| Never having owned a business until a few years | | | | sent the job to the second reader. The second |
| ago, I've always been somewhat contemptuous | | | | reader read the job and emailed that the job was |
| of bureaucracies in that they have too many | | | | good to go, meaning finished and ready to return |
| rules, too many forms, and too many acronyms. | | | | to the client. Our second acronym was born, good |
| This changed, however, when I had an epiphany | | | | to go, GTG. |
| this morning. Our business had become a | | | | Moving from there, we joined the bureaucrats. |
| bureaucracy. We had acronyms, and we were | | | | We had become a small cyberspace organization, |
| creating more of them. | | | | and we sent email messages to everyone in the |
| An acronym is an abbreviation for a longer word | | | | organization. Some of us are in the states and |
| or term. One of the problems acronyms pose is | | | | some of us are in Japan, hence, different time |
| that sometimes only those on the inside | | | | zones. Rather than saying my time in San |
| understand what the acronym means. Those on | | | | Francisco and your time in Tokyo, we developed |
| the outside may not. If you are on the outside | | | | within 24 hours, W24. W24 means please respond |
| and if you want to get something done, you need | | | | within 24 hours. The same email message telling |
| to figure out what the acronyms mean. The | | | | you W24 may also include NRN, no response |
| message is that you need to learn the acronyms | | | | necessary. The sender's intent is to say that you |
| used in each bureaucracy. If you want to join the | | | | don't have to respond if you are okay with what |
| Peace Corps, you need to learn that PC is Peace | | | | is happening, but if you do want to respond you |
| Corps, PCT is Peace Corps Trainee, and PCV is | | | | need to W24. |
| Peace Corps Volunteer. | | | | Is this totally confusing? |
| I do not want to join the Peace Corps, although I | | | | To us, no. This is how we do business and our |
| have thought about doing so, but I do now | | | | shortcuts make sense to us. Still if we included |
| understand how organizations generate acronyms. | | | | these acronyms in our directions so that you had |
| We started simply. In our business, we translate | | | | to understand W24 and GTG without an |
| and edit articles, contracts, scientific reports, and | | | | explanation, we would be creating chaos for you. |
| government documents -- you name it and we | | | | Today's epiphany had two parts: 1) becoming |
| do it. Our first acronym was file endings | | | | aware that we had become a small bureaucracy |
| distinguishing earlier versions of a file from the | | | | and 2) becoming aware that we used our |
| most recent version. A filename that began as | | | | acronyms in-house. We do not expect you to |
| client _article.doc might have client_article_v1, | | | | speak our language. We speak your language, and |
| client_article_v2, client_article_v3, | | | | that is what distinguishes us from a true |
| client_article_v4 and client_article_f for the | | | | bureaucracy. We know you don't need to know |
| version number and the final job for returning to | | | | our acronyms. |
| the client. The first reader finished the job and | | | | |