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(U) It's OK to Have a Personality... Most of the Time!
FROM: (U//FOUO)
the SIDtoday editor
Run Date: 09/20/2011
(U) Some veteran NSAers may recall that eleven years ago
DIRNSA arranged for a series of business leaders to come to
Fort Meade and talk to us all about leadership. I, for one, marched
over to the Friedman Auditorium on three separate occasions to
see what was on offer. Two of the talks, to be honest, have faded
entirely from my memory, but one speech, by Englishman Barry
Gibbons, a one-time CEO of Burger King, had a lasting impact.
These many years later I can still remember clearly some of the
things he said.
(U) One point he made was that if you want to appeal to the
public, just being good at your job isn't enough; you also have to
inject some personality into what you do. As I remember it, he
reminisced about staying at a certain hotel. When he went into his
room, there was a card on a table saying something like, "Hello,
I'm Rosa, your maid. I am committed to keeping your room clean,
etc. etc." Those kinds of notes are pretty common, so Gibbons
didn't pay it much attention. But then he noticed a note on the
floor (!?) that read, "Look under the bed." He got on his hands and
knees and did as directed. Under the bed he saw a third note: "I
clean under here, too! -- Rosa." Gibbons thought to himself, "I
think I LIKE this woman Rosa!"
(U) The moral, of course, was that doing the job well is essential,
but doing it with personality is what really sets one apart.
(U) What does this say about writing? Even if your writing is
perfect in a grammatical sense, it may still come up short. If you
are trying to get people to read something -- and let's face it, no
one is forcing them to read it -- you really ought to inject your
own personality into the text so it sounds as if it was written by a
bona fide person, and not by a robot or a marble statue.
(U) Why is "personality" in writing (or in public speaking, for that
matter) usually a good thing? People are social creatures by
nature, and if they can hear a human voice in what they are
reading or hearing, they find it easier to read, more enjoyable, and
more memorable. It's simply better communications.
(U) Some people are nervous about communicating in their own
voice in the workplace. They worry that they will be perceived as
"unprofessional." I think that fear is baseless in most
circumstances. Most high-level national leaders express themselves
in their own unique voice... Does anyone accuse them of being
unprofessional when they do? Harry S. Truman said, "The buck
stops here." He did not say, "My function as President is to take
responsibility for decisions that were not, or could not be, taken at
a lower bureaucratic level."
(U) Now certainly there are times when using your own voice isn't
SERIES:
The Pointy End of the
Pen
1. Did He 'Go' Into the
Courthouse, or
'Sneak' Into It?
2. Writing for the Mass
Audience: All's Well
that Begins Well?
3. Team Writing
Projects: Too Many
Cooks Spoil the
Soup?
4. The Humble
Footnote: Every Dog
Has His Day
5. It's OK to Have a
Personality... Most of
the Time!
6. The Chisel and the
Vision
an option. For example, when you write a SIGINT report, you must
write in a neutral voice. Why? Because you aren't writing in your
own name; rather, you are speaking to outside customers officially
on behalf of NSA. (SIGINT reports all say "From: DIRNSA" on
them.) Likewise, official policy documents (such as USSIDs) are
formal by nature and it would be inappropriate to inject your own
personality into one (just the facts, ma'am).
(U) But there are many, many occasions when you can use your
own voice. Sending an email to everyone in the directorate?
Writing a proposal to the boss? Authoring an article for the office
newsletter... or SID today ? Don't be a robot!
(U) If you do, there's a better chance that just maybe someone
will remember what you said -- even eleven years later.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108