Nopointosis

Smooth, efficient communication helps business management systems thrive. Many of the structures that we recommend having in place are specifically designed to help streamline the communication process.

Morning standup meetings get everyone on the same page at the start of a shift.

Daily management clarifies expectations and what the current situation is at any time.

Visual management makes it easy to recognize what is happening with minimal conversation and thought.

Policy deployment communicates the goals and responsibilities throughout the organization.

A3 Reports and Countermeasure Sheets transmit the status of a problem-solving effort at all times throughout the project.

Unfortunately, some people get afflicted with “nopointosis,” in which they are unable to make a coherent point in a timely manner. They ramble on and on, which turns into a droning session, and circles back to a pointless anecdote. And in the end, there is no clarity at all on what the person was trying to say.

Nopointosis is one of several Lean afflictions hampering continuous improvement progress.

This is one of the more common of the Lean afflictions. There are a few reasons why people ramble on.

1. They are taught all their lives that short, to the point conversation is rude. So, they fluff up their conversation to be more polite, and they lose track of the original message.
2. They are social and enjoy the conversation. They get lost in the enjoyment of the dialogue and forget to get to the point.
3. They are clueless, but don’t want to let on. The rambling makes them feel like they are actually saying something important.
4. They are oblivious. They just don’t recognize that people are eager to get on with their day and keep bringing more topics into the conversation.
5. They are passionate about the topic and get overly enthusiastic.
6. They are unprepared. They ramble because they are organizing their own thoughts on the fly.
7. They are narcissistic. They like hearing themselves speak.
8. They lack self-confidence, and ramble when they think someone doesn’t understand them, or doesn’t agree with them.
9. They are untrained. They just don’t realize rambling is an issue.
10. They lack the ability to read social cues. They just can’t recognize that they are losing people.

With so many reasons for rambling away from making a point, the solutions are varied.

The common solution, though, goes back to the list of tools in the opening section. With structure, you eliminate some of the opportunity for rambling.

Meeting agendas are also important.

But absent structured situation, leaders need to learn to be aware of when they are rambling and need to learn how to effectively get other people back on track.

The second one is the easier of the two. It is always easier to recognize rambling in others than in oneself. The trick is deal with it in a positive way. Doing a quick paraphrase, asking to circle back, making a quick note of the issue, and similar techniques can all get a person back on track.

Recognizing nopointosis in yourself is more of a challenge.

One trick is to talk off of notes. It will keep you on track. You can even make an estimate of the time you want to spend on each topic, and then check your pace. That works great on a planned presentation or meeting but doesn’t apply in ad hoc conversations.

In those cases, the best approach is to take a beat and think about what you are going to say before you speak. Those few second before speaking can save minutes at the other end.

It is also a good idea to ask a mentor if you ramble. They want to help you learn and are in a trusted role where they can be open with assessments of your style and ability. Other people might be biased. Bosses might have their own issues and generally want you to talk less so they can talk more. Your subordinates might be wary about giving true feedback, and other people may just not know you well enough to evaluate your style. But mentors speak the unvarnished truth.

If you are a rambler, figure out why. With a good diagnosis, you have to either come up with techniques to eliminate the underlying cause or accept that it is a chronic condition and learn to work around it.