# The Parameters of Interest By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-02-10 Time plays a peculiar function in work. This is especially the case for intellectual work. For example, let’s examine the creation of a report within an organization. The project has a defined schedule. Organizational interest will likely be low if the report is generated too soon, with a significant amount of time before the due date. One might think producing the report early would allow the organization to take more time, read it thoroughly, and revise it thoughtfully. This, however hopeful, is probably unlikely. A report created too soon falls outside the parameters of interest. The organization will likely respond that it was great that the person created the report early and that they would get around to it when time allowed. In short, they have other, more pressing, things to do. On the other end of the spectrum, if a person turns the report in at the last minute, only so much interest can be given to the report. Some attention will be given, but when in doubt, those engaged with the report will defer to what is there because there is insufficient time to change it. The parameters of interest likely fall about a week or two before the assignment is due. If the assignment is submitted in this window, the organization might invest more thoughtful time in assessing it. Some games can be played here. If the person writing the report does not want to spend much time editing it, one could submit it either very early or near the deadline. Despite what it would admit, the organization probably prefers the report to be submitted by the deadline, as it absolves them of thoughtful critique. Reports often hold a merely symbolic function. They are the physical manifestations of work. They represent why somebody was paid to do something. They can only be materially useful to those outside their creation if they are read, and it is obvious that reports are seldom read. That takes time, and executives are notoriously busy. Reports are created and consumed largely outside the parameters of interest of most organizations and individuals. Simply reading them provides an accessible basis for knowing something others don’t. #### Related Items [[Reporting]] [[Work]] [[Organization]] [[Executives]] [[Thinking]] [[Interests]]