ABSTRACT
I once worked as a technical-writing consultant for a small power-engineering firm. The engineers and technicians at this company designed and built experimental alternative energy systems for the U.S. Department of Energy or the equivalent ministries of other countries. Although the engineers’ workloads were high and the pace was fast, my initial impression was that they were unperturbed and happy. This impression was shattered, however, when one day I was treated to a picture of what life was really like at this seemingly tranquil company. The engineers, it turned out, were not happy. They worked for a company that seemed to be going in many directions at once and for a management that took a laissez faire attitude toward leading them. Although it might have been normal for a company of this size and industry to be in a state of flux, the engineers complained that they did not feel in control of the changes that were happening around them, nor did they feel that their managers were in control of the changes that the company was going through. The engineers with whom I spoke that day identified communication between them and management as their primary problem, and because I was the “communication guy,” they hoped I might help them solve their problem.
