Public workshop on Wednesday 4 August 2010

Senior management reports need to be concise, yet substantial enough that executives and directors are kept informed about what is happening and can make decisions with confidence.

Many writers find writing concise reports and board papers difficult because the issues are often complex and writing within a set template can be challenging.

This interactive workshop looks at:
-  Reporting expectations of senior management and boards
-  Using templates well
-  Highlighting the key messages
-  Plain language principles

Polish your writing skills with Mary Morel and impress your boss with this development workshop for beginners and professionals alike.

Wednesday 4 August
2.00pm – 4.00pm
Newtown Library, Newtown Community Hall
Telephone: 8512 4250

Taming templates

The latest addition to the resources page is an article on taming templates, which first appeared in the Chartered Secretaries of Australia's journal, Keeping Good Companies.

Writes and wrongs

BRW, Management Update, March 4–10 2010

Many writers of proposals and reports to company boards regard the task as a chore and a distraction from doing their real jobs. With such an attitude, it's not surprising that boards reject inadequate board papers without explanation – which in turn reaffirms the spurned author's conviction that writing board papers is a thankless task. In her book Write to Govern (The M Factor, 2009), Mary Morel argues that disgruntled writers of board papers often lack an understanding of the board's role. "They fail to appreciate the board's role or to realise that if they wrote more effective board papers they would have a better chance of having their projects approved," Morel writes. That does not mean that boards will always agree, she continues, but "they are more likely to agree … if proposals are based on quality information aligned with the organisation's strategy".