Hack:
Should we report with document?

I would like to give the example of lessons learnt. Many organisations take lots of time to record Lessons Learnt for posterity. What people forget about lessons learnt is that they only make sense in context/narrative, yet most are recorded in bullet point in ever-growing spreadsheets and impossible to use.

It is far more important to take the time to discuss lessons learnt with all involved in a project (joined responsibility) and commit to sharing those lessons as and when relevant to the next project you are involved in. Sharing and re-using these lessons in person is far more powerful then sharing a spread sheet that only makes sense to the person who created it.

However ... we can now have the best of both worlds. Online collaboration platforms mean that lessons learnt can now be shared with a much wider audience, far beyond all involved in your next project. So writing it down has a purpose but note that collaboration platforms encourage narration rather than spreadsheets with bullet points.

It is also important that you play to your strengths. If you are better at verbal over written communication, then makeit verbal! And vice versa!

You are right. Humans love oral conversations and hate paper. Just because you put something on paper doesn't believe you agree, believe, or commit to it. Oral conversations are typically more productive.

Here's an example: I teach coaching classes in corporate universities. Whenever I ask managers how helpful paperwork is to employee coaching, I rarely get positive results. If you find a common language with people, oral communication is fine. If you don't find a common language, it doesn't matter if it's oral or on paper. It will be wasted.

One assumption here is that an oral presentation would not be specific enough. The obvious response would be to include the details in the oral presentation, but perhaps what's more likely the case is the boss wants to know too many details as in a micromanaging type situation.

The other assumption is that documenting takes too long. Is it not possible to modify the type of documentation required so as to meet both needs? Perhaps an oral presentation overview and details in the written documentation? One benefit of documentation is reference for later use. Orally this would mean something like a powerpoint presentation or even a video.

Your fellow MIXer has a similar idea: http://www.managementexchange.com/content/no-contracts

I think this is a great question—I'd love to hear more about how you would propose going about this kind of radical change. Here's what I said to Miguel: I've run across some companies that have 86'd the performance review and all of the associated paperwork. They have a "one sheet of paper" practice where the manager and employee sign a "dummy" form once a year to hand to HR and then practice immediate, continuous feedback throughout the year. Definitely more radical (and interesting) to think of getting rid of the paperwork between organizations.

I think one of the reasons why it is put in black and white is for it to be recorded for posterity sake and to reduce ambiguities. I am for using various methods of communication to get ides to the table and to not lose the moment sometimes. But I think written reports allow for greater detail and sometimes while time consuming affords one the time to get it right.