RE: Documentation planning (was Re: FW: Extreme Technical Writing )

[Jim Shaeffer <jims -at- spsi -dot- com>]

The various posts in this thread map well to the "action modes" 
delineated by Kathy Kolbe at http://www.kolbe.com/. 
The modes are (- my paraphrasing):  
Fact Finder (needs to probe - learn stuff), 
Follow Thru (needs to pattern - organize stuff), 
Quick Start (needs to innovate - change stuff) and 
Implementor (needs to demonstrate - make stuff). 
The theory says that you and I will tend to initiate 
actions (like starting a new project or job) in one of 
these modes. Also, we will actively resist working in one 
or more of the other modes. 
I have no interests in the Kolbe products or business. 
I just find that I can analyze and navigate lots of 
human action and interaction by applying these concepts. 

One key is to figure out the action mode of your boss and 
of the corporate culture in which you find yourself. Real 
problems arise if those modes are different from how you 
approach your new job. 

(Kolbe's book _The Conative Connection_ is a good 
introduction to these ideas.)

Jim Shaeffer (jims -at- spsi -dot- com)



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