The written word is powerful. We all know that. It can be incredibly positive and motivating or, with one misplaced word, a slight ambiguity or the use of an over blown phrase can work in exactly the opposite way and kill all the hard work and good intentions.
I was trying to explain to a CEO that the ‘ planning ahead;’ phrase above, (one that he used more than once in his weekly newsletter), and while understanding entirely what he meant could be sharpened considerably just by using the first word and cutting out ahead. It took a while to sink in. In fact we revised his copy so it said exactly the same but was a third the length.
The problem is that everybody thinks they can write. Just as everyone is an expert in design. The challenge is that communication isn’t just about words. It is about impact, emotion and clarity and that is a skill and a hard skill to master while you are busy juggling all the other aspects of your job.
The CE0 in question read his version, read ours and then smiled. ‘I get it’ he said and you know what, he really did. That is why he is a CEO and a brilliant one at that. Everyday you learn something from somebody else. What I leaned was that the best leaders know when to let somebody else lead.
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