Resrtict Bandwidth To Be More Productive?

Yesterday I was reading the paper, and there was an article about Lockheed Corp in Dallas having to restrict social networking sites because they used too much bandwidth. The comment from a senior manager was almost funny. He said “unlike other countries, bandwidth in the US isn’t cheap.” That’s funny because cheap bandwidth should have nothing to do with the decision.

What if everyone is using Facebook as a group work tool to post ideas? What if they are using YouTube to post training videos? I know I do, so why can’t Lockheed employees. If the manager was being completely honest he would have said something like “We are restricting the websites because we think the employees are engaged in non-work related activities on company time.”

In a previous life I worked for Apple Computer when they had Friday keg parties, pinball machines, pool tables and ping pong tables. All of these “non work related activities” were meant to keep people at work longer and to stimulate creativity. Apple realized that the most successful people would not ever separate work and play. When you have the right people in the right jobs, work and play become one.


A lot of people have seen the yellow LiveStrong wrist bands, and don’t realize a guy started those at Nike and they said simply “Play”. When Kevin created those little silicone wrist bands, he understood the mind is a wondrous computer that can do some of its best work with no guidance at all if we let it. At Nike Kevin also created work distractions like a campus wide game of tag. This game was complete with a white T-shirt with a giant “IT” on the front. When you caught someone, you took off the shirt and gave it to them. Whose says youth is wasted on the young. These activities were a catalyst that helped launch Nike to the next level.

The sideline activities at Apple and Nike worked because the teams had a mission to accomplish. Before the activities, employees where working on problems, and then during the activities the problems were “solved” by the mind that was actively engaged in other activities. This isn’t to say that online activities can do the same thing, but I’ll say it. More accurately, I think the opposite is true. Because you normally don’t leave the environment where the problem exists, the mind isn’t free to solve it. The magic at Apple and Nike was the change of environment and the ability to stimulate the mind.

One of the biggest problems with paying people by the hour or selling your service by the hour is the fact that there is no direct visible benefit to working less. In fact you are encouraged not to finish projects early because you lose income as the employee or the company selling services.

The statement by the Lockheed manager could well have been, “We aren’t totally focused on the job we are doing for the government, we just don’t want it to look that way so we are restricting bandwidth.”

The Lockheed employees on the other hand, probably feel busy and overwhelmed. If you talked to them, you would find they are very “busy” and already have a full task list. I would bet that the real truth is closer to a combination of boredom as a result of a lack of mission and focus. They have long task lists because average managers just give them more hoping they’ll get something done. The social networking sites become the time killing outlet. Let’s take a realistic look at the most profitable aspect of Facebook. Games like Farmville are making a profit while Facebook is still in the red. Unlike Second Life, there really isn’t any technical or social value in these Facebook based games. The only people getting ahead are the investors. The people buying the games are just killing time. In second life there is an ability to build organic systems and understand the growth. You can also build secure sections so your company can share ideas for building solutions. IBM is reported to have used second life internally since the site was created in 2003.

Facebook and social gaming isn’t like the creation of Microsoft, IBM and Apple. Each of those companies changed the way we live every day. Think about it. If all of the technology from IBM, Microsoft or Apple were to have a bug and quit working today, the business world would come to a standstill. If Facebook crashed, what would you do? Probably just go back to work. Facebook is a great way to keep in touch and can be a business communications tool if there is a purpose. Most people don’t have that purpose.

Cutting off bandwidth isn’t the answer, leaders creating and supporting a mission that gives people a direction that lets them focus is the answer. The company’s leadership needs to be deeper than a Facebook game. For us individually the same is true, we need to stay focused on the goal. Yeah, I know that sounds like work. If it does, maybe you are in the wrong job or business. Get Focused, Have Fun, Move Ahead.