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Interrupt Theory

AN ESSAY ON HUMAN INTERRUPTIBILITY

By

Allan G. Lloyd
Hawthorne, NJ

The human 'Pecking Order' is determined
by the answer to the question -
"Who gets to interrupt whom?"
The following essay presents a theory
on human interrupts,
together with a few observations
and suggestions.

Copyright June 22, 1992  

The Truth will set you free,
If it doesn't land you in jail first.

If you haven't saved the world at least once,
you haven't lived.

INTRODUCTION

    It is well known that stable flocks of chickens establish among themselves a hierarchical social order based on pecking. The highest level chicken gets to peck everyone below, whereas the lowest level chicken gets to peck nobody. This of course has become known as the "pecking order" among chickens, and attempts have been made to establish or determine the corresponding 'pecking order' among other groups of animals, including humans. I assume that most flocks of chickens are all female, and that no female chicken dares peck the barnyard cock. Any chicken can test the established order at any time by pecking or threatening to peck its flockmate. Thus, the hierarchy is continuously being established, tested, maintained, and reinforced by the pecking of the clientele chickens themselves. It is interesting to note that chickens also feed themselves by pecking their food.

    An interesting experiment was once conducted by researchers on a flock of chickens. The lowest level chicken was identified and given a series of male hormone injections. It became very aggressive and pecked its way all the way to the very top of the heap, becoming, if you will, the 'top pecker'. Then the injections were stopped. The poor chicken lost its aggression, and got pecked all the way back to the bottom. The strength of the impulse to peck in any one chicken seems to be genetic. Assertiveness training for chickens may do no good at all.

    A corresponding 'boss' order has been observed among cows. The top boss cow can push any other cow around, whereas the bottom cow pushes (wins) nobody. The middle cows are the most productive and give the most milk. Presumably, the top cow is too busy being boss to think about giving much milk, whereas the bottom cow is too frustrated being pushed around by every-cow else to do well. The middle cows can push about as much as they get pushed, and so remain relatively contented.
 
 

HUMANS

    The question is - Is there a corresponding "pecking" or pushing order among humans within the human hierarchy, and if so, how are they established, maintained, observed and measured. Certainly there are human hierarchies - The Catholic Church for instance - and the military. Roberts Rules of Order tells you how to conduct group meetings in established hierarchies, but doesn't address the human pecking order problem directly or fundamentally.

    The typical American corporation is strictly hierarchical. This idea is so thoroughly ingrained that one wonders if companies could be organized any other way and still function. The official company organizational chart is supposed to represent its hierarchy, but as is well known, the actual, functional working order may be radically different, hidden, and undocumented. What determines this difference is the subject of this essay.

    Physically, the pecking of chickens is very aggressive, abusive, and possibly even destructive. No doubt it would be judged illegal and prohibited among humans. Humans can (and do in the movies and with children) physically push each other around in order to establish or express rank. Although possibly less abusive than pecking, this would still be very upsetting in the work place, and would surely result in endless law suits for battery. Football and basketball teams get away with it, but even cops have to be careful about pushing people around nowadays. Still, pushing (or its threat) can occur in the work place in subtle, unrecognizable forms. Other animal-like strategies for ordering the hierarchy could be considered, only to be rejected as models of human behavior.

    The following is the one factor which I believe establishes, maintains, and permeates all human hierarchies.
 

INTERRUPTS

    I propose that the actual, functional, human 'pecking order' in or out of corporations and indeed, throughout all of human life and history is determined entirely by the answer to the question -
 

"WHO GETS TO INTERRUPT WHOM"

    The 'reason' for any given interrupt - its purpose or content - makes no difference in its overall effect on rank. In this essay, I pay attention only to the interrupt itself and what is implied by it.

 THREE SYSTEMS

    There are not one, but three interrupt systems (hierarchies) going on within any corporate structure. The first is determined by the official organizational chart. Your position on the chart generally reflects your salary level, areas of responsibility, and years of experience and corporate authority. The system is often highly idealized and represents the way things should work in a perfect world.

    The second, actual system consists of all of the living interactions between the people involved, i.e., the 'school of hard knocks'. Being interrupted could be a 'knock', given badly and taken badly. This is the real functional interrupt system as it exists among humans, and is the one we all live in and gear our actions and emotions to. It is to humans what the pecking order is to chickens. It is the final arbiter of position and ranking among members of the hierarchy. Humans have their INTERRUPT ORDER to replace the pecking order of chickens. Perhaps that should be its name.

    The third interrupt system is the one that each person carries around in his own head as part of his self-image or self-concept or desire-self. It reflects the private goals and ambitions of the individual, i.e., his personal self rank. It may be largely determined biologically by genetic makeup, as it is in chickens.

    Discrepancies often exist between these three systems. The resulting disparities can lead to conflicts and struggles for power, rank and recognition (power plays) within the system. A few such discrepancies are noted below in the section on INTERRUPT ANOMALIES. It is very interesting to watch the interrupters at work, doing what they do best.

RULES FOR PLAYING THE INTERRUPT GAME

There are two very simple principles in the interrupt game:

1) The interrupter always wins.
2) The interruptee always loses.

There may be a third - "All interrupts must be paid for!" - which needs further investigation.

    This is a very startling set of principles. It results in the creation of two sides to every interrupt situation;

1) The winning side.
2) The losing side.

    Winning or losing the interrupt game is due entirely to the existence of the interrupt itself, and has nothing to do with the purpose, intent or content of any messages conveyed or results obtained. The win/loss due to the interrupt is immediate, instantaneous, absolute, final, and irreversible. The interrupter is always the winner and the interruptee is always the loser in an interrupt situation. An interrupt is a fait accompli, and nothing can be done to change the history or the physics of it. As we shall see, the only thing you can do after being interrupted is to cut or minimize your losses, be adequately compensated, or retaliate.
 

HOW TO WIN THE INTERRUPT GAME

If you want to play the interrupt game for the win, the rules are very simple:

    1) Interrupt early.
    2) Interrupt often.
    3) Interrupt everybody.
    4) Interrupt everything.

Caveat - There may be a price to pay - see principle 3.

    Let me exercise my own interrupt power and issue my own caveat about this essay and the above so called 'rules', and any other suggestions and comments which may follow. I have not researched this subject or interviewed anyone about it. What I have to say is 100 percent hypothetical, theoretical, unresearched personal opinion, new (at least to me), and untested. Like everyone, I have been interrupted countless numbers of times. As I tend to learn from everyone, this essay is not to be taken as being about anyone in particular. If you 'see' yourself or a fellow employee in it, perhaps it is because the theory is correct, and not because I am writing about you or that person.
(Authors note - the above disclaimer was written while I was still employed.)
Like any untested theory, it could be hopelessly incomplete or possibly even wrong. Be very careful before attempting to (mis)apply any of these 'rules' in real life. They may be over-stated for emphasis or humor, and not work at all as stated or expected!

HOW TO LOSE THE INTERRUPT GAME

    There's no rule! Losing the interrupt game is totally involuntary. Control rests entirely in the hands of the interrupter. If you get interrupted, you have already lost, period! The very act of being interrupted IS losing! By then it is too late to consider whether you will win or lose the interrupt because you've already lost! The interrupter has all of the power. He creates a forced win for himself by interrupting, and a forced loss for you, his interruptee-victim. Some game!

    Interrupt power IS hierarchy power. Status, power, and authority within the hierarchy are a direct reflection of your power to interrupt others and to prevent others from interrupting you. It is not only the direct expression of that power, but it also can be used to gain power as well. The more people and processes you can interrupt or intercept, the more power you have. The more you can keep yourself or your processes from being interrupted, the more power you have. If you cannot interrupt a person, thing, or process, you have no power with respect to that person, thing, or process. Conversely, the more that others can interrupt you or your processes, the weaker you will be seen to be and lower in the hierarchy.

    The usual measure of personal corporate power is by what processes or procedures you can initiate or the money you can spend. Clearly you cannot initiate anything or spend any money unless you interrupt somebody or something. Except for one man companies, even BIG BOSS has to interrupt someone in order start anything. The interrupt always comes first, and is part and parcel of any project implementation. With no interrupt power, you have no project power.

    Related to the above is another, essentially negative power, measured by what functions or processes you can block. High level interrupters have the inherent authority to block, i.e., interrupt, lower level processes. Blocking is interrupting. With no power to interrupt, there can be no interrupt and no block, carrying with it the obvious implication of low status. Conversely, you improve your status by blocking more and more things and people. 'Getting along' and being cooperative is a sign of weakness. Perhaps this explains why it is so often difficult to get people to cooperate - they don't want to give up any of their (real or imagined) interrupt power. Social and corporate hierarchies are a dynamic process, with ever changing power flow structures. If you are seen as 'always cooperative', you will also be seen as 'always weak'.
 

INTERRUPT POWER AT WORK - Some Examples

    The phrase "at work" above is ambiguous. It means both within corporations, and also as it functions in the real outside world. The following examples are in no particular order, and represent my interpretation of my own interrupt theory as I apply it. Feel free to supply your own examples - they are endless - or to add to or correct mine. Just interrupt at any time.

"Just Interrupt"

    Did you catch this one? The "ideal" hierarchical interrupt flow starts with BIG BOSS above and flows down the hierarchy from top to bottom. By implication, each level in the hierarchy gets its authority to interrupt DOWN (in the downward direction) from the level above. No permission to interrupt down is ever needed, but it is often supplied out of courtesy, social convention, or kindness. Because interrupting down makes a lesser into a loser, the compassionate superior will make at least a token gesture of compensation for the implied loss.

    Interrupting UP always requires permission. This generates a curious paradox when permission is asked for just prior to the intended interrupt. For example, prefacing your interrupt with - "May I interrupt?" - itself IS the interrupt. It's too late too ask. An interrupt has already occurred. Who gave you permission to ask that question? (Think about it). The interrupter has already won. The interruptee has already lost. The usual response is some kind lame verbal convention designed to maintain social position in the face of stature loss. Because of this eternal paradox, permission to interrupt UP is usually given in advance as part of the hierarchy's social conventions. For example, the boss might say - "If you find out anything about these widgets, please let me know immediately." - This translates into - "You have a temporary permit to interrupt UP - in this one instance only."
 

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR INTERRUPT POWER

    The orthodox method of interrupt power distribution as noted above is from top to bottom. Often enough however, your assigned authority does not match your internal psychic needs as determined by your genes and hormones. Means must be found to increase it. The obvious thing to do is to just start interrupting. Here are a few methods you might try and see if they work. (Some of them do.)

    1) Sing, whistle, hum, or tap dance while you work. Make sure that you are unconscious of it. The chances are pretty good that this will distract (interrupt) somebody, providing you with the win, and your innocent victim with the loss. If your singing, whistling, humming, and tap dancing itself cannot be stopped (interrupted), this will establish and improve your status even more. Your earned status will be just under the level of the person it takes to stop you. You will be above anyone who can't. If nobody can stop you, you have total victory.

    2) Play the radio. It is well known that listening to the radio while doing another task increases energy consumption. Some students can study successfully while listening to the radio, but they don't measure their own increased energy output. Playing the radio is clearly going to interfere with (interrupt) somebody, giving you the win because of the implied interrupt. Your increased stature is clearly worth the extra energy expenditure on your part. Turning your radio off upon request results in lower status. You are notched down at least one level below the requester. Keep it on - louder is better.

    3) Talk loudly. Good is just outside someone's office while they are working at their desk. If they don't come out and make you stop, you win. Getting them to close their door is also a win. Better is in the lab, where there are more people to interrupt and no doors to close. There is strength in numbers. The more people that are talking loudly, the more winners. The more trivial the conversation, the better. The win is especially great if you can talk loudly just outside of a conference in progress - within earshot - because the win is over a whole bunch of people at the same time. This leads to efficiency and rapid advancement. Note that BS-ing on company time is a sign of very high rank.

    4) Bodily functions can be used to create interrupts and wins. A really good one is a wrackingly loud, involuntary cough. This stops (interrupts) most conversations, and is usually never spoken against out of politeness. It works fantastically well at concerts! Coughers knows when to start. When the maestro takes his seat at the piano and a hush falls silently over the audience, start coughing! You can let up during the loud passages, because the maestro is winning. Consider the meaning of interrupting an entire concert hall full of people. Coughing makes you as important as the world famous artist on stage, more important than everyone in the audience, because you have interrupted them all! How can you ask someone to not cough? Who would dare challenge your right to cough? A sure winner.

    Related to this is the incessant clearing of the throat - clearings which never clear anything. It could be taken as a nervous habit, but for what? Try INTERRUPT POWER for fit. A low level one to be sure, but frequently used and effective.

    Other (almost) socially acceptable bodily functions which cause interrupts are - belching, passing gas, scratching, picking your nose, biting your nails, sneezing, and yawning. Of course, louder is better. If all else fails, jiggle your foot nervously, or tap a pencil on the desk, or don't bathe the morning after and spoil that nice aroma. Try wearing too much cologne or perfume. Keep in mind that the content of the interrupt is of no consequence, only the interrupt itself counts toward status. For instance, a loud yawn interrupts, and thus serves this purpose. The yawner wins, the yawnee loses. Possible reasons for the yawn might be lack of sleep, or boredom with the job or business associates. If you only wonder why the other person is yawning, you have still been zonked by the interrupt. Based on interrupt theory however, the yawner is simply expressing a desire for higher status. Thus the yawn-interrupt.

    5) Tell jokes or puns, or laugh a lot, especially out loud at your own jokes. Laughing loudly at your own verbal output is controlling. Attempting to make other people laugh is controlling. BIG BOSS is controlling. If what you say is funny, the other person will laugh, so you don't really need to. Clearly, talking and laughing is a much better interrupt than just talking. Everybody is attracted by laughter (interrupted) and wants to be in on the fun. The talker-laugher fits the profile of the high level, high status interrupter. Creating interrupts is very serious business, funny or not.

    6) Smoke. Smoke disturbs (interrupts) most people nowadays.

The smoker wins, the smokee loses. If you can't get the smoker to stop smoking, his/her power and status over you is permanent. With the threat of side-stream cancer, the smokee loses twice, once for the interrupt due to smoke, and once for the interrupt due to induced cancer. Smokers, just like Indians, send their message up in smoke - "I own this air. It represents me because my smoke is in it. It is my air. I have all the rights to it, you have none. I own this room because my air is in it. If you take the trouble to breath my air, then that is just too bad for you. My smoking is un-stoppable. I am un-stoppable. Because of that, I have very high status and you have none. Even I can't stop myself. Do you think I'm going to allow you to try! Go screw."

    Fortunately, many organizations have asserted their ownership of their own air, thus interrupting smokers en masse. Hooray for them! Smokers loss due to this interrupt is really a blessing in disguise. They should have conferred this blessing upon themselves years ago.

    Here is a new one for you -

    TALKING IS WINNING
    LISTENING IS LOSING

    I know this is not what the books say. They all say that you are supposed to be a 'good' listener. - "Save the world by listening!" - Well, maybe. But 'they' have not studied interrupts, and presumably they are not attempting to acquire status. They have created a contradiction, because you acquire status by talking, not by listening. Note that it is you who is supposed to be a good listener, not they. High status is won by talking, not listening. How many arguments have you lost because the other person just wouldn't listen? Didn't you want them to do the listening and thus the losing! Perhaps this is why most people are such poor listeners. They are concerned about hierarchical status, which is won by talking, lost by listening. BIG BOSS listens only because he wants to, not because he has to. He has the special privilege of being able to listening and still be BIG BOSS. The lower your status, the more carefully you are obliged to listen. If you are all listen and no talk, you will end up at the bottom of the heap, status wise. Don't try it, you won't like it.

    Do you like paradoxes? What will the 'just listen' people do when they hear that listening is losing? Will they listen?
 

TALKING IS MALE
LISTENING IS FEMALE

This may be dangerously close to sexist talk, but here goes:

    A talkative person is said to be outgoing, whereas a good listener is viewed as inward, thoughtful, introspective, or some other word having to do with 'in'. Those familiar with sex symbols will recognize 'out' as male and 'in' as female. As a side issue, women, the epitome of IN-ness, typically adorn themselves with plenty of male symbols, i.e., long hair, long finger nails, long ear rings, long high heels, and various other body parts that stick out. The words they use are all male symbols. On the other hand, males can display female things, i.e., wedding bands, super bowl rings, chain loops, belts and collars and lots of pockets - all perfect female symbols. Proof that words are male is contained in the assertion that some philosophers produce 'seminal' works, a male reference if there ever was one.  In 'seminal' works, watch out for possible mental abortions!
 

DEFENDING YOURSELF AGAINST STATUS LOWERING INTERRUPTS

    7) Never allow a person who is talking to you to finish a sentence. The closer you can interrupt to the start of his sentence, the higher power and status you demonstrate. Since you know what he is going to say already, interrupt early and finish his sentence for him. His verbal sentence is your conversational 'sentence'. You are captured and in jail for the length of time he is talking. Don't allow yourself to be a pussy-cat loser by having to listen to even one more complete sentence.

    Related to the above is - don't ever allow anyone to tell you something that you already know. Why be insulted like that. Maintain the advantage of your high status by never allowing anyone to interrupt any of your sentences. Just keep on talking. Escalate volume as required to hold attention. When the conversation gets dull, i.e., is about someone else's interests, quickly and forcefully change the subject back to your own. Don't allow others to own the conversational stage and erode your power base.

    8) Keep in mind that to be interrupted is to lose.  Another way to defend against interrupts is to delay your response to them. After a suitable delay, noticeably break your attention to what you are doing and respond with -

"I'm sorry, I. . .
    Didn't know it was you.
    Didn't know you were talking to me.
    Didn't hear you coming.
    Was talking on the phone.
    Was watching my computer.
    Had to finish this form.
    Was listening to . . .
    Thought you were talking to . . ."

    In short, always finish what you are doing first before responding. This will maintain your position as a non-interruptible, high level, high status person. Responding immediately upon interrupt lowers your status.

    9) Demonstrate your high-status, high-level non-interruptibility by not being bothered by:
    Loud noise, especially from kids.
    Bad fumes or smoke.
    A blaring radio nearby.
    People talking loudly nearby.
    Too hot or too cold.
    Anything at all that bothers other people.

Translation - "ME STRONG, you weak!".
Here, STRONG means 'High-Status, High-Level, Non-Interruptible'.

    10) For interrupts that occur as part of your job and are thus unavoidable, the best thing to do is to put off doing the requested task for as long as possible. Doing something immediately upon request is a sure sign of low level, shoe-clerk weakness. RESPOND IMMEDIATELY ONLY TO SUPERIORS. Responding immediately increases the status of your interrupter - and lowers yours. To an equal or inferior, always defer and delay. This will help preserve and may even increase your status. At the very least, finish what you are doing first. Always delay an equals requests. In a hierarchy, equality is anathema. Make sure you don't create any or allow any to exist at your level. The higher the status of your delayee, the more power you have!

    I once gave a report to be typed to a (nameless) engineering secretary. It sat there for two weeks and was still not done. This serves as a perfect example of the above principle, which I did not recognize at the time. In retrospect, I now tip my hat to her incredible display of very high-status high-level non-interruptibility! As the bosses secretary, she was always busy (on the phone to her friends), not to be interrupted by a mere engineer-employee. I was certainly put in my place. Judging by this report, I still haven't recovered.

    11) NOT MY JOB. This is classic. A perfect reason and excuse for not being interrupted. What more could you ask for.

    12) I'm Too Busy. This is just as classic and almost as good as NoMyYob. 'I'm too tired' is for home use. 'I have a headache' although good at home, usually doesn't defer job related interrupts. 'I'm too sick' may lead to a dangerous lowering of status. Unfortunately, sooner or later you will have to face up to the interrupt and perform the status-lowering task. Sorry about that. The actual importance of your job is of course, trivial.

    13) Start a non-interruptible process. Perhaps you cannot prevent yourself from being interrupted with the attendant loss of status that that implies. You can however, start a non-interruptible surrogate process, and live on that. Although you can be interrupted, your process cannot. This serves almost as well. Vehicles for this include:

    An accounting system that everyone must follow.
    A telephone procedure that everyone must follow.
    A sign-in, sign-out procedure that everyone must follow.
    A computer network that everyone must respect and serve.
    A new set of rules for anything at all - that everyone must follow. (Make sure they are your rules!)

    Be careful how you do this however. If you set things up so that people have to come to you AND INTERRUPT YOU, you've lost. To be effective, your non-interruptible system must be independent of you and be self-contained. If it needs human intervention, assign the task to an underling. Interrupt theory tells us that every interrupt to you is a loss to you, because the interruptee is the loser.

ESTABLISHING AND IMPROVING YOUR INTERRUPT POWER

    Because interrupt power creates and represents hierarchy status and power, anything that increases this will serve to improve your status within the hierarchy. I've already shown a few simple ways to avoid status loss by preventing or deferring interrupts to you. The simple rules for winning were stated earlier - Interrupt Early, Interrupt Often, Interrupt Everybody, Interrupt Everything. The only limit on this is the unknown price you must pay for each interrupt. No free lunch. Here are a few suggestions for increasing your interrupt power:

    14) Interrupt somebody else's non-interruptible process. In perfect life, the ideal situation would be WIN-WIN. Hierarchy theory teaches us however that hierarchy life, like trading commodities, is always WIN-LOSE. If somebody else advances in the hierarchy, how could that possibly be a win for you (excluding coattails), considering that now they are in a position to interrupt you? Your status is always measured by whom or what you can interrupt. If you cannot interrupt a person, thing, or process, then you have no power or status with respect to that person, thing, or process. There is an implied loss in status for everyone who has to conform to a non-interruptible set of rules, system, or process. Every rebel knows this. So does every dictator. There are endless examples in real life of people attempting to set up enduring processes, together with the people who keep trying to interrupt them. Accordingly, and I am not necessarily recommending the following -

    To establish, or at least maintain your own interrupt power, interrupt someone else's supposedly non-interruptible process or system. Rain on their parade. There are no perfect systems. They all have inherent weaknesses. Find them and exploit them. The more flaws you find, the better you are. The down side to this is that it could happen to your process. If it does, perhaps the reason is a simple struggle for interrupt power and status by the interrupters.

    15) Call a Conference. This is the marvelous 'new standard' way to demonstrate your power and authority. It is clear that each person called must be interrupted in his work. This makes each attendee an interruptee-loser. Surprised?. It is quite bizarre to think of a conference as a room full of losers, but there can be only one winner, the caller-interrupter, who is also the owner of the conference. Next time you get called to a conference, check your real feelings about it, but don't tell your boss. Everyone hates to lose, and getting called to a conference is losing. (I tend to lose concentration and go to sleep in conferences)

    16) Interrupt a Conference! This may be an even better way to demonstrate your power and authority than by calling the conference in the first place. First, you get to interrupt a whole room full people at the same time with very little cost to yourself. This is efficient and economical. Second, you demonstrate a status which is superior to even the original caller-owner of the conference, not to mention the conferees. The purpose, intent, content, or result of any conference is of no consequence in interrupt theory. If you interrupt, you win. Everybody else loses.

    17) Prolong your Conference. All conferences last too long. They should be held standing up. This would encourage each person to state his business quickly and terminate (interrupt) others who dwell in the land of the long winds. Is that you? As the conference owner, however, your interest is not only to demonstrate your interrupt power, but to reinforce it. One way to do this is to prolong the conference beyond reasonable limits. Excellent choices for this are to extend the conference well into coffee breaks and lunch periods. If your conferees miss coffee altogether, so much the better. If they are used to eating lunch on time, talk right through lunch. If you must break in the afternoon, make sure the coffee room is closed first. Breaking (interrupting) a conference on demand is sign of weakness on your part. For the conferees, to defer is to be defeated. A strong conference is non-interruptible. For people who go home early, call late afternoon conferences - just before coffee break is best.

    18) Secretaries Glory. There is a special category of interrupt power brokerage which I call - Secretaries Glory. It is a derived power, which results from working for BIG BOSS, or at least middle boss. Acting as agent, spokesman, and shield, she enjoys great interrupt powers and privileges as follows:

    She filters his calls. Every time boss gets interrupted, no matter by what or whom, he loses. Here, although he doesn't exactly win, at least he doesn't lose as often as he would without her. She loses for him by absorbing his interrupts. This may well be worth the annual gift and more.

    She initiates interrupts for him on a conferred power basis. This is her first real, albeit derived, power. Here we have an apparent win-win situation in interrupt theory. When the secretary places a call, she wins when the (interrupted) party answers. Boss wins also, because he gets credit for initiating the call in the first place. Shared glory. Actually, it is still a win-lose situation, with shared winnings.

    She calls for time sheets. Most people are delinquent about turning them in. The secretary gets to interrupt everyone in the department calling for them. This is a real but unrecognized power.

    Secretaries are often called upon to function as collection agents for weddings, illnesses, parties, etc. Now I ask you, who has more interrupt power than a collection agent? The victim-collectee in all of this is a double loser - once due to the interrupt, and once due to the financial loss involved. Collection agency was once supposed to stop in the company, but who has the power to stop such a powerful non-interruptible process?

    She passes out and collects forms. More interrupt power.
 

INTERRUPT ANOMALIES

    The ideal hierarchy has the highest level person, BIG BOSS, as the highest level, most frequent interrupter, and also the least interrupted. The lowest level person on the other hand is the least frequent interrupter, and the most often interrupted, often without recourse. Observation shows that there are many exceptions to this rule, which I call Interrupt Anomalies, behaviors that don't fit the ideal. Here are a few of them:

    1) The High Status Interrupter who doesn't interrupt.

    Management hires a high level consultant to do important work or perform studies. He reports directly to the boss, works quietly in his office, and doesn't bother (interrupt) anyone. As a non-interrupter, his true status remains undefined, unknown, and mysterious. The principle here is that non-interrupters to a hierarchy are not a part of that hierarchy. You become a part of a hierarchy by interrupting it or being interrupted by it. Non- or ex-members of a hierarchy are excluded from it by the non- recognition of their interrupts. Ejection from a hierarchy is known as ex-communication. It can devastate the affected person if done by his native church. Perhaps it should be called  'interrupt-interruptus'. Interrupts are serious business. So is the non-recognition of interrupts. God answers prayers only when interrupted. Now that's serious!

    2) At the other end of the anomaly scale is the low-status interrupter who goes around interrupting everybody, an activity usually reserved for BIG BOSS. This person (and everybody has known him/her) circulates around, interrupting everyone by talking to them, often about nothing at all. He/she can be a gossipy rumor monger, or specialize in asking trivial questions and raising false issues. Good natured, jovial, and ingratiating, he/she is accepted by everyone and is not easily discouraged, diverted, or avoided. This unfortunate person is really a high-status interrupter in a low status body.

    Related to the above is your ordinary BS artist. This person can operate starting from a higher level than the above. He usually makes his rounds daily talking to his favorite clientele/interruptee/victims about his/her favorite subjects. A form of unauthorized self-reward, his BS activities may be limited to an hour or so a day, and may go unnoticed. If you resent the BS artist, it may be because of their self-created  implied high status.

    3) Another anomaly (mentioned above) is the secretary who is 'too busy' to type a letter, her paid-for job. Go figure.

    4) In general, anyone who operates at an interrupt level far removed from what one would expect from their job description or salary level creates an anomalous situation. They might interrupt far more than would be expected, or far less. Far more is far better of course because it can lead to rapid advancement within the hierarchy. If you act important, you tend to become important. This wisdom is in all the books. Acting important means creating important interrupts or interrupting important people. Here's a warning for 'nice' guys. Even though you may function at a higher level by virtue of your job description or salary level, if you create minimal job related interrupts, you will slide down the status scale to the level appropriate to your interrupt activity level. The same is true if you allow yourself to be interrupted more than is appropriate for your status. Eventually, you will be ignored, disregarded and generally bypassed. Smart managers know how to place just the right amount of resistance between themselves and their status-lowering low-level interrupters.

    They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Translated, this means that the high-intensity, high-profile interrupter gets the increased attention, responsibility, pay, promotion, and status that goes along with all of that. Try it, maybe it will work for you - but don't interrupt me if it doesn't!

End.

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