4 ms·
Just for one persona. Good old Peter Drucker formalized the personas in his advice to new employees to figure out how their bosses consumed information: 1 - T
by shadowtree 3y ago
Just for one persona.
Good old Peter Drucker formalized the personas in his advice to new employees to figure out how their bosses consumed information:
1 - The lawyer. Needs walls of text.
2 - The architect. Needs diagrams, visuals.
3 - The accountant. Needs numbers, spreadsheets.
4 - The actor. Needs a conversation, verbal.
It's a generalization, of course, but I have applied this pattern successfully. The core bit is that using the wrong method with any of the 4 personas flat out does not work.
Send a long article to an accountant and they're stumped. But send them a bunch of numbers and they hear the numbers sing. Etc.
Tangent on the Amazon way of write ups - Bezos forced his persona on the whole company. I would hste it. I am an architect, a few diagrams is all I need.
- anigbrowl 3y agopg's observations are equally applicable to all of those domains, all of which are likely to become AI-mediated by default.
- programmarchy 3y agoWhich persona is Bezos? Accountant?
- svnt 3y agoProbably the lawyer. At Amazon they’re somewhat known for the their six-page essay.
- alttab 3y agoYeah but the weekly WBR where the directors ask what a cell means on the DataNet report but the data isnt' sussed out so the L5 Data science guy that reports to the L7 PMT will spend the next week changing SQL to produce that requested view for the next week WBR. Many L6 promos over the years went out to folks who could quickly and accurately build WBR decks that gave L8s the visibility they wanted. So maybe Bezos is the lawyer, and all the directors are accountants.
- alttab 3y agoDefinitely lawyer and accountant. PRFAQs, COEs, and WBRs.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- hammock 3y agoHere are some guesses at popular CEOs. LAWYERS - needs walls of text Jeff Bezos is known for his long-term thinking and his annual letters to shareholders are famous for their extensive detail and length. Mark Zuckerberg is known for his long-term vision and often communicates his ideas in lengthy blog posts and public statements. ACCOUNTANTS - needs numbers, spreadsheets Sundar Pichai has an engineering background and tends to rely on data and analysis in decision-making. Satya Nadella has an engineering background and has emphasized the importance of data-driven decision-making at Microsoft. Warren Buffett is famous for his value investing approach, which emphasizes analyzing financial statements and data to identify undervalued companies. ARCHITECTS - needs diagrams, visuals Tim Cook is known for his attention to design and user experience, and Apple's keynotes and product launches often feature detailed visuals and product demonstrations. Elon Musk frequently communicates his ideas through visually compelling presentations, and is known for his ambitious plans for space exploration and sustainable energy. ACTORS - needs a conversation, verbal Mark Cuban is known for his outgoing and talkative personality. He often engages in conversations with fans and customers on social media and in public appearances, and is very comfortable in front of the camera. Richard Branson is known for his flamboyant and charismatic personality. He often appears in public events and media interviews, and is known for his storytelling and ability to captivate audiences with his words.
- dctoedt 3y ago> The lawyer. Needs walls of text. Lawyer and law professor here: No, no, NO! Wall-of-words text is a sign of a L.O.A.D. — a Lazy Or Arrogant Drafter. I teach contract drafting to 3Ls and stress The Two Great Rules of Readability: 1. SSSSP: Short, Simple, Single-Subject Paragraphs. https://toedtclassnotes.site44.com/Notes-on-Contract-Drafting-2021-08-21.html#short-sentences https://toedtclassnotes.site44.com/Notes-on-Contract-Draftin... 2. BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front. https://toedtclassnotes.site44.com/Notes-on-Contract-Drafting-2021-08-21.html#BLUF-rule https://toedtclassnotes.site44.com/Notes-on-Contract-Draftin...
- pnt12 3y agoI hate when a long technical document doesn't use BLUF, ie omits a summary at the start with the main topics. There's too much info on the internet, and even in internal documentation: if I have to read half the thing to understand if it's relevant, I'm gonna spend most of my time on irrelevant stuff. This is a problem with asking engineers to document without having a writing culture. I've seen it happen: once it's written down, that's it: it's documented, great work! But we should treat it more like code, with clear divisions of concern s, scopes and even refactors when needed!
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago"The lawyer" is probably a bad name, but I've definitely worked with this sort of person before. "The novelist" might be a better name. Of of my ex-bosses preferred long, well-written emails to just about any other form of communication. He was a really bright guy with a degree in English Literature that somehow stumbled his way into the software industry. When he wanted to start working with a new technology, he'd ingest a small pile of driest textbooks on the subject over the course of a week or so, understand and retain all of it, then start running laps around the folks who had been working with the tech for years. He's still the only engineer I've ever met that preferred learning-by-reading over learning-by-doing.
- auggierose 3y agoI also prefer learning by reading. But there are some things you can only learn by doing. I usually don't like and try to avoid technology that I should be able to learn by reading, but which is so *uck*d up, that you can only learn it by doing.
- andersentobias 3y agoInteresting. Is this really true, that every person prefers at most one of these? Also a quotation link would be appreciated.