Respect Is an Act of Courtesy

The E3 text production and our diligence are an act of respect towards the SAP community. For the E3 editorial and graphic team, it is our duty to ensure that the content we produce is as accurate, high-quality, and informative as possible for our readers.

We were astonished to learn that an agency was interested in including the submitted text in the magazine without any changes. For 25 years, we have been producing the E3 magazine and have acquired a great deal of knowledge and experience in the process. We are not privy to the specifics of the SAP partnership, but we are well-versed in the nuances of the SAP community and understand the significance of optimal layout, grammatically correct spelling, and, ultimately, reader-friendliness.

However, the text agency representing the SAP partner required a verbatim copy of the submitted text, so the interview commenced with: "Good morning, John Doe. As CEO of XYZ, could you please provide us with an overview of your company's IT security status?”

"Hello" is an appropriate greeting for friends, but it is not suitable for use at the beginning of a C-level interview or an official cover letter. And on what basis is this assumption being made? It is now common practice to speak informally in professional contexts, particularly in informal settings between friends and good work colleagues. However, I believe that establishing a rapport with anonymous readers is unprofessional. There is a lack of respect evident in this approach. The act of politeness is missing when the opening question is, what do you have for us? Please provide an update on the latest developments. What are our collective objectives?

Respect is contingent upon the journalistic form and the environment. It is not uncommon for a commentary in a specialist magazine to make use of a certain degree of fraternization. In this context, the typical author is a person writing to like-minded people, or people who find themselves in a similar situation. Discussing a common experience is reason enough for using more informal forms of address. An interview with a member of the C-suite, however, should be conducted with a professional demeanor and a respectful distance.

Another example of the discourteous and disrespectful treatment of the reader can be found in this issue of E3. A highly successful SAP partner required that the company name be written in capital letters, in accordance with the specifications set forth in the CI (corporate identity) guidelines.

The E3 magazine serves as a communication platform for the exchange of information and the transfer of knowledge. This publication is not intended to serve as a corporate magazine with a CI mandate. SAP has unfortunately misspelled the database name, which is pronounced "Hana." It is worth noting that spelling rules also apply to company names. Apart from a CI, which has no place in an independent magazine, the use of capital letters in a continuous text has the effect of destroying the typeface, making it difficult to read.

The famous founding editor of the German news magazine Focus, Helmut Markwort, coined the saying: "Facts, facts, facts and think of the readers!" For those who really think about their readers, respect is an act of courtesy and a matter of course.