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10/14/2014 ©2014 Confidential 1
Growing Your Tech Pubs Group
Rebecca FirestoneSenior Technical WriterZep Solar, Inc.
North Bay CommunicatorsOctober 14, 2014
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The Question
• How do you know when your
group needs to grow?
• How do you make it happen?
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Lone Writer
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Zep Solar’s Products
• Hardware, simple mechanical installation
• Patented PV mounting solutions
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InterlockPart No. 850-1388
Leveling FootPart No. 850-1397
Ground ZepPart No. 850-1172
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Scaling Up Fast
• 4 solutions in 2012 to 8+ solutions in 2014
• All kinds of drivers
• Acquired by SolarCity
– Delivery of power
– Quick turnaround on everything
• I didn’t know what would be coming up next
• But it would be fast when it got there
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Invasion of the Bean Counters
• How long does it take?
• Why can’t you just do it faster?
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I had to educate people.
9 months
4.5 months
4.5 months
9 months total…No problem, right?
Double your output without adding resources!!
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Informed Client is Vitally Important
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• Example: Someone wants to commission an architect to design and
build a custom home
– Permitting, construction, design process
– Inexperienced clients meddle, withhold, miss deadlines
• A good client knows
– When to push and challenge
– When to accept a situation as it is
– When to intervene and change course
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It’s Not Just Workhours
• Workhours
• Calendar days
• % allocated
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What else, besides workhours, factors in?
Well, let’s look at my work logs…
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• Not how long it SHOULD take
• How long it DID take
• Actual start and end dates
• Various activities, interactions,
dependencies, wild goose chases,
and other “forgotten” factors
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Start With Historical Data
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But, Don’t Try to Explain Yourself Too Much
• It only leads to trouble
• Makes you look defensive
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Couldn’t Control My Own
Work Schedule
• New task comes in
• Schedule’s already full
• Can’t postpone anything
• Can’t scope down, either
• Everything’s top priority NOW
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May
New Task
My Biggest Problem
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A Dysfunctional Situation
• Elicits a dysfunctional response
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Coping Strategies
• Jump off bridge
• Drop the ball
• Pick directives at random
• Do a poor job
• Take to strong drink
• Run away and join a circus
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I Asked the Experts
• Tech Pubs managers
• Reams of good advice
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… A mystic Horseman’s Word?
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Engineer – Writer Ratio
• Ideal is 6:1
• More commonly 8:1
• Actual is 13:1 or even 17:1
• Some places it’s a lot higher
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Zep – 30:1
SolarCity – 5000 employees, 0 writersIncreasing Ratio
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Increasing Ratio
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Products and Markets
• Product Lines
• Market Segments
• International Markets
• Key Relationships
• Audience Segmentation
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Deliverables
• Number, complexity, media, formats
• Sheer volume
• Frequent release cycles
• Quality level of each
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1-2 Hours Per Finished Page
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Tie To Company Mission
• “Own the Roof…”
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irobot mission statement
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Executive-Level Champion
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REQUIRED
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Myth of Infinite Multitasking
• It’s not just workhours
• It’s continuity of attention
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5-minute projects only!
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Perfect Processes Don’t Run Themselves
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So, What Actually Worked?
• Eliminating pet projects
• Back-channel mentoring
• Going to other departments
• What would you do if…?
• Do we still *need* documentation?
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Really scary to ask this one…
What would YOU do in my shoes…?
Is there something I’m not seeing here…?
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What Would Happen If…
…we stopped writing manuals altogether?
– Products won’t get UL certified
– Permits could be rejected
– Jurisdictions may not accept Zep Solar products
– Projects may fail site inspection
– Our warranty states “per written instructions”
– Can’t wow new partners, whoever they might be
– People using my content would have to make their own
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Would The World Stop Turning?
• Well, it might – but not right away
• Things will seem OK – for a while
• Some time may elapse
• Other factors may be at work
• Hard to tie a situation 6 months from now solely to a lack
of documentation today
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What if I Got Hit By A Bus Tomorrow?
• If people don’t think it’s a crisis
• Maybe you’re not that vital to the organization
• A moment of truth
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Take a good hard look in the mirror
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Outcome
• They saw the light
• Entry-level position created
• I’d found someone at
STC-Berkeley
• Candidate “auditioned” before joining
• It’s still working!
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Candidate did some Zep fan-boy
artwork
I did, too
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Thanks!
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