A panel discussion with tips and stories that helped the pillars of STC get through their careers with success and pride. Listen to past and current board members, conference organizers, and authors tell their stories and offer tips on how you can make the most of your techcomm life.

Each of the panelists will provide a short “lessons learned” story accompanied by a tip or two for new and intermediate technical communicators in how to get the most from their careers, how to gain respect from coworkers, and how to keep sane in the world of today in a career that has always had challenges.

Get added confidence in the importance of your career, new ideas on how to push through the madness, and learn how humor and honor that you can apply to your own success.

About the Visiting Dojo Experts

Linda Oestreich has wrangled top techcomm folks to share their experience:

Linda Oestreich is a Society for Technical Communication Fellow and former (2007-2008) President of STC, where she served as board member for about 12 years. Linda recently retired from being Project Manager, Leadership Development, at Headquarters, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. Before that, she worked in various areas of techcomm, such as HR, strategic development, software, IT, and oil and gas. She does occasional contracting for technical communication in basic editing, creativity, information design, and leadership. Linda is currently teaching techcomm at UCSD Extension.

Judith (“Judy”) L. Glick-Smith, Ph.D., is a communication expert, knowledge architect, and organizational development consultant. She is the founder of MentorFactor, Inc., the home of The Center for Flow-Based Leadership®, which focuses on helping organizations facilitate flow-based work environments. She is the author of Flow-based Leadership: What the Best Firefighters Can Teach You About Leadership and Making Hard Decisions. Judy is a past president and Fellow of STC. You can reach her at judy@mentorfactorinc.com and 770-633-5582.

George Hayhoe is professor emeritus of technical communication at Mercer University’s School of Engineering. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the IEEE Professional Communication Society, is a past president of that society, and currently edits its journal, the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. He is also a fellow of the Society for Technical Communication and edited its journal, Technical Communication, from 1996 to 2008. He lives in Fletcher, NC, near Asheville.

Dr. Jackie Damrau is a Sr. Business Systems Analyst at a commercial real estate company in the Digital & Technology Department. She analyzes and models business processes for traditional waterfall projects. In the near future, Jackie’s company is adopting the Agile methodology where writing requirements will be different, yet require the same thought and structure. Jackie has more than 25 years of technical communication experience. She is a Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and the Book Review Editor for Technical Communication. Jackie enjoys reading and spending time raising her grandchildren. @damrauja

Happily retired to the Pacific Northwest, De Murr acted as a consultant for more than 30 years (11 years in management). She specialized in the design, development, and distribution of information for a variety of products and clients. As a member of STC since 1983, De served as president to three different communities, served the international board in a variety of roles, and is a Fellow of the Society. Her avocational interests are mentoring FIRST Robotic teams, gardening, quilting, and reading long, involved novels. demurr0201@gmail.com

Mary Jo Stark is retired from over 40 years in the oil and gas industry as a geophysicist and technical communicator. She now runs Stark Sisters, a small oil and gas business. She is a volunteer trail steward for Aurora PROS,  a router for the Park Hill Library, and website administrator for Thankful Hubbard Chapter of DAR. Mary Jo served on the Boards for STC, STC Rocky Mountain Chapter, and Denver Geophysical Society. She is a Fellow of STC and winner of Haliburton’s  Meritorious Award for Engineering Innovation. rockiescowgirl@comcast.net

Watch the Video

Recorded: 4 March 2019

View the slides

Resources

Here are links to the books mentioned on the reference slide.

Leadership & Managing

• Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
• Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown
• Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
• Managing Up: How to Force an Effective Relationship with Those Above You by Rosanne Badowski, Roger Gittines, and Jack Welch

Personal Development

• The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
• The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
• Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John Maxwell
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
• Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
• Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
• Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

Technical Topics

• Rapid Instructional Design Learning ID Fast and Right by George M Piskurich
• BPMN Method & Style with BPMN Implementer's Guide by Bruce Silver
• Guide to the Business Process Management Common Body of Knowledge (BPM CBOK) by the Association of Business Process Management Professionals
• Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process (Addison-Wesley Signature): A Practical Guide To The Most Popular Agile Process by Kenneth Rubin
• The Knowledge Manager's Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Embedding Knowledge Management in your Organization by Nick Milton and Patrick Lambe

Joining Organizations

• STC
• IEEE Professional Communication Society

Learn more

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