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> > The only way this person will ever learn anything is if she makes
> > mistakes.
> >
> Chris Hamilton [SMTP:cah_91 -at- yahoo -dot- com] wrote:
> > IMO, you don't teach someone by setting them up for failure. You teach
> > them by setting them up for success and providing controls along the
> > way to catch and correct the mistakes.
> >
> I ask:
> How did you learn to ride a bike? Did someone hold on to the
> bike every moment you were learning? Did you not fall *at least* once
> and scrape a knee or elbow?
>
There's value in learning from mistakes, and FL should not be sheltered from
the typical duties of a writer. What we're talking about here is that the
manager's expectations may be unrealistic. (It's also possible that Atticus
doesn't understand the manager's expectations and might be worrying for no
good reason.) The bike metaphor would be analogous IF this were a short
guide she's developing using a new application. If it's extensive
documentation on highly technical material using an application that has a
notoriously steep learning curve, it doesn't bear up. Going from training
wheels to a motorcycle may very well be a more analagous situation in this
case. It depends on the scope of the project, the expectations of the
manager, and the severity of the consequences in the case of failure.
Someone else posed that these issues should be brought to FL's attention. I
agree with this approach, although I think it's important to be careful not
to send the wrong message. How does FL feel about the chance for success?
Does she feel like she's over her head? In this, Atticus needs to be very
aware of his own motives. Is here really doing this to prevent her failure,
or is this a question of control? He needs to act as a mentor, not as an
autocrat. From his message, I gathered he intended to do the former.
Bill Burns - Eccentric Technology Consultant
INT'L.com Design & Development
billdb -at- intl -dot- com
"Being disintegrated makes me very angry."
