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Is there someone working in your department who has made a lifelong commitment to your company and who is familiar with and can remember every format and convention that y'all have incorporated into your publications? And who won't get sick or take a vacation? If so, tell your managers that you don't need a style guide after all; if not, style guides are just so cool to have. They allow writers to cut to the chase rather than spin their wheels trying to remember how they previously formatted numbered lists, for example. Speaking of wheels, why reinvent one when you don't have to? Style guides save time and contribute to a better product.
>Rebecca writes:
> Our new management thinks that our Style Guide is a luxury
> and a waste of
> time. Can you provide me with some well-thought-out
> arguments as to why a
> tech. pubs. team would "need" to have one?