Around six months ago I started working with a client on their long term strategy. The first draft they shared with me was around sixty pages long and the core points were very much buried within several sections within the lengthy “tome”. Last week, after much discussion, cogitation, iteration, the version sent out was just a few pages long with the key points on the first page, so they were able to send it out with a note along the lines that it is “readable over a coffee”.
A lot of my work with leaders is in helping them distil their message down to one page, or even one or two words.
I write around such topics often, with two examples being; “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” and “Can you get your message down to one or two words?”. In the latter of those two posts, I noted:
“a friend of mine recently told me that when new people join their business he tells them “read everything by Michael Lewis” so they can understand how the world works. I quite agree, he is both eminently readable and has a way of focussing on how humans behave and how that can both create great wins and also massive losses. It is also a simple message: “read Michael Lewis””
Do you want to make it easier and faster for yourself?
This could be:
- To make your speech shorter
- Land the message of your discussion or strategy paper “over a coffee”
- Get your vision and strategy onto one page so everyone in your organisation undestands and can apply it
- Perhaps you would even like to get your message down to one or two words?
If so, call me, I can help. I can be your “Context Whisperer” 😉