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Why does writing matter in remote work?

timcasasola.com

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Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#11

Post by Animats »

There are sizable open source projects which do all coordination asynchronously. There are no synchronous meetings, even online.

The military takes writing seriously.[1] People write things which are acted upon by others. The reader needs to understand clearly what is intended. Especially when they are out of communication with the sender.

It's worth understanding the military five-paragraph order format.[2] Not because it's used much in civilian life, but because it's a checklist for what must be covered in an order. Note especially "Commander's Intent" and "Desired Endstate". A key point in combat orders is knowing why something is being done. Because the enemy gets a vote. If things don't go as planned, then what?

[1] http://tsg3.us/tnsg_lib/pldc_school/wobc/is_1460_materials/c...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_paragraph_order

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#12

Post by [deleted] »

aardvark291 wrote: post #7
gexla wrote: post #5

This piece is kind of fluffy, I don't see why it's on the front page. Not particularly insightful. From my experience, Filipino's speaking English as a second language generally have difficulty fitting in with Western culture when working remotely. This requires extra communication and emphasis on expectations to get everyone on the same sheet of music. Clearer explanations are required than with native English speak…

> From my experience, Filipino's speaking English Hey there - this seems like unnecessary ethnic stereotyping. Also, no apostrophe is used in this situation.

[deleted]

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#13

Post by ppalevsky »

recroad wrote: post #9
insickness wrote: post #2

Whenever you compose an email, put your ask in the first sentence. Do you want information from them? Do you want them to do something for you? Put it in the first sentence. Then put the explanation and details in the rest of the email.

Sometimes. Good 'ol BCQ works just fine as well when done succinctly.

What is BCQ?

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#14

Post by cachestash »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #10
insickness wrote: post #2

Whenever you compose an email, put your ask in the first sentence. Do you want information from them? Do you want them to do something for you? Put it in the first sentence. Then put the explanation and details in the rest of the email.

I’ve followed this format ever since I read about BLUF [0], and I’ve found it to be highly effective. I don’t use the same subject keywords the article describes, but I try to keep it concise. I put the point of the email first, a bit of background, and further explanation below that if required. I don’t think anybody really appreciates the beating around the bush and story telling that goes into a lot of corporate e…

Miltary parlance does not always translate well to civilian. His first example email

~~~

Shannon,

Bottom Line: We will reduce the number of days that employees can work from home from three to one day per week effective December 1st.

Background:

* This is an effort to encourage team morale and foster team collaboration

* All members of the management committee supported this decision

~~~~

A lot of people would take that for what it is, orders and not like it at all. In the military diplomacy is not so strongly needed as there is a clear chain of command. Things are not so set in the corporate world.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#15

Post by tluyben2 »

insickness wrote: post #2

Whenever you compose an email, put your ask in the first sentence. Do you want information from them? Do you want them to do something for you? Put it in the first sentence. Then put the explanation and details in the rest of the email.

One of the depressing things I notice as I get older is that no-one reads anything. If it's not in the first sentence (or, for some people, last sentence) it is ignored. So I write 1 line emails. It's on HN too ofcourse; people respond to the first sentence without reading the rest, missing every and all nuance. Great stuff.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#16

Post by tluyben2 »

I work with many people who are against writing; they never write anything and they only want to do sync meetings (phone/in person); I am on the tech team usually which makes that even more painful as 'talking through tech' is a horrible thing. Nothing sticks as everyone needs time to think about things.

Inevitably, after a while, you get people losing track of things that were actually said, that were actually agreed on etc because there are no documents or that kind of tracking for that matter (there is stuff in Jira, but that's only following the hard tech points, not all the rest that was also discussed).

My business partner and me write a lot but we know nobody is going to read it; we do it anyway because I don't want to end up with a feeling of insanity in yet another phone call with 'but we did not discuss that!'.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#18

Post by travisjungroth »

thomk wrote: post #8
insickness wrote: post #2

Whenever you compose an email, put your ask in the first sentence. Do you want information from them? Do you want them to do something for you? Put it in the first sentence. Then put the explanation and details in the rest of the email.

This. Even if you are emailing an old friend for a favor, put your request up front then put the cordial stuff after, its much more sincere that way. > Joe, we are looking for advisors to sit on our board. This is a non-paying position so I'm emailing all my old friends and asking for favors. Hey, how are you? How is your wife and son? Either way lets get together soon! --Aaron

That reads really weird. Putting a greeting in the middle of an email is jarring.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#19

Post by torgian »

Animats wrote: post #11

There are sizable open source projects which do all coordination asynchronously. There are no synchronous meetings, even online. The military takes writing seriously.[1] People write things which are acted upon by others. The reader needs to understand clearly what is intended. Especially when they are out of communication with the sender. It's worth understanding the military five-paragraph order format.[2] Not beca…

The army’s field manual for writing. It’s quite good and I find myself referring to it even now, after my military career.

Re: Why does writing matter in remote work?

#20

Post by silveroriole »

cachestash wrote: post #14
AmericanChopper wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve followed this format ever since I read about BLUF [0], and I’ve found it to be highly effective. I don’t use the same subject keywords the article describes, but I try to keep it concise. I put the point of the email first, a bit of background, and further explanation below that if required. I don’t think anybody really appreciates the beating around the bush and story telling that goes into a lot of corporate e…

Miltary parlance does not always translate well to civilian. His first example email ~~~ Shannon, Bottom Line: We will reduce the number of days that employees can work from home from three to one day per week effective December 1st. Background: * This is an effort to encourage team morale and foster team collaboration * All members of the management committee supported this decision ~~~~ A lot of people would take t…

Yes, this seems like it’ll cause resentment and arguing unless Shannon is already bought in. She reads the first line and maybe thinks “but why? I don’t like it!”. She only gets to the reasoning after she’s set against the decision and looking for reasons to disagree. The other way round, she reads about increasing team morale and thinks “oh, good, I agree”, then is more likely to agree with the decision.

If the boss can tell Shannon to deal with it like in the army, no problem. But in an office Shannon has lots of coworkers and bosses to formally complain to! Giving bottom lines which are in any way controversial in this manner will probably backfire imo.

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