Life On The Tip of the Edge (WAS: Re: doing a good job...)

[George Mena <George -dot- Mena -at- ESSTECH -dot- COM>]

At least someone does realize I'm kidding. :D  Fwiw, my career (such as
it is) has historically seen me as being constantly hired on at places
where stress levels are ridiculously high due to the lack of planning
that goes on at those companies.  At these companies, the added
phenomenon of being understaffed isn't just a sign of a poorly-run
company, it's a way of life.  Everything is done in "just-in-time" mode:
"Did we meet the deadline?"  "Yes: just in time."  "Good! Let's get a
beer!" :D

Having been a lone tech writer a couple of times in my life, I can
safely say that being able to thrive in such a harsh environment has
given me a sense of humor, even if I have paid for that gift the hard
way.  Working overtime every week for the entire summer of 1995 as I
did, for example, helps to make a guy realize there's more to life than
work.  Back then, the sentiment was that if you didn't know who was
leaving that month for greener pastures, you just didn't know what was
going on.  I had the choice of either laughing or crying then and chose
laughter.  If I'd chosen crying, I'd have lost what little bit of a mind
I have for sure.  I decided to pass on that dubious pleasure. :D

Recently, the two staff TWs that comprised the bulk of the marcom group
here resigned.  One left for greener pastures, while the other one
returned to college.    I remember one of our admins stopping in to look
at the empty cube of the senior lead TW and sighing wistfully.  "He's
really gone," she said to me.  While I agreed with her, I also
remembered *why* he had left, though I didn't tell her why:

*  This was his first TW job and it was clear to me he treated it as a
job rather than a career
*  He started complaining about what resources weren't available instead
of figuring out how to go about getting what he needed to be successful
as a tech pubs manager
*  He didn't know how to ask for help at first when he needed it
*  He felt he wasn't being listened to when he started asking for help
*  He didn't want the new responsibilities of running the tech pubs
function anymore
*  And most of all, being in charge on a de facto basis without the
raise, the promotion and the title didn't appeal to him, and I don't
blame him one bit for feeling that way.

Because we had suffered an 80% turnover rate in the tech pubs group here
(four out of five folks had quit), more people had to be brought on
board fast, both contractors *and* staff.  There *still* isn't a
dedicated pubs manager here, nor is one likely to be hired in the near
future.  Even though I'm a contractor and have been here 9.5 months,
guess who knows the most about the pubs function here? :D  Yep, me. :D
This was supposed to be a four *week* contract, but *somebody* had to
stick around until reinforcements arrived. :D

I also have to disagree with a key argument Nancy Hickman made: that
growth doesn't occur in the heavy workload time.  That's just not true.
If the heavy workload *isn't* there, there's no solid business
justification for opening personnel requisitions for either contractors
or new hire tech writers, period.  Nor does it matter if the TWs being
brought on board are staffers or contractors:  when the work's there,
it's got to get done one way or the other.  And many companies do use
contractors precisely because they're off-the-shelf commodities.  This
is a concept that dates back to the wartime production boom years of
World War II, when skilled professional contractors were just as much
part of the off-the-shelf philosophy as using salad oil for a superior
(and readily available) valve seal lubricant!

Most of the time, a lot of companies operate in a war mentality because
they want to be first to market.  In a war, you need live bodies on your
side so you can make the other guys' live bodies turn into dead bodies.
George Patton said it best: "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his
country.  He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his
country."  In a very real sense, there's not much difference between the
combat philosophy and the first to market philosophy.

One key point to remember is that tech writers can only do so much to
create a halfway normal working environment, whatever that is.  After
that, the folks in Mahogany Row have to step up to the plate and lead by
example because they're the ones in charge.  The best thing *I* can do
as a tech writer is to be the very best TW I know how by figuring out
how to work smarter instead of harder.

As a tech writer, it's more important to me to be loyal to my skills set
than to a company's mission statement.  I don't have time to engage in
office politics because office politics -- like all politics -- is bull.
I'll always be a tech writer until I decide I don't want to do it
anymore.  Promotability is irrelevant to me:  why would I want to live
for such an intangible that will turn out to be a lie in the end?  The
world's full of brown-nosed butt kissers and all of them want something
called "power" because they're maniacally insecure at heart.  I place no
faith at all in any company's promise of long-term employment anymore,
even though I'll readily buy into it if someone's kind enough to ask me
what I'm doing for the next few years.  Layoffs occur all the time, even
in the best of times.  Sooner or later, the job ends because it gets
done.  When the job's done, it's time to move on.

May as well smile and remember the two survival acronyms essential for
TWs keeping their sanity:

FUBAR = Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition
SNAFU = Situation Normal, All Fouled Up

I'd stay and chat more, but Radar's telling me choppers are coming in
and Hawkeye and BJ are already halfway to Triage.

See you in the O.R. :D

George Mena
Technical Writing Consultant
George -dot- Mena -at- esstech -dot- com
ESS Technology, Inc.
Fremont, CA
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