Years ago, a wise boss told me that the most affordable attorney I’d ever hire is the one I called before making a decision or taking an action. I’ve since come to realize that the same holds true with writers. I’ve often seen organizations decide to tackle writing a new website, guest blog post, or … Read more
Companies and other organizations develop technical documents like white papers and blogs to explain the advantages they offer or to educate their stakeholders about situations or issues. Unfortunately, all too often, those efforts fall short of their objectives. Their target audiences come away not knowing any more, so the organization’s team has essentially wasted the … Read more
Not so long ago, we thought of information as a prized possession that was to be guarded closely. Today, those who are willing to share their knowledge can gain a competitive advantage. As with so many things, the arrival of the digital universe changed everything. Now, when we want to know about nearly anything, a … Read more
Have you ever wondered why customers go away? Maybe it’s all about romance. Most businesses and organizations devote a substantial amount of effort and investment to landing new customers. Interestingly, very few pay attention to the other end of that process. That’s the point at which existing customers disappear. And each time that happens, you … Read more
Time after time, I’ve watched owners of reputable, high-quality businesses walk away from their hard-earned reputations and present themselves as something other than what they are. I’m not talking about deliberate deception with intent to defraud. At the risk of sounding like an amateur psychologist, it really sounds more like a problem with self-esteem. It’s … Read more
Mark Twain’s take on prevarication remains as accurate today as when he penned it: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” We live in an age in which we’re overwhelmed by information, and a large share of what we consume is in the form of statistics. A key reason for that … Read more
“I hate staring at that empty screen and that #%#^$% blinking cursor. I know exactly what I want to say, but I can’t get started.” No matter who you work for and no matter what your role may be, your job probably involves some writing. If you’ve faced times when the right words wouldn’t come, … Read more
Do you think it’s wrong to ask questions in the headlines of your ads and other marketing materials? Years back, I had a boss who loathed questions. Bring him an ad headline with a question, and he’d reject it instantly, sputtering, “But what if the reader says no?” I’ve encountered many people like him who … Read more
It might surprise you to learn you have an emotional response to numbers. What might surprise you even more is learning your reaction is probably rooted in ancient attempts to understand and predict the universe. Numerology is the study of the characteristics of numbers. Numerologists believe everything in the universe can be reduced to or … Read more
I’d like to see more organizations put as much work into implementing their mission statements as they do in drafting them. Mission statements, vision maps, shared goals, value statements and all their frame-worthy cousins fascinate me, though I confess it’s in a cynical way. Everyone has them, but I’m not sure why. I suspect it’s … Read more
