Why Good Writing Can be The Next Optimization for Your Tech Company

Written communication is one of the most overlooked interactions in tech companies.

Slack messages that happen out of context or are too short are ineffective. Ten people in a meeting for what could be a document is inefficient. Hours figuring out a process is exhausting and frustrating.

Writing is a top-level skill.

Effective writing is not a chore. It is a catalyst.

You are writing anyway; increase the reaction rate without being consumed in the process. Add training and make it part of the company culture, and the impact of good writing is exponential.

Great companies like Amazon, Gitlab or Stripe have known this for a long time. If you don't treat information with enough care, you are missing a competitive advantage.

Smoothen collaboration and respect time.

How many meetings have you attended where the outcome was that you now need another appointment?

Save time and effort by registering information so that others can skip a meeting or that they can use to prepare for the next one.

Structure your thinking.

Pause for a moment before throwing your next Slack message.

Evaluate if you could better structure it, be more coherent, add context or even decide it is not relevant enough to share.

Writing for knowledge sharing.

Anyone who has been part of a project handover or onboarding knows it is painful.

What is this piece of code doing? Is there someone still in the company who knows about it? Whom should I contact for what? Yes, documentation takes time but is also valuable and an investment for your future.