Now is the time of year when financial professionals start planning and budgeting for 2026. Many of you have told me you’re “finally ready to buckle down” and write the book you’ve been contemplating for so many years. That’s great.

Contrary to what you might think, people are still reading plenty of books even in this limited attention-span YouTube, social media, TikTok age – especially non-fiction and business.

Global book sales project to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% according to Grandview Research. And non-fiction book sales (which include business, finance and management) are projected to grow even faster, at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2025 to 2030, according to Grandview. Perhaps people are finding solace in the ability to turn pages and skip around at their own pace — and not have to download software, set a password and be bombarded with ads and chatbots.

That being said, if you decide to go forward, don’t go it alone. It’s easy to get discouraged, side-tracked or lost down a rabbit hole of research with no way to find your way out. Make sure you have an accountability partner to keep you on track, whether it’s a close friend, trusted colleague or professional editor.

You’re probably not going to get a six-figure advance or earn seven-figure royalties unless you get picked up by a major publishing house. Those fat advances tend to go to Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes and politicians with global reach. Most likely you’ll have to go the independent route. Just know that of the 3.5 million authors on Amazon, only about 1,000 will earn over $100,000 a year in royalties (.002%).

Book revenue beyond royalties

But there are still plenty of good reasons for accomplished financial professionals to write a book.
One of our CPA clients sells limited quantities of his three books ($100 cover price) but has earned over $100,000 in speaking fees and training sessions over the past two years. An estate planning client landed a $50 million case and a $100 million case thanks to his writing efforts. A family office principal has created a mastermind group for buyers of his book for which they earn continuing education credit. A wealth advisor confided that she had over half a dozen clients considering leaving her firm after their mid-year reviews. After her book was released in Q4 and shared with clients, not a single one left.

Writing a book builds authority, accelerates client trust, differentiates you from competitors, and generates new business. A published book serves as a powerful marketing tool that provides long-term, multi-purpose value beyond the initial effort.

Here are 11 benefits of writing a book for busy financial professionals:

1. The “ultimate business card.”A book instantly sets an advisor or accountant apart as an expert in their field in a way that standard credentials or a firm brochure cannot. It positions them as a thought leader with a deep understanding of their niche.
2. A tangible asset.Holding a physical book signals a significant investment of time and expertise, which builds consumer confidence. People are more likely to listen to someone who has literally “written the book” on a subject.
3. Builds relationships before the first meeting.A book provides a way to establish a genuine, meaningful relationship with potential clients long before they step into an office. By sharing their philosophy and expertise through a book, advisors and accountants can connect with prospects on a deeper level.
4. Showcases personality and purpose.A book offers a unique opportunity to share personal stories and motivations, creating an emotional bond and empathetic connection with readers. This transparency helps potential clients feel they know and can trust the author.
5. Specializes and targets niche clients.With a targeted book, an advisor can open doors to a specific, high-value audience. Writing a retirement planning book for tech-savvy professionals, for instance, makes the author stand out in a crowded market.
6. Signals a higher tier of service.A high-quality book, particularly a branded one from a hybrid publisher, can create a premium perception that allows an advisor to command higher fees. For clients weighing multiple options, a published book can be the deciding factor.
7. Generates high-quality leads.A book can be used to generate warm leads by giving copies to prospects, clients (for referrals), and centers of influence, such as attorneys and real estate agents. A potential client who has read your book is already pre-qualified and familiar with your value proposition.
8. Creates content for ongoing marketing.A book is a content goldmine. Its chapters can be repurposed into blog posts, social media updates, webinars, and email campaigns, giving an advisor a coherent and strategic content plan for years.
9. Attracts PR and speaking opportunities.Journalists, podcasters, and event planners are more likely to book an interview with a published author. A book provides an attention-grabbing angle that can lead to valuable media exposure.
10. Forces clarity and focus.The process of writing a book requires an advisor or accountant to crystallize their unique methodology, philosophy, and value proposition. This focus can help improve internal processes and offer more valuable services.
11. Improves communication skills.The act of articulating complex financial or accounting concepts in an accessible way sharpens an author’s communication skills, which translates to more impactful client meetings.

Conclusion

Becoming a published author puts you in rarefied company and helps you stand out in a crowd of purported “experts” and “thought leaders.” It takes courage to put your name and reputation on the line and codify a lifetime of experiences and knowledge into just a few hundred pages. It may not be an easy journey, but I don’t know a single author who regrets taking it.

I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing to stand out from the crowd.
#thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement, #businesscommunication, #bookauthor

Early in my career I worked in business development. I once asked my boss if I was following up too often with a prospect. Her answer: “If I was being too aggressive the prospect would let me know.” I feel the same way when it comes to clarity in your writing and communication. You can never be too clear. People rarely if ever complain about that.

Take the abuse (or ignorance) of pronouns, which seems to be running rampant in business communication. For instance, which of the following sentences is correct?

1. David’s manager said that he will attend the meeting.
2. I spoke to the client, shipper and packager. They don’t know if it will work. She voiced some concerns about cost again. 
3. The new report indicates a serious problem, but it is unclear.
4. When the medic prepared a flu shot for the officer, he winced.

If you said none of the above, then you’re correct. Let’s take a closer look at the issues.

 Sentence 1: David’s manager said that he will attend the meeting. [Who will attend, David, or his manager?]
Better: David’s manager said that David will attend the meeting.

Sentence 2: I spoke to the client, shipper and packager. They don’t know if it will work. She voiced some concerns about cost again. [Who voiced concerns?]
Better: The client voiced some concerns about cost again.

Sentence 3: The new report indicates a serious problem, but it is unclear. [Is it the report or is it the problem?]
Better: The new report indicates a serious problem, but the report is not clear about the problem.

Sentence 4: When the medic prepared a flu shot for the officer, he winced. (Who winced—the pharmacist or the officer?)
Better: When the medic prepared a flu shot for the officer, the officer winced.

Watch your antecedents

Not to sound like your high school English teacher here, but an unclear pronoun reference occurs when the reader is unsure about which word the pronoun refers to (it’s antecedent). To fix a pronoun reference error, substitute the correct noun for the pronoun or simply reword the sentence.

Trap #1 Missing antecedents

Avoid pronouns that don’t refer back to any part of the sentence.

Unclear: The buyer called the mortgage office, but they didn’t pick up. (Who is they?)
Better: The buyer called the mortgage office, but no brokers picked up.

Trap #2 Who, which, or that clauses divorced from their antecedents

A relative pronoun connects a dependent clause to the main clause. Like other pronouns, who, which, and that must refer to a specific noun or noun phrase. To create clarity, always place the relative pronoun immediately following the word it refers to.

Unclear: Return your surveys by Friday, which will complete the review process. (Which is unclear—it doesn’t refer to a specific noun.)
Better: By Friday, return your surveys, which will complete the review process.

Trap #3 It, this, that, or they used in reference to a whole sentence

These pronouns should refer to a specific noun, not an entire sentence.

Unclear: The building plan includes a co-working space, a gym, and a food court. This adheres to zoning code.
Better: The building plan includes a co-working space, a gym and a food court.. The multiple-use plan adheres to zoning codes.

OK, simple enough. But let’s look closely at pronoun confusion when the stakes get a lot higher for legal compliance and investment decisions. We found it often occurs when a second (supporting) sentence is used to modify or enhance the previous sentence.

EXAMPLE #1: The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 introduced new tax incentives (and enhanced existing programs) for producing and investing in electricity by using non-fossil-fuel means.  The current Administration had clearly signaled that dismantling parts of this legislation was one of its priorities. While the decision has led to Congressional dissent from both sides, the OBBB takes a significant swipe at the incentives currently in place. 

PROBLEM: What does “this” refer to?
Better: The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 introduced new tax incentives (and enhanced existing programs) for producing and investing in electricity by using non-fossil-fuel means.  The current Administration had clearly signaled that dismantling parts of the IRA was one of its priorities. While the decision has led to Congressional dissent from both sides, the OBBB takes a significant swipe at the incentives currently in place. 

EXAMPLE #2: Common examples of undivided real estate interests are inherited homes passed down to multiple heirs, rental properties jointly owned by siblings or business partners, and family land that’s held for generational stewardship. This arrangement is also referred to as “tenancy in common” and the two terms may be used interchangeably.

PROBLEM: Does “this arrangement” refer to family land only or all type of undivided real estate?
Better: Common examples of undivided real estate interests are inherited homes passed down to multiple heirs, rental properties jointly owned by siblings or business partners, and family land that’s held for generational stewardship. Family land is also referred to as “tenancy in common” and the two terms may be used interchangeably.

Conclusion

Clear communication isn’t just about good grammar—it’s about protecting your business from costly misunderstandings. Whether you’re drafting a contract, writing investment guidance, or simply updating your team, ambiguous pronouns can create confusion that leads to delays, disputes, and damaged relationships. Don’t rely exclusively on AI and grammar apps. When in doubt, repeat the noun and read back your work aloud.

How is your firm improving communication? I’d love to hear more.

#thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement, #businesscommunication

One of the great things about our business is that we get to work with some of the smartest minds in accounting, wealth management and estate planning. But all too often the “curse of knowledge” trips them up when they’re writing, presenting or being interviewed. Having encyclopedic knowledge of your subject area has many benefits – but sometimes briefer is better, and you don’t have to overwhelm your audience with every single thing you know about the tax code or investing or estate planning.

I’m not suggesting you dumb things down or distill everything into 140 characters. But sometimes it’s better just to give your audience a small sampling of what you know, rather than overwhelming them with a firehose of information.

Many of you work in highly technical areas. One of the best ways I’ve found to get your point across quickly without dumbing it down is to use two of the most powerful word in credibility marketing: “For example.”

“For example” is a powerful communication tool because it acts as a bridge between abstract ideas and real-world experiences your audience can relate to.

Early in high school, I remember a young math teacher who seemed hell-bent on putting a room full of freshman smart alecs in their place. When it came to Pythagorean theorem, he went into a lengthy discourse about Euclidian geometry, the evolution of the hypotenuse, with all kinds of convoluted lines and squiggles on the blackboard. Like most of my classmates, I was baffled and bombed the first quiz.

Fortunately, I took advantage of an after-school tutor. Within five minutes she explained, Pythagorean theorem explains the relationship of the two shorter sides of a right triangle, to the longer hypotenuse (a² + b² = c²). For example, in a right triangle, she said if the two shorter perpendicular sides are 3 feet and 4 feet, then the longer hypotenuse must be the square root of 3 feet and 4 feet. [3^{2 =} (9 feet) + 4^{2 =} (16 feet) ⁼ 25 feet]. So, the square root of 25 feet is 5 feet. I could visualize the triangle’s shape and could certainly relate to measurements in feet.

Here are some other reasons why “for example” is so effective in getting your points across quickly and effectively:

1. Clarifies Complex Ideas. When introducing abstract concepts, using “for example” breaks down the thought process into easily digestible chunks. The example acts as a mental shortcut for processing complex ideas.

Example: Explaining “opportunity cost” in economics might be abstract for some, but if you explain it with an example like choosing between buying a new car or going on vacation, it’s much easier for people to grasp.

2. Engages the Audience. Instead of simply stating “Effective leadership requires trust,” showing how a successful leader (for example, Oprah or Steve Jobs) gained the trust of their teams makes the idea more compelling.
3. Builds Credibility. Using examples shows that you have a deep understanding of a complex topic, say tariffs, can apply your knowledge in practical situations. It lends authenticity to your message.Example: Citing a historical example, like how the U.S. handled tariffs in the past (1930 Smoot-Hawley Act; 1980s US-Japan Steel Wars) helps reinforce the validity of your argument and shows that your ideas are grounded in reality.
4. Makes Arguments More Persuasive. Why it’s powerful: By demonstrating a point with a specific example, you provide evidence that backs up your argument. This can make your claims more persuasive and difficult to dismiss.

Example: If you’re arguing that a remote work policy boosts productivity, you could use an example of a company like Microsoft that has reported increased productivity from remote work initiatives.

5. Fosters Better Understanding. Why it’s powerful: People remember and understand concrete examples much better than abstract theories.Example: Instead of saying “Investing early is crucial,” showing how someone who starts investing at age 22 versus age 42 has a significantly larger return due to compounding interest can make the idea more impactful.
6. Encourages Action or Reflection. When your reader/listener/client sees how an idea applies to a real-world scenario, they’re more likely to think about how they can apply it in their own lives or work.

Example: If you’re discussing the importance of time management, providing an example of a successful person’s time-blocking routine might inspire someone to adopt similar habits.

*** Here are more tips for using “For example” effectively

Real world example

As investors and their accountants were grinding through tax season earlier this year, a well-known financial services company published an investor brief touting the benefits of tax-loss harvesting.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Tax-loss harvesting is a tried-and-true strategy for lowering taxes and potentially helping increase after-tax returns. When you tax-loss harvest, you’ll pay taxes on your realized capital gains for the year, meaning you’ll only consider your net gains—the amount you gained minus any investment losses you realized. Learning how to harvest tax losses is key to helping put your money to work. If you have realized capital gains, you can offset them by selling securities from one of your taxable accounts at a loss and reinvesting the money in a similar investment or rebalancing, if needed. When reinvesting the funds, it’s important to be aware of the IRS wash-sale rule.”

Yawn!

Finally, about 14 paragraphs into the guide, the had the courtesy to give us the first “For example”:

For example: Let’s say you sell Investment A at a loss of $30,000, but later in the year you sell Investment B for a $25,000 gain. Your losses from Investment A would offset your entire gain from Investment B. That means you won’t pay capital gains taxes on the $25K gain from Investment B —and you’ll have $5,000 in losses left over. Under current tax rules, you can use up to $3,000 of that loss to offset your ordinary income, and you’d be able to use the remaining $2,000 to offset gains or income in future tax years.

Great example, but I bet most clients didn’t make it that far. Introduce “for example” early and often into your client meetings, presentations, blog posts and collateral materials. Your readers, stakeholders, staff and followers will thank you and share you.

Conclusion

As humanitarian Albert Schweitzer famously said: “Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing.” Tell me how your firm is simplifying complex topics for your staff, clients and followers. I’d love to hear more.

When I’m rushing out the door late for an appointment, my wife inevitably asks me to pick up some skim milk, real butter and jumbo eggs on the way home. “Three items. Nothing unusual. I’ve got this,” I tell myself and commit the task to memory.

But then come the pesky addendums to the list about 30 seconds later. “Honey, if you see the picante salsa, not too spicy, in the jar not the can, that would be great,” she adds with full confidence that I’ll remember. “They’re right by the low-salt gluten-free taco chips, you know, with the corn meal and the sea salt not the regular salt. So, pick up an extra-large bag, not the normal large,” she adds. “We have people coming over this weekend.”

Uh oh.

I tell myself I better write this list down. I won’t have time to hit the store until after work and there’s too much time to forget. In the old days I would have whipped out a pen and Post-It note and stuck it to the dash of my car. And here’s the funny thing. The Post-It note would often go missing by the time I got to the store. But since I took the time to written down each item on the list, it was locked into my short-term memory, and I usually brought home everything my lovely wife requested.

But now everyone makes fun of my system, so I try dictating a voice memo to myself and add the request to my task-remind app. And, more often than not, my grocery run goes sideways and there’s hell to pay when I get home.

What’s going on?

In this fast-paced world of AI, digital transcription services and note-taking apps, it seems like we’d be getting better at remembering things and organizing our thoughts. But all of this technology might be making us even more distracted, less organized and increasingly stressed. Research shows that writing things down by hand improves retention, clarity and commitment and can also reduce stress.

Here’s why.

Writing engages different cognitive processes than typing or mental notetaking alone. When we write something down, we process information more deeply and retain it better. A frequently cited study by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University found that people who wrote down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them compared to those who didn’t.

The research found that the act of writing things down in a notebook or a journal involves more cognitive activity than typing it out on a keyboard or on a screen. This means that more areas of the brain are activated, and they are activated more intensely as we write compared to when we type.

There’s also the accountability factor. If we take the time to write down our goals on paper or on a publicly viewable whiteboard, we are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to achieve them.

Then there’s the act of handwriting itself. a new study in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that handwriting may be irreplaceable when it comes to learning. Researchers found that writing by hand activates far more extensive and interconnected brain networks compared to typing, particularly in regions linked to memory and sensory processing.

Neuroscientists say that when we write our goals or intentions down, encoding takes place in our brains. Scientists say encoding affects the choices we make and how we act in extremely profound ways, even if we’re not conscious of it.

“As a card-carrying boomer, I keep a paper diary in addition to my electronic calendar,” admits Cecil Nazareth, CPA, senior partner of a thriving international tax firm, adjunct professor at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and part-time field hockey couch. Nazareth is one busy guy. But as he describes in his latest book, Making A Difference, “Some of my staff laugh at me, but the paper diary really helps prevent me from missing client tax deadlines, teaching assignments and family obligations. If you write everything down, it won’t slip through the cracks,” he adds. “There’s just something about writing down an important assignment or appointment on paper that makes it seem more real and less likely to be overlooked.”

Minimize distraction and procrastination. Personally, I’ve found that writing things down by hand won’t tempt you with other distraction like digital devices do. Swipe into your phone to take a note in your note-taking app and you’ll find your finger wandering over to the Instagram app. And the Twitter app. Soon enough, even though you finished typing your note 10 minutes ago, you’re still idling the hours away on your phone.

Clarity. The human brain has on average 6,000 thoughts per day. Putting our thoughts on paper is a powerful form of decluttering. When we declutter our lives, whether it’s our brains, our desk or our garage, we become more productive. When you write your thoughts by hand, you can only write one word at a time. Your thoughts slow down to match your writing speed and you’ll find that it’s easier to slip out of your overthinking mindset. You’re also forcing yourself to decide what’s most important. But, if you’re taking notes or writing out to-dos on a screen, there’s literally endless space to do so; it’s actually pretty easy to mindlessly type out highlights from a lecture or make a list of every single thing that you’re thinking about in the moment.

Better attention span. The act of writing by hand requires our full attention. Because we are fully engaged, our thoughts are less likely to wander off into tangents. That’s quite rare in this day and age where attention spans are markedly shorter. Developing the habit of writing by hand will strengthen your sustained focus and attention muscles. This will help your complete tasks and become more detail oriented.

 Improved productivity. A study published in The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience showed that writing by hand improves neural activity in certain parts of the brain, particularly those associated with focus and attention. In contrast, the ease of typing can make it tempting to multitask, reducing overall productivity.

Frees up working memory. Our working memory, also referred to as our short-term memory, is the RAM of our brain. Our brains are incredible machines, but our RAMs are sadly limited. Unlike our long-term memory, which is vast, our working memory cannot hold too much information at a time without freezing up or encountering performance issues. An overburdened working memory degrades our cognitive function, causing us to make careless mistakes.

Enhances creativity and problem solving. There’s a reason why many creative thinkers—writers, artists, and innovators—still prefer pen and paper for brainstorming and problem-solving. Writing by hand engages different neural pathways, often leading to more creative thinking and better solutions.

Stress relief. One of the best ways to quiet a busy and racing mind is to write things out longhand. Getting our thoughts and feelings on paper can offer a sense of relief. It can turn our minds from chaotic to calm in an instant. That is what the concept of writing therapy is all about and it’s extremely beneficial for our mental health. If you don’t have the time for long-form writing, you can still engage in some writing therapy by doing periodic brain dumps. This is one of the things the bullet journal is good for. This is the process of externalizing our scattered thoughts by writing them down. At a later time, these brain dumps may be organized into lists or reflections.

In my next post I’ll discuss why writing on whiteboards is so effective for organizing your thoughts, staying on track and preserving your sanity.

Conclusion

From enhancing your career, to reducing stress, to improving your relationships, taking the time to write things down strengthens your cognitive muscles and makes you more present. Sometimes going slow is the perfect antidote to this fast-paced world.

Our free resources have more.

What are you and your colleagues doing to improve your notetaking and recall? I’d love to hear from you.

Just when I thought we were eradicating cliches like “space” and “low-hanging fruit” and “it is what it is” from business communication, a new scourge has surfaced – the duplicative. That’s when you add redundant words to a simple phrase to make it sound more important. Stop doing it!

I don’t have stats to back this up, but my guess is that the trend started during the last election cycle. Seemingly every pundit on TV was trying to analyze the “tone and tenor” of candidate X’s speech. Technically, the tenor is what you say, and the tone is how you say it. But is it really necessary to throw in both terms when you could simply say the speech was inspiring or rambling or aggressive or nonsensical? Viewers and voters would get the idea. The pundit’s just trying to sound self-important. Same goes for “The Great State of” preceding the state from which a particular politician hails. It’s pompous and unnecessary. If you spend any time traveling the 50 states, you’ll realize many of them are mediocre at best. At least Oklahoma is honest on its license plates: “Oklahoma is OK.”

Same goes for “rules and regulations” (aka “rules and regs”). Technically, rules are set by individuals or organizations and apply within a specific context. Regulations are set by governmental bodies and have wider applicability. They’re sometimes legally binding, unlike rules. But most of the time when business leaders, HR people, law enforcement or military people sprinkle “rules and regs” into their prose, it just means “you better do what I say!” They’re using the extra verbiage to sound more official. Don’t do it in your own communication.

“First and foremost” is another one of those duplicatives that grates on me. If it wasn’t the most important, why would you list it first? If safety wasn’t the airline’s “foremost” concern why would they emphasize it at the beginning of the in-flight demo? Just use one or the other when trying to state the importance of something.

“Out and about” is another one that’s been overused since the COVID restrictions were removed. “The revelers will be out and about after the concert ends.” Or “the trick-or-treaters will be out and about tonight since the weather’s so nice.” Can they be out without being about? I don’t think so. Just say: “they’ll be out” or “they’ll be celebrating.”

“Part and parcel.” Both words mean an essential part of, or “it comes with the territory” as in “being followed by paparazzi is part and parcel of being a celebrity.” Part comes from Latin and parcel comes from French but in most cases, you could be more economical by simply saying “part of” or “related to.”

Null and void. Null came from Latin and void came from French.. Together they make you sound like a well-educated legal scholar but you could easily get by with “negated” or “invalid.”

“We’re still in the early innings” started creeping up in corporate-speak and political-speak during the Major League Baseball playoffs. Just say “early on” or better yet, “initially.” When you’re long-winded like that, no one is going to wait around for you to tell us about the 7th inning stretch or the bottom of the ninth. You’ve already lost them.

Finally, when it comes to summarizing, “at the end of the day” is just as pompous as saying “when it’s all said and done.” Why not just say “ultimately“? I’ll take one word over six any day of the week.

As we approach the end of this post, you might be bracing for “last but not least” a passive aggressive way of implying that someone or something is still significant despite being mentioned at the end. “Last but not least, I’d like to thank our sales team. Without their efforts, we never would have achieved a record year.” You’re doing the sales team a favor by mentioning them at the end of your communication. It’s leaving a lasting impression on the audience. You don’t need to call excessive attention to “last but not least.” Just say “finally.” It’s the folks mentioned second or third from the end who ought to feel slighted.

Conclusion

As the old expression goes, “less is more.” If you can train yourself to get to the point using fewer (and better chosen) words, your listeners, viewers, readers and employees will respect you. Avoid redundant language that adds no value to the message. Our free resources have more

What are you and your colleagues doing to make incremental progress every day? I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re finding it harder to get your content past the compliance department and trade media editors, it’s not your imagination. These eagle-eyed reviewers are increasingly under pressure to verify facts and matters of attribution before going live. They know content shapers are increasingly relying on AI to assist them. They know AI tools often rely on outdated sources or misidentify sources or sometimes simply make them up. (More on than in a minute) So, they’re scrutinizing sources like never before. Don’t make them doubt you.

Example

Here’s a paragraph from a book manuscript a prospect sent to us for review:

“If you write something down, there’s a 42% chance you’re going to accomplish what you said you’re going to do. You must always know what you’re going to do today, tomorrow, next week and at the end of the month. It’s not just about committing to what you’re going to do today. For instance: ‘I must deliver three tax returns by the end of the week. Period.’

Only 16% of people write down their goals. Those who write down the goals are 42% more likely to achieve them.”

The stats he cited sounded very reasonable. But when we asked where he got them, he hesitated before saying: “I forget. I read it somewhere.” That’s not good enough. Then he admitted he used AI to help him draft the manuscript “and it always gives me sources,” he assured us. So when we asked to see the sources AI came up with he gave us a link to this blog post on LinkedIn. Yes, the post mentioned the 42% statistic, but it didn’t cite where it came from.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

A week later, the author somewhat sheepishly came back to us and said the missing source was CNBC because he heard it on a news report they did. To their credit the CNBC correctly cited Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University of California, as the source of the 42% statistic. But alas the CNBC link was broken and it pointed to a general bio page for Dr. Matthews, not the source of her research containing the 42% statistic. We run into second-hand bias like this often from clients who say they read something in The Wall Street Journal or Financial Times or Bloomberg. But a news report in well-respected mainstream media is typically not the source – it’s just a conduit.

If you’re curious about Dr. Matthews’ research, the 42% statistic came from a paper she presented at the 9th Annual International Conference of the Psychology Research Unit of Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), Athens, Greece. That’s your source.

Be wary of citing sources from AI

No one likes to have their hard work and research being ripped off without attribution. Academic research conducted by Middle Tennessee State University, Arizona State University and Duke University among others have found that ChatGPT and other AI tools will cite articles by an author who usually writes about your topic. AI might even identify a journal that published on your topic, but the title, pages numbers, and dates are completely fictional, according to the aforementioned academic studies. This is because ChatGPT and other AI tools are not connected to web search, so they have no way of identifying actual sources.

Since ChatGPT is based on a Large Language Model researchers found it does not have the ability to match relevant sources to any given topic. “It may do OK with some topics or sources, but it may also fabricate sources that don’t exist,” noted the Duke study. “Depending on the topic and availability of data it has on that topic, it may summarize the wrong source or provide inaccurate summaries of specific articles—sometimes making up details and conclusions,” Duke added.

Conclusion

We’re all super-busy these days. That doesn’t give us the right to be lazy when it comes to citing sources for your stats, facts and attribution. So do the work or hire someone to do it the right way for you. You’re an Elite Professional; Don’t Act Like a Jamoke.

What are you and your colleagues doing to improve your fact checking and research capabilities? I’d love to hear from you and why.

#businesscommunication, #practicemanagement, #factcheck

Space may be the final frontier, but it has no place in your business vocabulary. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve come across references to the “private equity space” or “ultra-high net worth space” in our client’s presentations, guest columns or podcast interviews. PLEASE STOP!

The word “space” is a prime example of business jargon run amok. Nowadays, it seems like every company is claiming to be in some kind of “space,” whether it’s the fintech space, the AI space, or the blockchain space. “Space” is a vague, catch-all term that often lacks substance. Stay away from it. Instead, be more specific about the industry, market, or sector to which you’re referring.

Greg Bauman of the Silicon Valley Business Journal explained that “space” is often used in business jargon to “puff up the speaker.” Beware of people who deploy it to imply mastery of a topic when their knowledge may be thin, he advised.

If you’re using AI, Grammarly, etc., to assist you that’s fine. Just don’t let those tools cause you to become lazy. Here are six more of our corporate-speak pet peeves. Chances are they’re bugging your clients, staff and stakeholders, too.

1. “Synergy” – This word is often used to describe the potential combined effect of two or more things working together, but it has become a cliché and is frequently used without much substance.
2. “Disruptive” – This term is overused to describe any new idea, product, or service that challenges the status quo, even when the “disruption” is relatively minor.
3. “Pivot” – Originally used in the context of startups changing direction, this word is now applied to any shift in strategy or focus, often unnecessarily. Maybe it’s time to pivot from your usual choice of words in your presentations, articles and podcast appearances.
4. “Low-hanging fruit” – This phrase, which refers to easily achievable goals or opportunities, has become a tired cliché in business communication. Buzzwords like these are the low-hanging fruit of business communication.
5. “Value-add” – This term, which refers to additional features or benefits that add value to a product or service, is often used without much substance or specificity. Hence, it’s not adding much value to your communication.
6. “Game-changer” – Ugghhh. This phrase is frequently used to describe any new development or innovation, even when its impact is not truly transformative. Think about how cringeworthy it is when the teenagers in your life use the word “awesome.” It’s the same thing when corporate folks use “game-changer” or any of the other jargony shortcuts above.

Conclusion

We’re all super-busy these days, but that doesn’t give us the right to be lazy when it comes to our written and spoken communication. You’re an Elite Professional; Don’t Act Like a Jamoke.

What are you and your colleagues doing to improve your communication and efforts? I’d love to hear from you and why.

#businesscommunication, #practicemanagement, #corporatespeak

With the first week of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament (aka #MarchMadness) in the books, many of you are lamenting your “busted brackets.” Don’t feel bad. An estimated 30 million people painstakingly fill out their tournament picks every year, and there has never been a verified perfect bracket. The closest to perfection came in 2019, when a Columbus, Ohio, resident correctly chose the winners of the first 50 games of the tournament only to see his picks unravel in the Sweet 16 round. For years, billionaire Warren Buffett has offered a $1 billion prize to anyone picking a perfect bracket and he’s never come close to paying out.

Why we can’t predict winners consistently

It turns out our bracket-picking prowess gets clouded by many of the behavioral biases that derail investors. According to my friend Rory Henry @Roryshenry, business development director at Arrowroot Family Office and host of the AFO Wealth Management Forward podcast, here are the five most common biases that trip up bracket pickers and investors:

1. Recency Bias occurs when people give more weight to recent events than historical data. For example, in the Big Ten Conference tournament held just before March Madness, Wisconsin’s surprising victory might lead many to overrate them in the NCAA tournament despite a so-so regular season record. Conversely, Purdue, who many saw as a top overall pick throughout the season stumbled in the Big Ten Conference tournament and caused many bracketologists to remove them from their Final Four selections. If you’re keeping score at home, Purdue cruised through the first two rounds and Wisconsin was bounced in the first round.

2. Affinity Bias refers to our natural inclination to support teams or schools with which we have a personal connection or fondness. As a proud UCLA alum, Henry says he often picks the Bruins to win it all whenever they are in the tournament even if they’re not having a great year.

3. Overconfidence Bias occurs when individuals overestimate their knowledge or predictive abilities, which can lead to flawed decision-making. Watching a lot of college basketball might make someone overly confident in their bracket selections, possibly ignoring the unpredictable nature of the tournament and the potential for upsets.

4. Confirmation Bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs. In March Madness, if you believe a perennial favorite like Kentucky is a strong contender, and all the pundits say so as well, you might ignore signs of weakness (youth, inexperience, turnovers) that could be exposed against veteran teams in the high-pressure NCAA tournament. No.3 Kentucky was sent home in the first round by No.14 Oakland, a small commuter school outside of Detroit.

5. Intergroup Bias happens when we favor our own group (in-group bias) and the negative evaluation of rival groups (out-group bias). For example, Henry said if you have a strong dislike for a team like Arizona due to its rivalry with UCLA, you might underrate Arizona’s chances in the tournament, not because of their skills or record, but because of the rivalry. Same goes for Duke vs. Carolina, Michigan vs. Ohio State and Oregon vs. Washington. Henry said: “You can bet your bottom dollar Arizona won’t be making past the Round of 32 in my bracket,” but the Wildcats have posted two convincing victories so far and are favored again in the Swett 16.

Then there are the intangibles like team chemistry and culture. As my friend Dan McMahon, Managing Partner of Integrated Growth Advisors (and a diehard UConn Huskies fan) wrote recently:

“While athleticism and recruiting budgets are important, the most successful teams in the tourney year after year are those with strong cultures built on trust, communication, and shared values. On these teams, every member of the roster from the stars to the walk-on benchwarmers are valued and has a unique role on the team.”

As I’ve learned over the years, filling out your brackets is like constructing a diversified investment portfolio. You’re trying to find the right balance between the “safe picks” (the top seeded, blue-chip stocks) and the “upset picks” (the undervalue lower seeds, aka small cap growth stocks) that earn you bonus points and separate you from the other players in your pool. That’s where team culture, like a strong company management and culture can trump financial statements and team stats.

Now, let’s look at how these bracket-picking biases relate to investing:

Recency Bias. Investors believe that last year’s top performing stocks and funds will repeat their success in the current year. In reality, last year’s top performers are usually in the middle or bottom third of the pack the following year. Remember how well tech stocks did in 2022 or how poorly energy did? What a difference a year makes. Same goes for all the bracket pickers going for last year’s Final Four participants San Diego State, Connecticut, Miami and Florida Atlantic. Only UConn and San Diego State remain this year. Miam and Florida Atlantic didn’t even qualify.

Familiarity Bias. It’s amazing how many people pick their alma mater to do well regardless of the team’s record or who else is in its bracket. People also tend to overweight teams that are in their geographic area because they hear about them all the time on the news, or because many family members are alums. The same goes for investors who overweight their portfolios based on the industry in which they work, or Fortune 500 companies located nearby.

The reciprocal of Familiarity Bias is Unfamiliarity Bias. That’s the tendency to ignore promising investments because you’re not familiar with the company or industry – or ignoring promising overseas markets because you’re not familiar with the language or the culture. Same goes for March Madness. West Coast hoops fans are far more likely to overlook East Coast powerhouses like UConn, North Carolina and Marquette, even though both programs have been in the national top 10 and make it to the Big Dance almost every year.

Overconfidence Bias is another derailer for both investors and bracket players. Most pool participants have massive confidence in top-ranked teams. Yet, only once in the history of the tournament (2008) have all four No.1 seeds made it to the Final Four. Some years only one of the four No.1 seeds will make it that far—you never know which one. Same goes for investors who overweight the Magnificent Seven or Dow 30 stocks.

Following the Herd. Oddsmakers love it when the American public stampedes over itself crowding into the same bets. History shows all four No.1 seeds almost never make it to the Final Four in the same year, but once again, those top four rated teams have the most votes to make it to the Final Four this year. And two of those teams (Houston and Purdue) have never won a national title despite years of success. Reminds me of all the investors who continue piling into Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla (and Bitcoin) despite their frothy valuations.

The “Halo Effect” comes into play when investors blindly follow the recommendations or investing choices of gurus such as Bill Gross and Warren Buffet. It’s the same when bracket pickers blindly follow the wonky statistical models of KenPom, 538, and RPI, or blindly pencil in the “sleeper” picks of TV analysts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, or former President Obama. As with the stock jockeys on TV, the picks of the expert hoop heads on TV rarely pan out.

Then there’s the fallacy of “breakeven,” a mental accounting trap that has plagued gamblers and investors alike for centuries. How many times have you held on to a losing stock for years, just waiting for it to get back to the original purchase price before you dump it? Likewise, how many people keep selecting BYU (31 tournament appearances without a title); Tennessee (26 appearances without a title); Alabama and Creighton (25 appearances without a title) to go far in the tourney because they have great records again and this time, you tell yourself, it’s finally their year. Or maybe, you tell yourself, it’s the Zags’ year because they’re long overdue for a championship.

Gonzaga University, formerly a little-known “microcap” from eastern Washington is now a mighty mega-cap in the world of college basketball. The Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA tournament an amazing 25 straight years and have never come close to having a losing season during that span. They have an impressive record again this year. The majority of bracket pickers have the Zags brand penciled in for another deep run in the tournament – because they always do — despite the fact that Gonzaga has never won the championship. EVER.

Conclusion

Whether investing, gambling, or taking part in the friendly office pool, always check your emotions at the door. Working with an objective, independent advisor is one of the best ways we know to prevent your intuitions from causing you to stray from your plan and making costly turnovers that will shake your confidence and derail your plan.

Who’s your pick to win it all and why? I’d love to hear from you and why.

#marchmadness, #behavioralfinance, #bracketsbusted

Simple steps for breaking through

Whether you have three books to your credit or agonize over a monthly blog post, there are at least a dozen reasons why it can be challenging to edit our own writing effectively. How many of these traps below sound like you? If you answered, yes to three or more, I have some suggestions for you at the end of this post:

1. Familiarity bias: We are intimately familiar with our own thoughts and writing. This can make it difficult to spot errors or areas that need improvement. Our brains tend to fill in gaps and overlook mistakes because we know what we intended to say.
2. Emotional attachment: We often develop an emotional attachment to our writing, making it hard to be objective and critical when editing. We may be reluctant to make significant changes or cuts because we’ve invested time and effort into the piece.
3. Lack of distance: When we’re deeply involved in a piece of writing, it’s hard to step back and view it with fresh eyes. We may be too close to the material to see it from a reader’s perspective.
4. Confirmation bias: We tend to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs or interpretations. This makes it harder to identify flaws or weaknesses in our arguments or explanations.
5. Blind spots: We may have blind spots or areas of our writing that we simply can’t see objectively, whether it’s due to our writing style, subject matter expertise, or personal biases. Sound familiar?
6. Editing fatigue: Editing requires sustained concentration and attention to detail, which can be mentally draining. After a certain point, our ability to spot errors or willingness to make improvements will diminish.
7. Difficulty with self-criticism: Some writers struggle with being overly critical or not critical enough when evaluating their own work. This makes it hard to strike the right balance.
8. I need every sentence to be perfect before I go on to the next. Instead, write quickly in a stream of consciousness style and then go back and revise, revise, revise. As Voltaire liked to say: “Don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good.”
9. Data dumping. I want to share everything I know about a subject. Spoiler alert: Nobody cares how extensive your knowledge is. True genius comes from distilling complex subjects into easily understandable bite-size nuggets. Doing so will prevent you from succumbing to Smartest Kid in the Class Syndrome.
10. I handle complex multi-state tax returns, multimillion-dollar estate plans and retirement plans for Fortune 1000 executives. How hard can writing be? Probably harder than you think.
11. Impatience/tech reliance. I don’t make my living as a writer. I don’t have time for this. Why can’t I just let AI/Grammarly and software do it for me? How well did those Cliffs Notes work out for you in college?
12.   Writing is something many people find unpleasant. It’s easy to put it off and avoid it until the inevitable deadline comes bearing down on you.

8 Tips for editing your own writing

1. Take breaks from your writing. Set your timer for one hour or a specific time of day. Then hit the save button on your work. Walk away for several hours or better yet, for at least a full day. You’ll come back with a fresh set of eyes and usually a surprising amount of clarity.

2. Seek feedback from others – people who you can count on to give you to tell you the truth.

3. Read your work aloud. Is it cringeworthy? Where does it start to drag? Does it sound like you?

4. Start with the end in mind. What are the three most important takeaways you want your reader to gain from reading your work? Write them at the top of your piece and make sure you have answered them clearly. In your conclusion, remind the reader the expert insights you just shared with them. Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell them. Then you tell them. Then you tell ‘em what you just told ‘em.

5. Create an outline before writing. Start simply with the introduction, then the purpose of your piece, followed by the three to four main points and a conclusion. After that, it’s just a matter of filling in the blanks.

6. Just get started. If you’re a procrastinator or perfectionist, taking the first step is the key. As the old saying goes: “You can always edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page. Your first draft is supposed to suck. Just get your thoughts on paper and revise, revise, revise.

7. Get an accountability partner who will keep you on task. It could be a trusted colleague, good friend or even a writing coach who can make sure you have your outline, rough drafts and final drafts completed by the dates to which you committed. NOTE: I don’t recommend using your spouse as an accountability partner unless you can prevent criticism of your writing from spilling over into other areas of your relationship. That said, you can always do what our client Kyle Walters recommends and use the ‘Call Your Mom’ Strategy. She’ll always tell you the unvarnished truth

8. Make a hard copy and use a pencil. Not to be anti-green here, but before you submit your final draft, make a hard copy of your work (print on both sides) and take out a pencil to do a final review of the piece. Personally, I’ve found it useful to read the hard copy to myself aloud. Using a pencil and reading aloud slows your brain down and forces you to listen – really listen — to what you’re trying to say.

As Ernest Hemingway liked to say: “Write drunk, edit sober.”

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter how well you know the numbers, without having a solid command of the English language you won’t be taken seriously. After all, You’re an Elite Professional; Don’t Sound Like a Jamoke

#grammar, #businesscommunication, #selfediting, #thoughtleadership,

Most of you are armed with grammar apps, spell checkers and AI. But we’re still seeing plenty of grammatical fumbles in your submissions. Take the word “irregardless.” It’s frequently misused because it appears in most dictionaries and sounds more imposing than simply saying “regardless. ” By adding the prefix “ir” (which means “not”) to a word that already means “without regard,” you’re essentially saying: “not not without regard.” Huh!?

Using double negatives makes you sound unprofessional and unattuned to the details. That’s a liability if you’re in professional services even if your software doesn’t flag it. Most of the time “regardless” will suffice when you’re implying that something will happen (or is true) without being influenced by other conditions.

TIP: Try substituting “regardless” for “irregardless” in each example below.

• Irregardless of opposition, he still wanted to expand the team.
• They decided they would go ahead with the plan irregardless of the risks.
• She elected to buy the growth stock irregardless of the high valuation.
• I’m not sure about your tax advice, but I’m going to follow it irregardless.

Did the meaning or intent change? No. Are the sentences cleaner and more economical? Yes. Did you save your reader time? Yes. Stick with regardless.

I could (or couldn’t) care less?

On a recent NBA telecast, analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said: “I could care less what people think. People are stupid.”

Barkley is an imposing 300-pound individual who was known as The Round Mound of Rebound during his playing days. I might not correct Big Chuck in person, but if he “could care less” what people think, it implies that he does care at least a little bit what people think of him. Likewise, many of you have said you “could care less” about clients who ignore your advice or you “could care less” about Jim Cramer’s latest stock tip on cable TV. Please tell me you didn’t mean that!

When you get a chance, tell your software that “could care less” and “couldn’t care less” are often used interchangeably, even though only one of them technically conveys the intended meaning.

People will often use “I could care less” as a shorthand way of showing how little they care. But “I could care less” implies that you still have a little room left in your subconscious to care about something — even though you don’t hold it in high “regard.” Would your interest be piqued if new information or your circumstances changed? That’s what you’re implying by using “could care less.”

For all intensive purposes, don’t peek

Speaking of “piqued,” it’s spelled with a “q” if you’re trying to show interest in something. I’ve seen some of you mistakenly write “peaked” (as though your interest level is no longer as high as it used to be) or “peeked” (as in you took a quick look at something but didn’t study it further). “Peaked” and “peeked” generally won’t get flagged by your tools, but they’re not the correct word choices in the aforementioned situation. So, for all “intents and purposes,” follow the rules above and you’ll be just fine. By the way, “intents and purposes” is correct if you mean “in effect” or “essentially.” Don’t say: “intensive purposes”!

It’s great to have spellcheck, grammar apps and AI to assist you. However, you can’t go wrong by reading your work aloud before submitting it or consulting with a trained professional if you’re not sure. I hate grammar, too. When in doubt, I just keep it simple and try to be as economical as possible with word choices. As Barkley famously said when asked about his formidable rebounding technique: “Yeah, I’ve got a technique. It’s called just go get the damn ball!”

Conclusion
It doesn’t matter how well you know the numbers, without having a solid command of the English language you won’t be taken seriously. After all, You’re an Elite Professional; Don’t Sound Like a Jamoke or #TheRoundMoundofRebound.

#grammar, #businesscommunication, #thoughtleadership, #TheRoundMoundofRebound