[Sigia-l] merits of bullets (was Smackdown: Edward Tufte vs. DonNorman)

[Karl Fast]

> The narrow question here is, can a CEO have the time to go through a
> 100-page report every time someone like Karl requests his time?

What?!? Where did this idea come from? 

To clarify, I *never* suggested the CEO should read a 100 page
document. Indeed, I would have actively *prevented* him from reading
the spec. It would have been an enormous waste of time.

I was asked for a summary of the project. I was not asked to give a
presentation--only to submit a summary. The document was to stand
alone.

I gladly wrote a ten page summary, distilling the big document into
something manageable. I could have distilled it down to five pages,
or one page. 

My summary was rejected.

But it was not rejected because of the length (though at ten pages
it was almost certainly too long by half; I would have gladly
reduced it further).

It was rejected because of the form. More specifically, I was told
that sentences and paragraphs indicated muddled thinking, but
bullets indicated clarity of thought and were a better way of
communicating complex ideas.

This is where I got off the bus. Distillation is not only
acceptable, but necessary. Summarizing one hundred pages in a page
or two, maybe less, is a difficult and crucial skill that everyone
should learn. But I balk at the notion that a handful of bullet
points is preferable to a good, well-written summary, either as a
means of communicating the ideas or as evidence of clear and
thorough thinking (Note: I am speaking here about bullets as a
documentary form, not in the context of a presentation, a meeting,
or some other setting in which there can be an clarification and
elaboration on the ideas contained in the document).

I am not against bullets anymore than I am against a well-written
headline. Bullets have their place, and creating good ones is an
important, tricky skill. I happily use them within documents, to
create outlines, to highlight key points in presentations, and so
forth.

Indeed, if I had been asked to do a five-minute powerpoint
presentation on the project then I would certainly have used bullets
in the slides. But I was not asked to do that. I was asked for
bullet points as a standalone document. Nothing more.

All I disagree with is the idea that the bullets would have been an
improvement over a well-written one page summary.

Of course, he was the boss, so I sent him the bullets.


-- 
Karl Fast
http://www.livingskies.com/