A Case for Writing
By Aneesha Deshpande
Innovators & Entrepreneurs, May 2022
I'm struggling to write this—which is ironic because writing is precisely how teams can collaborate, spend less time in meetings and more time actually getting things done.
Collaboration is literally in our DNA. When our ancestors were wandering ancient Africa, it made sense to work together when faced with a hungry lion or when having to forage for food. And thus, the first organization was formed—a collective exchange of labor for food and resources.
That said, communication has a limit before it starts to break down. The larger the group gets, the harder it becomes to share ideas, plan, and work together.
The way corporate America has tried to solve this problem is through meetings. More meetings equals more getting done. Right?
If you're like me, you probably spend more than 80 percent of your week in meetings—it certainly feels that way.
What if you could use your meetings to actually solve complex, nuanced problems together, rather than explaining the context of the problem for the fourth or fifth time, to the fourth or fifth person? One of the answers to this is good writing.
Good writing clearly explains a problem, declares your assumptions, states your goals, and proposes solutions. Excellent writing is concise and easy to read by anyone.
But if writing is so good then why doesn't everyone do it? I personally find it easier to talk for hours rather than put together a solid two-minute read. Writing is a challenge because it takes upfront effort to structure my thoughts clearly and unambiguously.
But that two-minute read would save me literal hours in meetings. More importantly, a good document is an act of empathy towards your teammates. Your upfront hard work makes it easier for others to understand, deliberate, and think through the nuances of a problem. Because writing inherently scales well and is easy to share, it invites comments from those whose voices may otherwise not be heard.
I'm still learning to write better, it's hard but the more I do it, the better I get at it.
Good writing comes from clear thinking, clear thinking is hard to do, but it sure is worth it.
Aneesha Deshpande, FSA, CERA, MAAA, is an actuary and leads Insurance Services at Haven Technologies. She brings a breadth of experience in insurance and annuity solutions ideation, pricing, and execution within the US as well as in international markets. Aneesha strives to build a world where everyone has access to financial stability, wellness and dignity. Aneesha can be contacted at hello@aneesha.space. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aneeshadeshpande