August 14, 2006
PowerPoint printouts used for communicating battle plans?
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Ricks quotes an Army Lt. General who was frustrated over getting vague PowerPoint slides sent to him instead of clear orders or plans. Said Ricks:
“That reliance on slides rather than formal written orders seemed to some military professionals to capture the essence of Rumsfeld’s amateurish approach to war planning.” — Thomas Ricks, author of Fiasco
Reliance on slides rather than formal written documents — sound familiar? It should. Remember the findings of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003?
“The Board views the endemic use of PowerPoint briefing slides instead of technical papers as an illustration of the problematic technical communication at NASA.” — Columbia Accident Investigation Board
Déjà vu.
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Powerpoint is a tool. It allows the speaker givign a presentation to hit the highpoints. There’s nothing deadlier that to be “read” a presentation. Powerpoint is the index card of the presenter. To ensure that major points are not missed.
Reinke Faces Life 