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Subject:Technical Writing and the Business Perspective From:Goober Writer <gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 24 Oct 2003 08:49:28 -0700 (PDT)
In light of the "Too Good" and "Hi-Tech Company Hasn't
Used Tech Writers in Years" thread, I just gotta ask:
Where do our loyalties lie? With users, with process,
with other writers, or with our companies?
A smart reply would be "with our companies".
You *can* be a user advocate. You *can* be a process
maven. You *can* be loyal to your profession and
others who share it.
But...
To be successful at your place of work, you *must*
have a solid grasp on your comapny's business model
and what it takes to better that model.
Harsh reality:
It's not about happy customers, cutting-edge process
and technology, or anything else but profit.
Happy customers, cutting edge process, technological
advancement... they all can play a big part in the
success of your company.
BUT...
Bottom line is the bottom line.
Sometimes you may look at the "what" in your company
and scratch your head. You need to learn "why". If
they won't tell you why or don't want you to know why,
then you just need to accept the what and work toward
it.
Getting back to the Business Perspective, you really
need to have this if you want to make a positive
splash. No matter how cool your ideas are, or how much
sense they make to you, they may not fit into the
business side of things, or you may not know the
proper way to communicate your ideas because the
people you are communicating with are coming from a
different perspective.
Business first. Advocate profit. Then advocate
additional things with profit in mind. Doing so will
get you more visibility, show you're a team player,
perhaps a company leader, which will then give you
more leverage to implement your ideas, provided they
make sound business sense.
=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)
"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
-- Geoff Hart
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