Re: A wee story for you...

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

> > Or to elaborate, "Because the things we manage are so much
> > more important than technical writing, we therefore can make
> > better decisions about anything, including technical writing,
> > than a technical writer can."  
> 
> How do you figure? The writer interrupted an important meeting with an
> issue that was relevant only to him. From the way that the story is
> told, I get the impression that he was out of his depth, and, instead of
> listening and maybe picking up some information, he was more concerned
> about trying to take control of the discussion. 
> 
> At the very least, his timing was bad. The meeting was deciding what he
> would write about. He should have been gathering information at that
> stage, not worrying so much about how he would present it.

That is correct, Bruce. It was not so much the question as the timing. We were
trying to nail down the core issues of this project. There was some very
serious debate going on about company policy and network usage - which is
common in any security project.  While I understand what this writer was trying
to do - highlight the tech-doc issue - it was not the time to discuss that. We
needed the information captured first. Format and presentation were not
relevant at that moment. 

My moral was to remind all writers that what concerns you, does not always
concern others in your organization. Most people think that when they hire a
tech writer, that person will take care of the documentation issues. 

The other issue is one of reaction. This writer was clearly feeling inadequate
next to us. Rather than accept his ignorance about the topic, he lashed out
trying to make himself look valuable to the team.

He turned his insecurity into hostility and eventually into deception. I see a
lot of people in the technology industry do this. When people feel threatened,
intellectually, physically, economically, etc. they react in one of two ways. 

A) Civilized: They adapt and improvise to improve themselves. 

B) Primitive: They lash out in anger and attempt to undermine their "enemies". 

Most people lack the foresight, intelligence, and resourcefulness to see
trouble before it comes. So they behave like children, lashing out with faulty
logic and self-promotion. How many bosses have you known that suddenly become
complete a-holes when they are in the presence of somebody "superior" to them.
Its because they think putting you down makes them look better. 

Smart people see through this and find more clever ways to smash their
opponents. I prefer smearing mayonnaise on their car seats. :-)

Andrew Plato 

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