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At 03:57 PM 5/27/2003 -0700,
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=2 color="#000080">CHRIS
CORRIGAN</font> wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">Hi
Peggy:<br>
</font><font face="arial"><br>
</font><font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">I have had
secretariestype up notes and find that the end result is not nearly as
satisfying as when people do it themselves. I wouldnt classify them
as disasters however, in my experience anyway.</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">Chris</font></blockquote><br>
OK -- so I over-reacted. And truth to tell I guess I have never been as
Draconian as described. But i do find the typing of reports to be a
useful, contributory part of the process, not only by creating the
record, but also in the process itself. Folks who type together
stay together, or something like that. I have noticed great conversations
happening at the computers, yielding wonderful new ideas that simply
would not have appeared had not the "principals" been on duty,
so to speak. There is also the "edit" function. When folks have
to re-produce a mound of newsprint, they look for what is important. It
is also for this reason that I avoid laptops in sessions (outside of the
fact that they tend to go on walkabout). When a laptop is in the session
there is an awful tendency to do a core dump -- garbage, side trips and
all. Getting every word is beside the point, I think. Getting the
essential ones is useful.<br><br>
I am reminded of an OS I did with the Advisory Council of the AARP
(American Association of Retired People). The average age had to be well
over 80, and most of the folks (this was 10 years ago) had never been up
close and personal with a computer. The staff was definitely worried
about this typing business. And frankly so was I -- but I shouldn't have.
Towards the end of the first day, I came into the NewsRoom to discover
this marvelous elderly lady at a machine. She had to be well over 85, and
by the luck of the draw, she had posted THE ISSUE -- the real hot one,
about which a lot had been said. And she was supposed to type it all? She
was certainly trying! She held a magnifying glass in one hand in order to
see the screen, and typed away with one finger. When I saw what she was
doing, I felt more than a little ashamed of myself, and in fact offered
to help -- something I would never do normally. She turned her head
quickly in my direction and said firmly, "Young man, I will type my
own report." I find this story useful when executive competence or
ego is questioned in the matter of report preparation.<br><br>
Harrison<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Harrison Owen</blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
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phone 301-365-2093<br>
Open Space Training
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Personal website <a href="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm" eudora="autourl"><font color="#0000FF">http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm</a><br><br>
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