Organizations and conferences are essential for driving progress and achieving goals. However, they can also be a breeding ground for inefficiency and interference that hinder productivity. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the common interference tactics and how to avoid them to improve productivity.

Insisting on Formal Channels

One of the most common interference tactics is insisting on formal channels. This can be a problem when formal channels become a bureaucratic obstacle to productivity. While it's important to follow processes, it's equally important to ensure that these processes are efficient and effective. Therefore, organizations should periodically review their processes to ensure that they are streamlined and serve the intended purpose.

Long Speeches and Irrelevant Issues

Another interference tactic is making long speeches and bringing up irrelevant issues. This can derail the focus of meetings and consume valuable time that could be used to make progress. To avoid this, meeting organizers should set agendas that clearly define the objectives and expected outcomes of the meeting. Additionally, speakers should be asked to limit their speeches to relevant points and avoid long anecdotes.

Large Committees

Referring matters to large committees is another interference tactic that can hinder productivity. While committees are essential for exploring issues and making recommendations, their size should be kept reasonable. Large committees can become unwieldy, causing delays and confusion. Therefore, committee sizes should be based on the size of the organization, the complexity of the issue, and the resources available.

Haggling over Communication Wordings

Haggling over communication wordings is another interference tactic that can slow down decision-making. While precise communication is essential, haggling over wordings can cause unnecessary delays. Therefore, meeting organizers should encourage speakers to focus on the essence of the message rather than the precise wording.

Reopening Decisions

Referencing past decisions to reopen questions is another interference tactic that can undermine progress. While it's important to periodically review decisions, reopening decisions can be counterproductive. Therefore, decisions should only be reopened when new information or insights are available that were not considered previously.

Advocating Caution and Questioning Propriety

Advocating caution and questioning propriety are interference tactics that can cause delays and confusion. While caution is important, it should not be used to avoid making decisions or taking action. Similarly, questioning propriety should be done constructively and not used to undermine decisions made by the group.

Improving Productivity

To improve productivity in organizations and conferences, members should prioritize staying on topic, limiting speeches to relevant points, and avoiding irrelevant or unnecessary comments. Committee sizes should be kept reasonable to avoid unnecessary delays, and discussions should be focused on the main objective. If questions or concerns arise, they should be addressed in a timely and constructive manner to avoid delaying the decision-making process.

In conclusion, interference tactics can be counterproductive to organizational productivity and hinder progress. Organizations and conferences should strive to maintain productive and efficient decision-making processes, and members should prioritize contributing constructively to achieve the organization's goals. By avoiding interference tactics and focusing on productivity, organizations can drive progress and achieve their goals.