Ithuta JV

Source - Article by Bob Andrew

The famous Austrian physicist, Christian Johann Doppler, gave his name to a very important phenomenon in physics called the Doppler Effect. Light and sound waves appear to change their frequency if the source of the waves and the detector are in relative motion. In the classic example of the ambulance with blaring siren, sound waves from the approaching ambulance are compressed and increase their frequency and you can hear this higher pitch. Once the ambulance races past you, the sound waves stretch out and the frequency drops and so does the pitch. If you have an instrument that can measure the change in frequency you can calculate the speed of the ambulance-this is the basis of the dreaded radar speed traps.

Christian Johann Doppler

Edward Hubble (after whom the Hubble telescope was named) used the Doppler Effect to measure the rate at which the universe is expanding. By measuring the change in frequency of light waves emanating from distant galaxies, he found that the light waves are stretched out as the galaxy races out into open space. From this he, and many other scientists, postulated that the universe is expanding and from this they developed the Big Bang theory. By accurately measuring the frequency change Hubble was also able to develop a relationship, now known as Hubble’s Law, to determine the distance to any far-off galaxy.

Edward Hubble

The American zoologist Donald Griffin discovered that many species of bats emit complex high-pitched sound waves and rely on responding echoes to find their way about. For these bats, the saying ‘as blind as a bat’ is true. The bats, however, have sophisticated sound receivers, which are far better developed than the human ear. They also have extremely powerful and variable sound-emitting devices and onboard computers to exploit the Doppler Effect to a far greater extent than any instrument made by man. Although they emit pulses of sound, at varying rates up to 200 times a second, they are capable of distinguishing individual echoes from each other and can detect whether the echoes come from nearby or far objects, or even whether they come from other bats. They are also capable of varying the signal so as to achieve the greatest sensitivity in the returning signal. The Doppler Effect allows them to know the speed at which an insect is flying and in what direction. With this information, it is a pretty simple job to catch and eat the insect.

Like bats and Edward Hubble, project managers live in a world of echoes. These come from a variety of sources, like team members, divisional managers, accountants, users, clients, shareholders, vendors, consultants and other stakeholders and are responses to a multitude of continuously emitted signals. Unlike bats, most managers are poorly equipped to measure or analyse the echoes and to use the information carried by them. Autocratic project managers may even just ignore echoes. To the bat, the echo is more important than the emitted signal, for the echoes coming back carry the information they require for their survival.

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What lessons can be learnt from sonic bats and how can the philosophy of the Doppler Effect be used in management? Firstly, project managers need to pay attention to the type of signals they send out in order to maximise the benefit of any information coming back in the response. A vague or poorly defined question or statement will always evoke a vague or poorly defined answer. Managers must also acknowledge that they require to be flexible in their approach and must design the signal for the given circumstances relative to the diversity of those who will respond. Responses must be measured and analysed and changes in responses questioned: a team member or a client who responds differently to a given input signal over a period of time shows that a change is occurring and this change must be investigated. Positive changes need recognition and negative changes encouragement. Most importantly, echoes should be listened to and acknowledged.

Echoes provide bats and project managers with their ‘world view’ and without them, or with poor interpretation of them, the view obtained will be false. If Edward Hubble had ignored the minute changes in the frequency in the spectrum of light coming from galaxies millions and millions of light years away, we could still be believing that the sun rotated around the earth or that the earth was flat or that a client's required scope of work will never change.