I mentioned a little story in my previous article, which is that a colleague of mine once changed the article drafted by the department to be beyond recognition, so that “gold becomes iron”. In fact, many writers have made this mistake. Although some of them are not able to speak the jargon, which leads to “pointing gold into iron”, they also discard the manuscripts drafted by the department and start a new one.
Let’s just tell my own story. When I just entered the drafting world, when I was still a young man, I generally did not dare to touch the manuscripts drafted by the department. I only changed the bad sentences and punctuation marks, and made slight corrections to some obvious mistakes. At that time, it could be said to be cautious. After a period of time, I felt that I had understood some of the situation, and I had a little confidence in my heart, so I slowly became more courageous, and I also performed “major surgery” on the manuscripts reported by the department from time to time. Later, my spirit became higher and higher, and unknowingly, it became a little inflated. I saw that the materials reported below became more and more “invisible”, so from time to time, the manuscripts drafted by the department were thrown aside. , according to his own ideas, simply start anew, and put together a “brand new” material.
Maybe it was a fluke, or this kind of re-start was innocuous, and most of my redrafted manuscripts were well received. So, it made me feel better about myself. Until one day, a bureau chief brought the office director of the unit directly to my leader to ask for the guilt. At that time, I was still a director. The director called me to his office, slapped me in the face of the director, and kept apologizing to the director, which finally calmed the matter.
After the incident, the director very seriously convened a meeting of all our staff, emphasizing that it is not allowed to overthrow the first draft drafted by the department. At the time, I was still quite unconvinced, and felt that this was because the bureau chief came here, so they put the spell on us. Are we redrafting for the sake of the manuscript itself? Who didn’t know that rewriting was a lot harder than just straightening out the text? Why don’t you work hard enough? During that period of time, my emotions were quite shattered, and I was a little “broken” to the manuscripts drafted by all departments, “just follow without changing”, and I was happy and relaxed.
Until one time later, the director and I had dinner together after working overtime. At the dinner table, the director saw that my thinking had not turned around, so he told me very seriously. After some reason, I completely figured it out.
He said, think about it, the materials reported by a department to the municipal party committee are often studied repeatedly by the department, and the work content and specific requirements are not as good as yours. clearer? On your own whim, you have completely rejected the work ideas that others have worked so hard to study, which will bring bad consequences. Your manuscript is to be handed over to the leader, and then arranged to be implemented by the department in the form of a city document or a speech by the city leader, and the leader usually does not take the manuscript you drafted and then compare it with the department’s opinions. In other words In other words, the leader will acquiesce that the materials you report to him are the ideas and measures studied by the department. How will the department implement this change? A word that made me convince me.
Since then, I have added a note to the materials reported by the department, that is, fully respect their opinions, and then make appropriate decisions based on the decisions of the municipal party committee that I have mastered. Adjust and revise, and strive to achieve the satisfaction of the leadership and the department can accept it.
Afterwards, I also became a leader and made the same request to my colleagues. I remember one year, when a colleague of mine revised a speech given by a city leader at a work meeting of the All-Youth Communist Youth League, he made a mistake that was even worse than that of me. In addition, two key tasks were written, which is equivalent to more than doubling the work of the Youth League Municipal Committee out of thin air. Thanks to the fact that I directly led the drafting of the main points of the work of the municipal party committee, I was familiar with the work requirements of the municipal party committee and discovered this problem at once. I remember that day, just like my old director, I called my colleague to the office and repeatedly said, “Who gave you the power to add tasks to the department at will?” The colleague whispered to me. : “I think they should still do these things well.” I burst into flames and shouted loudly: “What do you think? Are you the municipal party committee?!”
Years of experience have taught me that our colleagues in the drafting world must not forget their roles. We are staff members, not decision makers. Our duty is to help leaders improve their decision-making and support the government with literature, rather than overstepping the rules, breaking the rules, and directly transforming into leaders, standing on the top of the department and pointing fingers. We are writing secretaries, but because of the particularity of the job position, sometimes it is possible to interfere with decision-making through writing drafting work. Therefore, you must be in awe of your own profession, and treat each paragraph with caution.
An old adage must be remembered: “If you enter the public gate with one word, nine cattle will not return.” Avoid it, be careful.