He mobilized the language and sent it to war
Edward R. Murrow
speaking about Winston S. Churchill
Of course, his message was poetry; his delivery compelling; and his presence mesmerizing
In the pre-television age -- to say nothing of pre-cable or pre-internet -- words were even more powerful than they are today... and Sir Winston was a master communicator.
So, when we in this business are beseeched daily to communicate, to collaborate, and to lead, we could have a lot worse than Churchill as the poet-messenger model.
Admittedly, there's not a lot of room for poetry amongst powerpoint bullets, and certainly not in the latest style of requirements: the conversational user story (...as a user I want .... ).
(Not to digress too far, my once-teen daughter used to begin her communications with ...I want...!)
And, the Chicago Book of Style is probably not required reading by the project team. Nevertheless, there are good technology writers out there that provide a worthy model -- Leffingwell is one that comes to mind when reading about Agile.
Word smithing is not the only way: Jurgen Apello is an agilist that communicates with humor and images.
Thus I beseech you: communicate, collaborate, and lead!
