# Write it Down By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-10-02 Oral traditions are more malleable than those that are written down. Jokes are one of the remaining oral traditions. It is relatively easy to adjust a joke at the moment to fit the audience. The power of oral narratives is its flexibility. Written narratives achieve a different status. When something is written down, it achieves a degree of perceived permanence. It is made manifest. It is real. Documents exist in a way that hearing something does not. Organizationally, there is a benefit from having a physical document. Contractually, there is the notion of “get it in writing.” Analytically, there is Deming’s famous quote, “In God we trust. All others must bring data.” Documentation has physical and psychological weight. The same can be said for one’s thinking. People think all the time. Often, these thoughts come and go without much coherence or effect. If individuals or organizations want to build upon and benefit from these thoughts, writing them down helps. Once written, there is a shared point of objective reference from which to interrogate, explore, and expand our collective thoughts. #### Related Items [[Tradition]] [[Writing]] [[Talking]] [[Thinking]] [[Objectives]]