Writing skills are important and effective

Modern Machine Shop, Oct, 1990 by Bert Casper

Writing Skills Are Important And Effective

Managers, even managers of small businesses like contract shops, live or die on their ability to communicate -- with superiors, colleagues, customers and employees. Yet, few do a good job of it. Good verbal skills are important, but that's not enough in today's world of computers and FAX machines. The most effective managers also can write well.

Writing forces one to think clearly, to organize and make sense of ideas, to believe in what is being written, even to "stick out your neck" at times. Writing requires time, and patience, and taking risks. Writing down the important things about a business enforces these things and causes others to join in a common cause.

One of the best ways for a manager to learn to write better is to read more writings of others who do it well. Find writers who write in a style you admire, and emulate these people. Then practice by writing to customers, by writing a newsletter to employees, by writing down plans and goals, and other things that have just been passed on to others verbally. Even writing a weekly report or summary of activities for your own use can be good practice.

One good, and short (85 pages) book that helps people who want to learn to write better is Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style"; published by MacMillan Company. It's an excellent for things like word usage and grammar and provides some good advice on writing. Think about the reader while writing, just as you automatically consider the listener while talking.

One of the documents every business needs, but many do not have, is a statement of their "mission". They don't have one because the manager has not taken the time, and the effort of thinking things through, to write such a statement. It would be a worthwhile task to write one, for any size contract shop. And if you already have one, maybe it would be worth redoing. An updated mission statement that addresses today's world and tomorrow's dreams can perform miracles for any business.

Another document that can be inspiring to employees and customers alike is a statement of the principles that guide the business. It lists the important factors used in the day-to-day conduct of the company. It makes statements about what is important in dealing with customers, with employees, and with the owners. A "Mission Statement" and a list of "Guiding Principles", written by the manager of the contract shop after input has been secured from others in the company, can motivate people.

To develop such documents, one must ask questions that are difficult to answer. Specifically what business are we in? What do we do for our customers? How do we do it? Where do we want to be in ten years? What are our goals? Why do we have these goals? How will we measure progress? What are the measures our customers use to compare us to others? What are the factors that make our employees loyal and happy to work here? What are the factors that contribute to our survival and growth? What are our profit goals, and how will we reinvest them?

Within our facility, we have developed these documents and shared them with all employees, suppliers, customers, and associates. We discuss them with each other, and make appropriate changes from time to time. These actions have contributed to our success and growth by accenting the important things in our relationships and calling attention to new opportunities. Writing these statements was worthwhile.

BERT CASPER, V.P. Marketing Remmele Engineering, Inc., St. Paul, MN