So I heard a new saying: "From Happy To Glad."
I asked some folks "What is that was all about?"
They explained that it applies to when you give someone something to review and they make really minor, nit-picky edits.
For example, they said, when someone "just has to say something" or "they can't let it go."
This was interesting to me, because I find it really helpful to solicit feedback and vet things with a smart, diverse group--and when you do, invariably you get a better product.
For example, with a document, the best feedback is substantive feedback about content, followed by solid edits to things like style, formatting, and of course spelling and grammar gaffes.
The goal is to have a clear, concise, and consistent communication that is either informative or action-oriented, and with a good executive summary and enough supporting detail to answer key questions.
Of course, this is very different than "Happy to glad" feedback--where you're getting someone who possibly is wordsmithing something to death, can't make up their own mind, wants to show how smart they are, or are just trying to drive you nuts.
With happy to glad, sure it'll satisfy the occasional control freaks and the ego-chasers.
But the changes you'll want to actually make are from the really smart and experienced folks whose input makes a genuine difference in the end product and your and the organization's success.
So ask away for input, make meaningful changes, but don't get snared in change for change sake alone. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Zentolos)
Showing posts with label Formatting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Formatting. Show all posts
June 27, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)