FEDERAL SECTOR REPORT

WHATSA WRITER?

I am a very good writer in addition to being a management consultant and subject matter expert. But I have ambivalent reactions when someone introduces me as a "writer." Perhaps the reason is that I feel like I've been pigeonholed as a commodity next to paper clips and photocopier paper. Perhaps it's because there is more to my success in the Federal Sector than writing well.

The question about whatsa writer is serious and not a variation on the Groucho Marx "Whatsa Duck" routine. Government budgets, plans, presentations, and reports are serious business. If you're a federal agency submitting a Capital Investment Plan to the Office of Management and Budget, you have millions or billions of dollars riding on the words. The same is true if you're a contractor or grantee submitting a competitive proposal or report to an agency. Documents are instruments of organizational success or failure.

Business communications in both the public and private sectors are prepared to achieve objectives. The words, graphics, and presentation are often important determinants of outcomes. Present the wrong words, or present the right words in the wrong way, and you fail.

Writers Need to Fit the Objective

Microsoft Corporation doesn't assign just any attorney to its antitrust case. The company undoubtedly retains talent that has relevant experience, understands the issues, and has a past history of achieving results. After all, Microsoft doesn't simply want legal briefs filled with words, nor does it want spoken words that merely consume time in the courtroom. Like any motivated organization, MS wants to win.

There are certain generic requirements for writers. There's "talent," and it's as difficult to define for writing as it is for lawyer-ing or acting, but a savvy client will know when it's there. Certain work habits are also generic requirements. In Washington, you never need talent that is erratic or can't meet deadlines.

But writers also need to fit your unique objectives. If you need to sell a customer or internal management, don't pick a technical writer who simply delivers 300 pages of engineering detail but no persuasion. If you need to explain technical detail, you should usually avoid the writer who pitches fuzzy logic. Of course, these examples are overly simplified, because you usually need a writer who has a dozen or more unique, important attributes.

Usually you will need a writer who has many other qualifications in addition to having a gift for words and their presentation. The bottom line is that the writer must fit your objective. His or her past performance is crucial to validating the fit.

Writers Are Unique

Can you imagine someone asking Picasso to paint like Rembrandt? Neither painters nor writers are commodities, and you need to take the time to understand who the people are that you may use as writers.

Part of my ambivalence about being called a writer is that it ignores 90% of my talents and experience. Yes, I am indeed one of the best writers for the Federal Sector. But I'm also a Certified Management Consultant, an experienced project manager, qualified in planning and financial analysis, and a former federal IT systems development and integration contractor. I've helped agencies with over a billion dollars of acquisitions, participated in $11 billion of successful proposals, written large IT capital investment plans for OMB, supervised 160 employees, and managed $100 million of federal projects.

Sure, I'm also a writer, but my skills draw upon my life experience and professional judgment.

But what I really do is help the client to achieve objectives. That's been a career-long theme, as noted in my article Communications By Objectives, published in Association Management (American Society of Association Executives, 1977).

What Writers Do

Writers think. A lot of the garbage on paper and the web is the result of people pitching words without engaging the brain.

Thinking doesn't happen automatically. Sometimes I use other exercises to "jump start" the thinking process. Researching the Internet sometimes helps. More often, however, scribbling a draft chart, project schedule, flow diagram, or budget will focus me on how to link the objectives to an approach.

Preparation

Writing begins by reflecting on the objectives and the organizational context. What should result is a "communication architecture," a strategy for organizing the information to achieve objectives. At first, the architecture is a "straw man," subject to factual research, brainstorming, and verification. The "straw man" is refined to fit reality.

Some of the first "words" may be working materials - interview and research notes. These may not be in the final materials. Only after careful preparation and thought will the writer actually begin producing the target document or presentation.

For a serious writer, the thought process continues throughout preparation. On many occasions, a lightening bolt of insight has struck me midway through the development process. In other cases, I have presented an abbreviated sample of the work as a "trial balloon," for reality checking. As a consequence of these experiences, I may modify the content of what I am preparing ... possibly even restructuring what I have already written.

Ore vs. Gold

Writers do often rely on the written words of others - either published documents or materials specially prepared for the government proposal, plan, or presentation. With a few joyful exceptions, most of the source materials are like ore from mines; a lot of refining is necessary before you produce gold.

The problem with many government proposals, plans, and presentations is that the process stops with the ore: The document developer is simply an "information collector," loading piles of raw material from content contributors into the final document. An editor simply makes sure that the ore is grammatically correct, and the assembled heap of ore is presented as a final product. In my experience, that is one of the most frequent causes of failing to achieve communications objectives: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

After a good writer develops a thoughtful draft, other people need to review it. If the topic is technical or legal, qualified people should read it carefully - to make sure the content is accurate. Further, a really good editor will catch errors and make useful suggestions.

Completion

Over my career, I have often been blessed with highly talented editors and reviewers. Sometimes the best reviewers have astonishingly diverse backgrounds. Dawn, who has a journalism background, was magical in helping me write the material for Children of 2010. Russ, who reviewed an IT Capital Investment Plan last week, has a background in the Secret Service. Elena, my Significant Other who provides review assistance, is a chemist. I suppose intelligence and perspective is what they all have in common.

Finally, there is the production phase of writing. I have found it important to be skilled in word processing, graphics, spread sheets, quick databases, web authoring, and project management tools. These tools are as important to the writer today as a hammer and chisel were to Raphael in creating a sculpture. Writing today usually involves multiple media, and you have to support your words with other communications elements.

Does the above writing process sound complicated? Yes and no. A good writer can turn out a crucial document with amazing speed when there are clear objectives and accessible source information, but it is a matter of practice, concentration, life experience, and skill.

How Writers Work

Writers are different, and I'm not sure I want to give any universal prescriptions. For me, however, I find a quite place, few interruptions, a good computer, and a degree of freedom all to be important. My favorite place to write is my comfy home office.

Occasionally, a client will want to chain me to a desk. Usually I resist because some of my best thinking occurs while wandering around, sipping coffee, or walking the dogs. Spending hours at a desk isn't really the issue. Producing a thoughtful, quality product is the bottom line for a writer.

Bogus Writing

As a final thought about Whatsa Writer, let me identify some of the things that it isn't:

• It isn't cutting and pasting.
• It isn't assembling an information collection from content providers.
• It isn't producing a database of engineering specifications.
• It isn't writing flowery text that sounds intellectual.
• It isn't filling in a template.
• It isn't generating grammatically-correct mush that fails to communicate.

One of the current risks to good writing is automated document generation. Automated proposal generation systems, for example, assemble documents and guide users through a structured path. The resulting documents have certain advantages. They cover all of the main points, if used thoroughly, and they enabled writing-challenged people to make contributions to content. However, proposal generation systems should be viewed simply as source material for real writers and editors, because you have probably traveled only part of the way to achieving your communications objectives.

Take Five

You want to be successful. So, here are five questions to ask the next time you want to retain someone who uses writing skills as an instrument for success:

• Can the writer conceptualize and implement a communication solution for your objective?
• Does the writer understand your audience?
• Can the writer communicate your subject matter?
• Does the writer organize and present information clearly?
• Has the writer demonstrated previous success and reliability?

LINK OF THE MONTH

In acknowledgment of this month's focus, our link of the month is the Plain Language Network, http://www.plainlanguage.gov/.

In the site's own words, "The Plain English Network (PEN) is a government-wide group of volunteers working to improve communications from the federal government to the public. We believe better communication will increase trust in government, reduce government costs, and reduce the burden on the public."

The site can be useful to agencies, contractors, grantees ... anyone who wants to help the Federal Sector communicate more effectively.

CONSULTING SERVICES

We provide enterprise-level management consulting services for federal agencies and the contractors who support them. Our areas of specialization are Capital Planning and Investment Control, Enterprise Architecture, strategic planning, performance evaluation, and acquisition support including work statements. Our consulting specialty includes experience in many related areas such as CIO program support, earned value management, risk management, the C&A process for security, and customer satisfaction surveys.

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