In today’s world, we are all used to a superior making a last minute change to a document. Sometimes it’s a valuable contribution. Sometimes its an accurate correction of an error. Other times, it may just be a power play. The decision may be subliminal or it may be explicit, but it still forces the author to rework the document.

Last minute editing has really only become endemic because of the introduction of electronic writing and editing. Before the word processor, revising a document at the last minute meant finding someone from the typing pool who could rework the whole text - just to add a comma or an adverb.

Which made this powerplay seem amusing and quaint:

“How often has the drafter of a paper come rushing into a senior’s office, saying, breathlessly, ‘Hope you can read this right away, sir. I spent all weekend on it, and it’s got to go to the DD this afternoon. Incidentally, the girls have started typing, so I hope you won’t have too many suggestions.’”

Basic Psychology for Intelligence Analysts, Studies in Intelligence (Winter 1971)