Situational Awareness

The furnace guy was here yesterday.  Nice guy.  
Fixed up a few things and did a tune up.  No worries.  
Handed me a bill for $100 or so and all is good.

Then he says "Your ohms are a little high.  I read 4.3 and we normally like to see that under 4"

"... Um... ok... what does that mean to me?" I asked.  "Is that a bad thing?"

He looked at me like I was asking him to explain quantum mechanics.  Clearly we were already having a communication issue.  He seemed to be gathering up some patience to explain to me in simple words what that really meant and then said  "The resistance in the thermocouple in the furnace, it is a bit high so you should consider replacing it."

"Okay, thanks" I said " I still have no idea what that means.  Should I get you guys to replace it at the next service then?"

He smiled a bit, obviously happy he had gotten that through my thick skull.  "Yes, that would be good"

"Ah, okay then."  It seemed we were communicating in english again.

He finished up the credit card paperwork and as he was heading for the door he said "Oh, and the AFUE was at around .9 and I was able to get it up to .95 so that should help out a bit"

His proud smile did not change the fact that I had no clue what that meant.

"Great, I think.  What exactly does that mean?"  I was trying not to sound completely ignorant, but it was clear now that I was completely incompetent in the realm of the furnace repair gods.

"You should save about $20 a month in gas" he said, having finally stooped to my level, needing to reply in tiny words I could relate to.

"Oh, thanks, I appreciate it"



The lesson here is that people who work in a technical field tend to assume everyone knows their terminology and what it all means.  I have been working in the computer/software/electronics industry for a very long time and have seen this over and over and over everywhere I go.  One of the hardest things for a technically oriented person to do is translate complex concepts into terms that are consumable by people who are not so deeply involved in technical details.  This is what makes a good Sales Engineer very valuable to a sales organization. 

Translating complex technical concepts into business needs and strategic goals is a difficult skill to hone, but Project Managers, Implementation Engineers and Sales Engineers need to be very good at that in order to make sure the client has a clear understanding of what the technology will do for them as opposed to how it works under the hood.

In a former life, I made it a periodic exercise to have my engineering team watch out for this kind of thing in their daily personal interactions and it is amazing how much it happens.  The roofing guy assumes you know everything about the benefits of asphalt shingles over clay.  The car mechanic assumes you know the difference between "Dot-3" and "Dot-5".  The mortgage person assumes you know why GDS and TDS are different and how to calculate both.

When talking to your own customers it is no different.  The fact that a customer has been successful in business does not immediately imply that they have any clue *why*.  I have personally spoken with customers who have surprised me by not knowing some important technical details of how their business runs, but that is okay if they understand the business value it can bring them.  Trying to inject technical jargon into a conversation about business goals can be dangerous and inappropriate so it is important to always gauge the situation and the audience.

I have no idea how my furnace works, but "the furnace guy" did *something* to save me $20 a month and I am warm so I am also happy.