Another rant

A Rant – Honestly it is!

Hooray for Sir Terry Leahy
A quote from Tesco boss, Sir Terry Leahy in today's Daily Telegraph strikes a chord.
“No gobbledegook. No management jargon. Simple thoughts, simply expressed”.

OK it doesn't seem like a rant and I know that it may seem ironic coming from an IT person, but simple clarity is the key to good communication.
Everyone, not just business managers, should learn from it.
Might it even be a good idea to teach such skills in our schools and universities?

I am all too aware that every profession and trade has its own terminology.

For example, who outside the printing industry understands (or these days even remembers) the difference between a Flong and flong?

The point I am getting at is that acronyms may be useful to remember key bits of information but they should never be used in “general” communication.
Or, at least not without a full explanation of their meaning.

The necessary shorthand that we use within the IT industry is totally impenetrable and meaningless gobbledegook to most non-IT specialists.
It alienates our users and potential customers. As such it is totally counterproductive.

Worse still are the plethora of three letter acronyms that pepper “Managementspeak” and alienate managers from workforce.
If you ain't talking to your workers in a language they understand, and listening to them as well, you are not managing anything.
And if you put a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in place, make sure it focuses on serving the needs of the CUSTOMER rather than flattering the egos of senior management.

Finally, another bugbear - unreadable websites!
Various countries around the world have passed legislation banning discrimination against disabled people. A lot of website designers seem to have it in for all of us, disabled or not. From text indistinguishable from background colours or images to minute text in indecipherable fonts, I wonder what message the designers are trying to communicate because it certainly isn't getting through.
A tip for all website designers, young or old... If your granny can't read it with her reading glasses on, the font size is probably TOO SMALL!