Clarity for the Sake of Rhetoric
What does the phrase “let me be clear” suggest when it becomes a knee-jerk gesture instead of a rhetorical flourish?
Something Happens to Writers
Many business writers become bitter and crabby. They cross the line from audience advocacy into indignant ignorance. They grouse, kvetch, and scold. But there’s a way out.
How Many Marbles?
Last year, I asked myself how much longer I think I want to work before “retiring.” I did the math and decided it would be 800 weeks. It’s a lot of time, but not much time at all.
Pure Client Joy
“You’re the only writer I trust when I want to engage more thought leaders because I know they’ll see the value and love working with you,” my client said to me. Here’s why.
How or Why?
I’m at a point now where answers to most “how” questions seem trivial, boring, or even ill-conceived. It’s all about whys and whethers at this point.
Harvesting Strawberries with a Lawnmower
Here’s what causes things in business go awry. Organizations are status machines. Companies are economic value machines. When you try to make one kind of machine do the work of another kind of machine, you get messy results. It’s like trying to use a lawnmower to harvest strawberries. Organizational dynamics cause people to save face, […]
Why Your ‘Why’ Matters
Founders, innovators, product managers: When you’re building something new, it’s easy to start ignoring the why. It’s even more likely that you forget to be vocal about why. Then you finally have something ready for investors or the market—but you feel like you’re starting at zero again. Your idea of what is new and better […]
The Path Over Points
Goals matter more than metrics. Trajectories matter more than goals. I suppose those statements go against most conventional wisdom. I still stand by them. Goals are more like way stations on a path. Perhaps they have numbers attached to them, but the numbers are not the meaning. Case in point—weightlifting. It’s taken me just under […]
Unwrapping Success: Cutting Through Marketing Clutter
You probably know the feeling. What stands between you and the thing you want is layers of unnecessary packaging. You thought you were getting something good, but you have to risk slicing open a finger to access it. There’s even a Wikipedia page for “wrap rage.” The marketing lesson is this: stop frustrating your customers […]
Content for Content’s Sake? Time to Brake and Reset
If the only thing you have to offer is content instead of meaning, just stop. Seriously. Stop. Value comes from meaning, not from filling empty digital containers with more emptiness. One of the best indicators that it’s time for a strategic reset is noticing that you’re chasing content for content’s sake. But content inertia sets […]