Executive Context Control

An operating system for managing interruptions and dependencies. 

Get stronger through the chaos to become anti-fragile in business execution.

Start with unblocking yourself and scale to other leaders and teams.

Simple and powerful, using only a pen and paper.

A couple examples first:

What you need to know to get started:

• Start you day with an oval with your main task of the day

• When you hit any delegations or blockers add an arrow and delagation/blocker rectangle

• When you discover a dependant task, add an arrow and another oval with the new task

• When you have an interruption, draw a red arrow or lightening bolt arrow from your main task and an oval with the new interruption

• As you discover more about the interruption, add dependant tasks, delegations, and blockers as they unfold

Symbols used in the Daily River:

The language of ECC-OS:

• Main Goal - what you plan to work on first in the day. It is 

• Sub-Task - A task discovered while focusing on your Main Goal. It is marked with a normal black arrow

• Interruption - An unplanned, urgent interruption to your progress. It is marked by a red arrow or a lightening bolt arrow to make it stand out from normal Sub-Tasks

• Complete - Marked with a checkmark

• Paused - Marked with a pause icon

• Canceled - Marked with an X

Metrics to track in the Daily River:

• Interruptions today: ___ - The count of red arrows or lightening bolt arrows on your Daily River

• Dependencies: ___ - The count of sub-tasks found on your Main Goal

• Delegations: ___ - The count of delegations to other teams or people

• Blockers: ___ - The count of blocks by people, teams or systems

• Intended opening item completed? Yes / No

Analysis of Daily River metrics for yourself and direct reports:

• Interruptions today - A high number here shows the chaos that is unfolding during your day. Looking into patterns of the interruption can give you ideas on where to focus to bring more stability.

• Dependencies - This metric will expose people or teams that are a blocker. It could be they need more training or additions to the team

• Delegations - This metric is not necessarily bad, it could indicate that those urgent interruptions could go to someone else.

• Blockers - A high metric here shows where resources are missing or lacking.

• Intended opening item completed - This shouldn't be a surprise, although it is good to see the trend through time to validate what you know to be true.

Scaling ECC-OS

• Start with your own Daily River first, recording things as they happen, collecting metrics at end of day and analyzing weekly for trends.

• Other leaders will start to follow once they see you using the Daily River and getting control. You can use the metric terms during 1:1s.

• Team leads can use Daily Rivers to record and then control their teams context each day, collect metrics and analyze weekly.

Where ECC-OS came from:

There is a software development method called the Mikado Method that is a game changer for thinking about working on large, complex, fragile systems that is where the Daily River of ECC-OS originates. I used the Mikado Method for development and then one day while getting tons of interruptions it dawned on me that the digraming of the Mikado Method could help me keep track of what I started to do and all the interruptions, blockers, dependancies and sub-tasks that unfolded.

Q&A

The Skeptical / Time-Crunched Executive

Q: This seems like a lot of note-taking. I'm already drowning. How is adding more administrative work supposed to help me?

A: That's the most important question. This looks like more work, it's not. It's an investment of 30 seconds  to save 15 minutes.

The work you're already doing is the 'context switching'—that painful 10-15 minutes you spend after an interruption thinking, 'Okay, where was I? What was I stuck on?' The Daily River Log is a 30-second 'pause button' that eliminates that restart cost. It's not more work; it's a tiny, high-leverage action that makes the rest of your day less work.

Q: How is this really any different from a to-do list or just using a project management tool like Asana or Trello?

A: It's the difference between prediction and preparedness. A to-do list is prescriptive—it's the fantasy of what you planned to do. It shatters the moment a real fire hits.

The Daily River Log is descriptive—it's the reality of what actually happened. It's designed to log the interruptions and the new fires that a to-do list completely ignores. Those other tools are great for managing a known project, but ECC is a triage system for managing the chaos in between.

The My-Chaos-is-Special Executive

Q: You're talking about an interruption. I have ten simultaneous interruptions while I'm in back-to-back meetings. My day is all chaos. This system seems too simple for that.

A: This system is especially for you. If your day is 100% chaos, you need a 'black box' recorder more than anyone.

The 30-second log isn't about solving the chaos; it's about capturing it. If your log at the end of the day shows 15  interruptions and 8 new main goals, that isn't a failure of the log. That is a perfect description of your reality. That log is now your data. 

It's the 'antifragile' part. You now have the evidence to go to your team and say, 'I am handling 8 new C-level fires every day. This is not sustainable. We need to fix the causes of these fires,' instead of just feeling overwhelmed."

The Pragmatist / How-To Executive

Q: What's the best tool for this? A physical notepad? Excalidraw? A specific app?"

A: The best tool is the one with the least friction. If you're a paper-and-pen person, use a notebook. It's fast and always on. I like Excalidraw because it's a 'digital notepad' that you can save and review, and it's perfect for the visual symbols.

But honestly, the tool doesn't matter. The protocol is what matters. Start with a piece of paper tomorrow. The system is the Interruption arrow and the Goals circles, not the software.

Q: How does my Executive Assistant fit into this? They manage my calendar and a lot of the interruptions.

A: This is how you turn your EA into a strategic partner. They become the co-pilot and the keeper of the log.

When an interruption comes in, they don't just ask, 'Are you free?' They use the ECC language. They can DM you: 'A `((Client Fire))` just came in. I also have a `(Leaf Task)` for you to sign. Which one?' Your EA becomes the 'triage nurse' who helps you log and prioritize the chaos. It empowers them and protects you.

The Strategic Executive

Q: I love the 'Diagnostic Log' idea. But how do you review it without it just becoming another huge, time-consuming task?

A: Great question. You don't review it for completion. You review it for patterns.

It's 15 minutes on a Friday afternoon. You're not looking at every task. You're asking three questions:

1.  'What was my most common interruption?' (If it's your Head of Sales, you know you have a process or a coaching issue.)

2.  'What `[Initial]` (delegated task) is always a bottleneck?' (If every `[L]` for 'Legal' takes a week, you've found a system-wide bottleneck.)

3.  'What `((Goal))` from Monday is still open, and why?'

It's a 15-minute 'scan' for patterns, not a 2-hour 'audit'.

Q: This is great for me, but what about my team? How do I cascade this?

A: That's the ultimate goal. When you roll this out to your leadership team, you're not just giving them a productivity tip. You're creating a shared language for chaos.

Imagine your COO sends you a DM: 'I'm on `((Budget))` but a `((Supplier Fire))` just hit, and it has a dependency on `(Legal)`. Which `((Goal))` is your priority?'

That is a strategic, high-clarity conversation. It's not 'I'm swamped.' It's 'Here is the map of the chaos, what's your call?' It changes the entire dynamic of your team.

Q: How do I get my executive team to adopt this?

A:: You don’t.

You adopt it publicly for 30 days, post your real Daily River every Friday (wins and disasters), and watch what happens.

By day 31 at least three of them will be secretly doing it.

By day 60 they’ll be competing to have the cleanest graph.

Never underestimate the power of leader embarrassment as a change management tool.

Q: This feels almost too simple. Are you saying the answer was drawing circles all along?

A:: Yes.

The answer was always drawing circles.

We just had to become desperate enough to admit that the calendar was lying to us.

Welcome to the other side.

Do you have questions? I am just starting to put this idea out in public. 

There is enough information here to get started. If you have questions, you can email me at hello@ecc-os.com if you see that this could have a big impact and would like to learn more right away. 

It starts out as simple as what you see above in the examples. Don't be fooled by the simplicity though, it can have a profound impact.