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Professional Literacy

Vern Edwards
Vern Edwards
in Recommended Reading

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comment_84105

I found this on the internet:

Quote

Generous amounts of close purposeful reading, rereading, writing, and talking, as underemphasized as they are in K-12 education, are the essence of authentic literacy. These are simple activities are the foundation for a trained, powerful mind. 

See: "4 fundamental practices for cultivating professional literacy"

https://dennissparks.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/4-fundamental-practices-for-cultivating-professional-literacy/

So, what are you reading?

comment_84142

I, just the other day, checked out this book from the library: How To Take Smart Notes, by Sönke Ahrens

Haven't started it yet.  But I would like to use it to learn more about the importance of writing notes while learning and reading in order to store knowledge gained into long-term memory.  I will then apply that new understanding to a hunch I have, that all acquisitions with their SSP and Sections L and M written by reused sample documents are high-risk for a protest.  Also that any contract with a reused SOW is difficult to administer.  If my hunch is correct, I may be so bold as to prophesy that future contracts written by AI will not be administrable!

comment_85069

Mastering Communication at Work, Second Edition: How to Lead, Manage, and Influence, by Ethan F. Becker and Jon Wortmann.

Dr. Becker gave a wonderful presentation on communication at an NCMA Workshop I attended recently. He's a professional speaker by trade, and the book itself touches upon the pillars for good communication. The chapter on ethos was a revelation. 

 

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comment_85073

Research Handbook of Contract Design, Compagnucci, et al., editors, 2022. A collection of 23 articles such as

  • "The many layers and dimensions of contract design"
  • "Functional or dysfunctional? The language of business contracts in English: an update"
  • "Contract simplification—a user-centered approach to contract structure design"
  • "Simple contracting for every step of collaboration/innovation"
  • "Image analysis as a visualization tool—translating contracts into comics" and
  • "Digital technology, future lawyers and the computable contract designer"

From the introduction:

Quote

Contracts are a core framework that organize and structure every aspect of social and economic life. Business success depends on contracts and almost all individual activities—whether they are related to work or leisure—involve contracts at some level. We may not always be cognizant of their central role, but contracts are crucial infrastructure that define what we do and how we do it, across every aspect of our lives.

 

comment_86617

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham

The best book I've read all year. Bar none. The narrative takes you through the political climate that NASA faced post-Apollo, and explains how the agency found itself journeying into the prospect of commercial spaceflight via the Space Shuttle program in the 1970s/1980s. Of course, the real tension is between the contractors, the agency, and the wildly-optimistic launch schedule leading up to the Challenger disaster, safety be damned. The subtext of that tension is that the Government was looking to compete the next contract for the rockets, and the intense pressure Morton Thiokol executives, who recognized the threat of competition, placed upon its engineers to meet that schedule at any costs.

With abnormally cold temperatures descending upon Cape Canaveral prior to the launch, there were concerns about the reliability of the O-rings when the thermostat reading dropped below 50 F. Temps fell to the low-20s. MT's engineers voiced their concerns. MT's management wanted to plunge ahead, regardless.

This excerpt, in which MT General Manager & VP Jerry Mason prompted MT VP of Engineering Bob Lund for his vote on endorsing the launch of Challenger the following day, was sobering:

"Now Bob, I need you take off your engineering hat and put on your management hat. We've done all we can from an engineering point, and now we've got to make a tough decision. And as a manager, you've got to do that."

Compelling. Infuriating. Tragic.

comment_86632

A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, 5th Edition by Kenneth A. Adams (2023) ISBN: 9781639052516 (“MSCD”)

Contract Redlining Etiquette: How to leverage the power of redlines for faster and smarter contract negotiations by Nada Alnajafi (2022) ISBN: 057830273X (“CRE”)

Looking for information on how to help others draft clear, precise, and unambiguous contracts (particularly requirements documents) that accurately reflect the parties' expectations and intentions. Both of these books offer information on intentional contract design.

What I’ve found so far is that what I’ve learned only goes so far if I don’t share that knowledge with the other party and get their buy-in. Not everyone knows the categories of contract language in the texts nor do they agree on the usage of certain verb structures, and definitions.

comment_86638
4 hours ago, Jamaal Valentine said:

What I’ve found so far is that what I’ve learned only goes so far if I don’t share that knowledge with the other party and get their buy-in. Not everyone knows the categories of contract language in the texts nor do they agree on the usage of certain verb structures, and definitions.

Yes and this can be difficult in the government environment.  Most drafted contract language gets reviewed and often changed by multiple parties of varying disciplines.  Sometimes the first cut, while it may be fine, gets altered so much the final product is much different.  It’s hard to get buy-in because sharing that knowledge can involve people you aren’t even aware of in the process.

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