Moving on. Again. To helping people write and communicate

It's no secret that I've been helping people for many years (since 1975, actually) to communicate more effectively, either in print or face to face. In the early days it was all connected with IT and management skills training and, since 1988, it has been focused primarily on engaging with the media. Since 2003, I have helped several organisations put together or polish their written materials.

Although it's very nice to appear in print or online with a byline from a recognised publisher, it's less and less a motivation as time goes by. It seems that, rather than being the primary producer of words, I'd prefer to help other people through training, mentoring, editing, ghosting or whatever.

I think that thirty plus years of writing columns, features, analysis, blogs and the odd news piece, is not a bad basis for someone who wants to advise and help others. At least it's taught me to 'copy taste', focus, structure and polish, at the very least.

Although this seems a sudden departure, it's been building gradually over the past few years. Not least as I've recognised that many bloggers are better writers and better informed than many journalists and, of course, the opposite applies as well. The point is that 'the media' is changing and I'm not interested in trying to take sides. I owe the publishing world a lot. A second career, no less. (My first 14 years comprised the usual programmer - analyst - project manager - IT manager roles, although I did tuck in a few years of training there.)

If you think I'm mad, please tell me quickly. Before it's too late. Otherwise, my public writing will be in blogs, Tweets and the very occasional piece if I'm approached and I find the subject matter irresistible.

The last piece I wrote was about Guy Kewney who died last week. Two other pieces are in the CIO and IWR pipelines and will be published in due course. Guy's death knocked me sideways, despite the fact that I expected it. We weren't particularly close but we had known each other for thirty one years, and we weren't that dissimilar in age. Perhaps the jolt of his death caused my thoughts to crystallise, I don't know. It does seem very possible though.

So, thanks again Guy, you gave me good advice when I was starting out in my public-facing writing career. It seems somehow fitting that you should be instrumental in its ending.

More as it unfolds.

Comments

[David Tebbutt]

Good to hear from you Sam. Thanks for being a customer when you were in the UK. And good luck with your own recent move to Insight Direct. Exciting times for both of us.

[Samantha McGarry]

Good for you Tebbo. Can't wait to see how it unfolds!

[David Tebbutt]

You're very kind Simon and I really appreciate your comments. I would like to help other people (and, yes, earn money doing it) to unravel their complexity and articulate it clearly. I realise not everyone can be, or even spare the time to be, a writer but I'd like to get them closer and, if necessary step in for the final polish. We'll see.

At different times, I found myself counselling three of our lunch companions on writing skills. Seemed to be appreciated so maybe that, too, was part of my realisation of what I should be doing in this next stage of what's been, so far, a jolly enjoyable career.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write your comment.

David

[Simon Carswell]

David, I said this on Twitter, and probably to your face when we got together for the dim sum, but I'll say again that you have a very lucid writing style, and an ability to articulate complex material in a clear way. So from that point of view it's a pity you're no longer going to write for the 'official' media. Nevertheless if you're going to continue to blog, and you're going to mentor and train others, your talents won't be wasted. Good luck with the change of direction.

[David Tebbutt]

Hello Vic. Thank you for the kind note. Please feel free to write to me - I'm david tebbo com - with the @ and the . in the usual places. Be good to share our respective journeys. I still use BrainStorm, of course, and I remember your enthusiasm for it. Now, of course, it's only part of my life, as a fellow user. But it does help me every day.

( If anyone's wondering what we're banging on about, the details are at http://www.brainstormsw.com/ - you'll find mentions of me and Vic there. In fact, I've just found the link to Vic's description of how he uses it: http://www.brainstormsw.com/userstories.html#General )

So, good luck with your future, Vic. And thanks again for writing.

[Vic Neshyba]

David ... I too am fast approaching that time in my life where I need to make choices ... and your message rings a bell with me. But thanks for all you written, said and done. You've been an influence in my life going way back to the early 80's. Our first contact was via Brainstorm in it's earliest years. Brainstorm allowed me to organize my life quite nicely and to be much more productive. As you know, in those early days, there was only a small collection of software, no GUI, precious little memory, etc., etc. ... Brainstorm was beautiful and timely. We have not interacted much, but I would think of you daily, as I used your software. For this I thank you. - Vic

[David Tebbutt]

You're very kind Martin. Thank you. I often feel like a visiting alien on IWR. Glad it's been of interest.

[Martin De Saulles]

I'm sorry to hear this, David. I've always enjoyed your IWR articles and found them one of the highlights of the magazine. At least you'll still be blogging.