Index:
In our complex technical environment there are many opportunities for a
competent Planner to be the subject of planning harassment. Sometimes it can be
so subtle that you may not even be aware you are being harassed. Worse yet, you
may inadvertently harass another Planner by accident.
Following are some guidelines to help you determine if you are being harassed as
a Planner.
If you are repeatedly asked the same technical question you may be the victim of
technical harassment. While it is most common to be asked the question
repeatedly within the same conversation, some instances have been identified of
habitual planner harassment. Habitual planner harassment is not uncommon and has
been known to exhibit group tendencies where members of a group may ask the same
question repeatedly. Untreated, these instances of group planner harassment can
continue for years. Politicians and only to a slightly lesser
degree, the legal profession, have been particularly identified as
sources of planner harassment
If you are asked a technical question by a non-technical person and they do not
write your answer down it is likely the question is frivolous. Most
non-technical people are not capable of remembering a true technical planning
answer for more than 30 seconds.
If you are forced into a discussion where a person uses more than three (3)
buzzwords in one sentence the person is most likely a fake and you are the
unwitting victim of planner harassment. One note of caution, competent technical
planners have been known to inadvertently use buzzwords after reading mindless
drivel like "Pleanáil" or "Planning Journal". If the person
has been known to use more common technical terms in the past such as
"stuff" and "things", they are most likely a victim of
planner magazine brainwashing.
If during a troubleshooting session a person uses the term "sustainable",
for example, "maybe we could convince the public into thinking our plan is
sustainable"; this is a sure sign of technical harassment.
If a person explains that a needed bit of information for making a decision will
be provided by a developer and that person is non-technical then you are at risk
of being technically harassed. If you believe that person, you have definitely
been technically harassed. If you don't believe them you have only been
technically annoyed.
If when trying to resolve a technical problem with a proposal from a developer
and you are advised to call the architect that designed the proposal, you are
most likely being set up for technical harassment. It is a common reaction for a
non-technical person when they have proposed a development to involve another
non-planning person. The dialogue between two non compatible technical people
however usually provides some sense of comfort in that the planner isn't the only one who
is confused; in fact, the planner is invariably the least confused as planner
harassment is easy to recognise in such a situation.