• What is happening right now versus what should be happening?
• What are our biggest blockers & what are we doing about them?

In earlier articles I described the four levels of visual management. We need to apply these ideas to tell compelling stories for our key audiences. Typically, our audiences include:

• Our team
• Those who report to us
• Other teams whose support we need, and sometimes
• The Board

Each audience has specific questions it wants answered.

We need to define our Rules of Engagement in advance, and senior leaders are responsible for setting the tone. Here are a few sample rules:

• Talk less - seek to listen and understand.
• Leave your rank at the door
• No HiPPOs or ZEBRAs¹
• Data trumps ‘blah blah blah’
• Encourage broad engagement. Ideally, everybody should speak (with brevity & focus)

We also need to define our Control Tower’s ‘Operating Rhythm’ comprising the Purpose, Process, Expected Outcome, Inputs & Timing. Each session should have a meeting owner and a meeting observer who provides objective feedback: (‘How well did we follow our Rules of Engagement and Operating Rhythm?’)

The Control Tower is a form of theater that reflects our values, standards and culture. We’re telling a true & meaningful story to audiences that are deeply invested and whose help we need to succeed. We’re also expressing who we are, and what we believe in.

As in any good drama, leave the boring parts out. Keep report outs short & focused. ‘Target, actual, please explain’ is an excellent mantra, reinforcing the virtue of simplicity and clarity. ‘Blah, blah, blah’ usually means we don’t know what we’re talking about.

Senior leaders must set the tone by reinforcing standards of behavior. One of my formative experiences was an inept presentation to senior leaders I deeply admired. The President looked at me and simply said, ‘Please do not come here unprepared again, Pascal-san.’

The ensuing silence was painful, but I got the message: Why are you wasting everybody’s time? You know our standards. We expect much more from you. I resolved to do everything within my power to improve. That’s the power of the Control Tower, standards, and strong, ethical leadership.


^{1. Highest Paid Person’s Opinion; Zero Expertise But Really Arrogant↩}

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis

E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org




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