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Re: M$ @ it again!!!

Subject: Re: M$ @ it again!!!
From: Dick Margulis <margulis -at- fiam -dot- net>
To: k k <turnleftatnowhere -at- yahoo -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:24:01 -0500



k k wrote:

I wish it were that easy. I've worked several places
where MS apps were the official company standard, and
in each case, it was absolutely impossible to convince
anyone to allow me to use FrameMaker. The main problem
is these decisions are all too often made by people
who think they are familiar with the MS product suite,
and they don't want to think about anything else.

And this attitude is exactly the reason for my little pep talk.

Look. Some people (a fair percentage on this list) are uncomfortable confronting their managers with a logical argument and making a case for a change in the status quo. I understand that, and I do not expect those people to suddenly open their mouths and have my surly personality issue forth (that was a great scene in Ghostbusters, wasn't it?).

Even for those with the stomach for a fight, the success rate is way less than 100%. Nonetheless, it's a case worth making, no matter how pointy your boss's hair.

Part of it is because they figure as long as
everything is done in MS apps, they can work with the
files themselves if they need or want to. Another part
is, they're afraid that if someone installs software
they're not familiar with, they may lose some control.
And their ignorance of non-MS software is a bother. In
most cases, a manager who doesn't know anything about
Frame or Open Office doesn't want to have to learn
different software so he can make rational decisions
about it, so he insists on MS Office apps because he's
more comfortable with them. At many companies, the
insistence on using MS products has a lot more to do
with the bosses' comfort levels than with operational
efficiency.

Keep in mind that you're not asking your boss to use your tools. You're offering to be more productive in your own insular little world, turn out better doc faster, and provide output in MS-compatible format when required. This isn'tnecessarily about converting and training other people. It can be, though, where there are multiple TWs, in which event you need to make a business case that accounts for the cost of training a lost productivity during the changeover.



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Re: M$ @ it again!!!: From: k k

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