The specifics of this story might not resonate for anyone who’s never had to shoehorn 10 pages of content provided by the author into the 5 pages allowed by the client. But there are, perhaps, other points of contact:
- A regrettable tendency in some of us (cough, cough) to put our heads down and work, rather than holding off for a few minutes to see if there’s an easier and a better way
- A happy realization that others around us have great ideas – different ones than we do
Yes, Virginia, diversity of what’s between our ears really can be our greatest strength.
Perhaps it was my years in magazines, but while I was teaching Eight-Step Editing courses I often told my classes that a visual was often not just a support for the words, it could make the words comprehensible. I’d project a budget, written in running prose. Frowns. Then the same budget as a table. Instant appreciation.
Jim T
Jim – For sure! In a similar vein, I think all timeline information (in an RFP, for example) should be presented in a visual timeline. It aids comprehension and identifies actual mistakes and impossible turnaround schedules.