RE: Who is responsible? (was living doc article)

[Alan Bucher <bucherino -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Kat Nagel wrote:
> Your company doesn't have a common lunch or break room?  There's 
> never a line at the copier?

Actually, no.

But I didn't say that I wasn't able to eventually and more
politically get useful info. Although casual conversations provided
far less value than some dedicated and thoughtful time.

But I also don't want the point of the discussion to revolve around
my particular example. I was responding to the broad assertion that
writers should "take the initiative and get the job done. Quit asking
for permission to do everything." The implication being that if you
can't get the job done then it's because you're a weak-willed simp
who's sitting around whining about how the opportunity to do so
hasn't been handed to you on a platter.

In reality, in order to get the job done, sometimes you can take
initiative, and sometimes you DO have to ask for permission (as Kevin
outlined). And sometimes the answer is no.

> 
> Initiating that sort of conversation with developers and tech
> support 
> staff when we're in common "as long as we're just standing here" 
> situations has always worked well for me.   I mention that I'm 
> working on Doc A and...hey!...is there anything anything new coming
> 
> in the next release that I should be sure to include?  Or, is there
> 
> anything that I could put in or change that would make it easier to
> 
> deal with support calls?  Usually, even from people who are 
> notoriously uncooperative, I get some of the information right
> there 
> and then and a promise to unlock file X/drop off book Y/email a 
> screen shot of Z.  Worst case, I get the name of the feature or a 
> sentence about the support problem with somebody else to bug about
> it.
> 
> I get the information I needed, or a pointer to a better place to 
> look for it.  No one interrupts anyone else, or is forced to take 
> time from 'important' work.  No one complains to a manager.

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