Monday, October 8, 2007

Write simply and clearly

Because I frequently write on human resource and intellectual talent issues facing the financial services industries, I read many, many article and White Papers. Some are well written; others, not so much.

Here's an example of confounded writing from an article in this month's Chief Learning Officer's online magazine (which I recommend) that discussed "practice communities." Practice communities are groups of people who meet to share knowledge and which I discussed in my recent White Paper (available on my website), "Brain Drain."

Processes that facilitate structured knowledge sharing ensure the white space between process owners is not missed. And when the community formalizes its knowledge into standard work processes, tacit knowledge becomes explicit and is no longer subject to loss when someone leaves the organization.

I would rewrite the paragraph for more clarity because I think the article would provide excellent knowledge, but I don't have a clue what "white space between process owners" is. If you do, I'd love to know.

There is a wide body of literature available about improving business practices. Today's executives don't have time to wade through obtuse writing that leaves them uncertain about what they've read and unable to implement suggestions from it into their businesses. There's just so little time and so much information from which to choose.

People often have great ideas, but it helps to have an editor who can provide unbiased input into your topic. If we can help your business, please contact us.

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