The Power of the Pen

When looking to hire for my PR team, I seek out pros who 1) have a good attitude; 2) are willing to learn; and 3) can write well.

This LinkedIn poll bears out that I'm on the right track with writing. As the media business disappears, magazines are looking for credible material to publish in print or online. That's become our number one job -- writing articles for publications.

What's strange -- or not strange depending on your view -- is that people tend to be overconfident in their writing ability. Why is that?

It reminds me when I challenged a young lass to badminton. She was confident, based on her being the champion of her gym class (like that's saying something) that she could destroy me.

This same phenomenon also happened to me in college when playing table tennis. (But not badminton. People from Malaysia who happen to say they're the country's singles champion turn out, in fact, to be quite good.)

Then when I play them, I find out the truth. Or should I say the fiction.

I don't mind overconfidence if you then humble yourself and learn from it. But that's the second point: these people don't learn.

So going back to writing. Early in my career, I made the mistake of hiring people who were confident in their writing ability. (Yes, I took them at their word.)

After a few months on the job, when I pointed out their writing was less than adequate, I then found out they were not teachable. No desire to take a writing workshop or read a book on writing. (Whether they can learn to write after they've already graduated is great fodder for future debate.)

I HAVE learned my lesson. Writing zoomed to the top as one of the three skill sets I look for. Now maybe I should find people who can bake and bring in treats on a daily basis ;o)