Email: Getting the job done [AS]

I think about your question a lot: "How can some people just totally fail to have the computer skills to create useful documents?" I think it's usually due to a willful corner-cutting (personal and professional) in skills, budget, and resources. It's short-sightedness gone logistically awry. It makes for nightmares and angst among those of us who know how to do things right (i.e., what the heck we're doing).

Is it being a "hardass" if you are the one who ensures the accomplishment of the common goal? The warm fuzzies crowd (like any committee) loses sight of the big picture (which is ultimately the responsibility of those who perceive it). For all the corporate documents I've produced in my career, the contributions I've chiefly made are high quality and timeliness--esp. when I have had to announce or impose such factors on less attentive corporate minions. (Those are the sometimes thankless times when I'm most needed, but my favorite clients are those who have a like understanding of professionalism and quality.)

Divorcing people do need some help and support, but not the kind that enables them to fold in upon themselves and begin to surrender the initiative for their own responsibilities. They need to keep stepping up to the plate, not surrender in the arms of a surrogate caregiver. Her hints are fishing expeditions but you are wise to observe your boundaries.