October - Center for Information-Development Management

WHAT IF WRITERS LOVED THEIR WORK?What If Writers Loved Their Work?, continued from page 125.strokes, he found himself dealing with flushots, back pain, and runny noses. The diplomasthat adorned his office from HarvardMedical School and Johns Hopkins MedicalCenter mocked what he had become. Heneeded to go back to his original passion.As leaders in the communication field, wehave to ensure that we are never guilty of inadvertentlydiverting our writers’ passion forwriting. We cannot possibly encourage themto stop writing a user manual and begin performingopen-heart surgery. However, thereare, indeed, ways to make the job of providinginformation to our variousaudiences a pleasure and toregain the same special feelingwe all once had.What excites your writers?Creating environments andopportunities that let writersknow that what they are doinghas importance to the readersand the company itself is a powerfulmotivation and fostersexcitement. We all want the recognitionand the praise thatgoes along with making a difference.One way to tap into thisbasic human need is to expectwriters to be creative. Makinginnovation a measure of successfor the annual performancereview sends the message thateach writer has the capacity tobe creative and is expected to be.Writers who embrace innovation neverexperience the boredom of repetitive tasks.Table 1 examines the outlook and attitude oftwo types of writers—those who love their“As leaders inthecommunicationfield, wehave to ensurethat we arenever guilty ofinadvertentlydiverting ourwriters’passion forwriting.”Table 1. Writers’ Contrasting Attitudes Toward Workwork and those who are strangers to the concept.The contrast in attitudes is not exaggerated.How a writer sees his or her job is directlyrelated to the value placed upon it by thewriter’s manager and the company culture. It isour job on the front lines to drive our team toproduce excellent documentation, but it is alsoour job to drive the well-being and confidenceof that team. This task is made easier with theunderstanding and support of the entire organization.Acknowledging the critical importanceof how we communicate on aprofessional level to our customersincreases the importance of excellingat our jobs.For your writers to be happy,they must feel that they:♦ work in a culture that fostersinnovation♦ are valued♦ are doing work that is essentialto corporate success♦ are unique♦ are the right match for the jobA Culture that FostersInnovationIn his book, The Art of Innovation,author Tom Kelley stressed thatcreativity is not the private treasureof just a few. True innovation comes fromlooking at problems in a new way. Because weare not clones (at least not yet), our views andinsights are ours alone. Establishing an openenvironment where it is okay to express ideas isessential. The correct environment has a lot toCenter AssociatesHenry KormanWordplaykorman@wp-consulting.comJonathan PriceThe Communication Circlejprice@swcp.comGinny Redish, PhDRedish & Associates, Inc.ginny@redish.netDavid WalskeDavid Walske, Inc.david@walske.comAdvisory CouncilJulie BradburyIndependentDiane DavisSynopsysddavis@synopsys.comBill GearhartBMC Softwarewilliam_gearhart@bmc.comPalmer PearsonCadence Design Systemspalmer@cadence.comVesa PurhoNokiavesa.purho@nokia.comDaphne WalmerMedtronicdaphne.walmer@medtronic.comCIDM Vendor MembersArbortextPG Bartlettpgb@arbortext.comInnodataToni Sydortoni_sydor@inod.comLoversEmbrace innovation and changeUnderstand the measurable effect of their workFeel empowered to be creativeGain an understanding of the big pictureStrangersComplain about the repetition of the workFeel a lack of recognitionUse the “not enough time in the day to be creative”excuseFeel no sense of value to the company or the customerProgressive InformationTechnologiesSuzanne Mescansmescan@pit-magnus.comOCTOBER 2003 • BEST PRACTICES 127