On more than one occasion, my wife has accused me of being the most boring man in America.

I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. I drink the same brand of beer every night. I wear the same five outfits to work (one for each day of the week). I’ve worn the same brand of running shoes for 30 years. I feed my dog the same thing every morning and night, including the people food she mooches from me.

I’m not comparing myself to Steve Jobs, but there’s a reason he always wore the same black turtleneck, jeans and sneakers every day. Work attire was one less decision he had to make and he felt he ought to project a consistent brand image for his own personal identity. It was also part of Jobs’ daily routine for getting hyper-focused so he could get out there and change the world.

As a distance runner and triathlete most of my life, consistency has been a key to my identity. One foot in front of the other. Get your workout in whether it’s raining, snowing or broiling hot. Don’t let flight delays or work demands get in the way. Never skip workouts unless seriously ill or injured.

Legendary track coach Art Gulden used to bark at as in college: “Anyone can run fast when they’re feeling good. We’re going to teach you {expletives} how to fun fast when you feel like crap.”

That philosophy got me through four separate startup companies and several tours of duty in high-pressure newsrooms.

As many of you know, we have regular Gut Check accountability calls with our clients at the same day and time every week. The calls only last about 20 minutes, but they go a long way toward making sure nothing slips through the cracks and they ensure that clients (and we) are following through on their respective deliverables.

Clients who make at least 75% of their weekly Gut Check calls, have a 10X higher likelihood of a successful engagement with us than clients who make 50% or less – or who constantly reschedule. Clients who post or publish on a consistent basis (weekly, biweekly, monthly) tend to get more views, shares and client leads from their content than clients who post or publish sporadically.

NFL quarterback Russell Wilson says: “don’t get bored with consistency. Basketball legend Julius Erving (aka Dr. J) liked to say: “Being a professional is doing the things you love to do; on the days you don’t feel like doing them.”

Hmmmm.

Motivational speaker Rob Cressy, said the most successful people he knows, have three traits in common (video):

1. They’re committed to excellence; they show up every day and get the work done.
2. They do same thing (very well) over and over and over again.
3. They cherish their morning routine (reading, meditating, visualizing and journaling, working out and practicing gratitude). Same thing every morning. Day after day. Year after year.

According to Cressy, consistency I snot sexy. “The results don’t show up immediately, but you’re planting seeds for the harvest.” In his book The Power of Consistency Weldon Long argues that you need to remind yourself constantly about what you want and what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s about getting deeply emotionally committed to the plan and taking consistent action toward implementing the plan for improved performance.

The Dog Days of summer are here. Everyone seems to be on vacation, about to go on vacation, or recovering from vacation. It’s easy to lose your focus when the temperature’s up and OOO (Out of Office) replies are dominating your inbox. DON’T.

Now’s the time to hit the ground running when your rivals have checked out and are asleep at the beach. Winners know they can’t wait for ALD (After Labor Day) to get back on track, because by then, the train has already left the station.

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

Here’s how you can support the people of Ukraine

#contentmarketing, #thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement

Mark Twain once said, “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.”

One of the biggest challenges for successful professionals is not coming across as the smartest kid in the class. When asked to do a presentation, author a guest column or write a forward to a colleague’s book, it’s natural to feel you must do a brain dump of everything you know about a topic. But true thought leaders don’t force their audience to drink through a firehose. They know less is more and they choose their words wisely.

True thought leaders give their audience a taste of their knowledge and expertise, without giving away the secret sauce. By doing so, they establish their credibility and share just enough insight to whet the reader’s appetite for a follow-up Zoom call, meeting or consultation to get more information.

I know, more easily said than done.

I hate writing. How do I get faster, more efficient with the written word? Grammarly and other AI writing tools are a start. So are the editing tools built into Office for Windows 10.0 and higher. They’ll definitely help you minimize spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. You can also experiment with talk-to-text apps. But those tools won’t help you retrain your brain for clearer, more concise thinking.

8 steps for faster, more efficient writing

1. Create an outline. You wouldn’t build a house without blueprints, would you? You wouldn’t invest a client’s money without having a plan in place or knowing their risk tolerance, would you? So, why are you trying to write without an outline? I’m not your high school English teacher. Forget the Roman numerals. Here’s all you need in your outline:
2. 3 Takeaways you want readers/listeners to get after spending time with your words?
   b. Introduce the problem/challenge and why it’s so important today.
   c. Explain how you’ll solve the problem/challenge and what the results of that solution will be.
   d. Summarize what you’ve just shared with the reader/listener and share a real-world example if possible, to bring the concept to life. Remind them of the Takeaways.

Consider drafting your outline and early drafts in PowerPoint. It forces you to be brief, concise and bullet-point oriented.

2. Get rid of distractions. Close your browser windows, email programs, and chat apps. Unplug your computer or even your router. Turn your phone to silent and place it out of view. Even if only for an hour or two at a time, do whatever it takes to nurture a healthy writing habit.
3. Use “TK” placeholders. Even if you’ve filled your outline with well-researched points, writing will take you places you never thought you’d go. If you stop your flow to look up a fact or idea, you risk wasting time going down research rabbit holes. Instead, use a placeholder like “TK” (which journalists call “to come”) and replace it when you’re done writing.

4. Don’t Be a Perfectionist. Ernest Hemingway once said: “write drunk, edit sober.” You don’t need to be an alcoholic to produce content to adopt Hemingway’s writing philosophy. Don’t be so tough on yourself. We continuously correct what we’re about to say before we put the words on the page. This is what Hemingway meant by writing drunk. During the drafting phase, just get your main point down on the page. There’s plenty of time for spit and polishing later.

5. Find your best time to write. Improving your writing speed and efficiency often comes down to knowing your own biology or psychology. You may be an early riser who writes better and faster in the morning. Maybe you’re a high nooner or you may be a night owl whose mind feels most fluid in the wee hours. Experiment to find out the best time of day for you to write and make “writing appointments” with yourself to shape your content then.
6. Walk away. Once you’ve finished your draft, walk away for several hours or several days. Don’t even think about your content piece let alone sneak in any tweaks. Only after walking away can you edit with a fresh set of eyes and ears. What seemed so brilliant in the morning is not ready for prime time when you come back to it. Don’t worry. It’s all part of the process. Your first draft is supposed to suck.
7. Read your work out loud. Better yet, dictate it into your smartphone voice recorder and play it back. You may not like what you sound like, but this technique will prevent from straying.
8. Learn from the best. Spend a little time this summer re-reading your favorite authors. It doesn’t matter if it’s fiction or non-fiction. Notice how they set the scene, draw you in, and the cadence they use to convey their thoughts. Most have great editors to make them look good, but somewhere along the line, they mastered the craft of writing.

As Nietzche liked to say: “It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.”
Conclusion

Conclusion

Being your own critic is tough, but no one knows you better than you. As with any exercise routine, consistency is the key to better writing and you need to get comfortable being a little comfortable. That’s the only way to get better, faster and more confident.

For more, see my recent posts Stop Clearing Your Throat When You Write and Keys to Writing Faster.

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

Here’s how you can support the people of Ukraine

#contentmarketing, #thoughtleadership, #practicemanagement

Follow the sniff, sip and gulp model

In today’s time-pressed society, you only have a split second to convince someone to read what you have to say. After quickly scanning the headline and subhead, a reader may take a quick glance to see who the author is and then make a snap judgement to do one of three things:

1. Drop everything and read immediately.
2. Save for nighttime/weekend reading.
3. Ignore/Delete.

By including three or four summary bullet points at the top of your content – from blog posts and articles to white papers and podcast transcripts — you’ll greatly increase the odds they’ll take Action #1 or Action #2 above.

Whether you call them Key Takeaways, Hot Takes, Key Learnings, Summary Bullets or simply Takeaways, those hardworking bullet points at the top of your content should provide readers with an instant summary of what they will learn if they invest the time to engage with your words that follow.

Not sure what to include in your bullets? Think of bullets as mini headlines that outline the most valuable things a reader will take with them after reading your piece. Is it a better way of doing something in the career or their life? Debunking a popular belief? Learning something new that most people don’t know. Deconstructing something complex and making it simple? Whatever your objective, the Key Takeaways should be brief, actionable and accurate.

How long should Key Takeaways be? No more than two lines long. Preferable no more than 144 characters which is about 20-30 words max (more on that in a minute). Use action verbs whenever possible. This condensed format forces you to remove the fluff and get right to the point. Here are some good examples from our clients’ work (click on hyperlinks to see Key Takeaways in live content):

·        At Times Like These, You Have More Control Than You Think

·        What Nonpublic Companies Need to Know About Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

·        What March Madness Brackets Teach Us About Investing Mistakes

The thing that’s great about restricting yourself to 144 characters is that you can create a tweet or post out of each bullet with a link to the full piece. Several of our clients have been “Tweetables” regularly such as this example and this one.

I have so much great material, it’s hard to pick three bullets. Hopefully you created an outline before you started the writing process. The skeleton of your outline can easily be turned into Key Takeaways. If you still having trouble distilling your content piece into a few concise bullet points, that’s a sign that you may be rambling, or perhaps are trying to cover too much in a single post, article, bulletin. It might be time to go back to the editing room or consider breaking your piece into Part 1 and Part 2 before making it live.

Sniff. Sip. Gulp. If you can’t provide the reader with a quick mini tour of your work, there’s a good chance you’ll lose them enroute to the finish line. As Investment Company Institute’s George Breeden, CAE once said in a presentation I attended, follow the “Sniff, Sip and Gulp” model.  First give the reader a sniff of your content (Headline). If they’re intrigued, then let them sip a brief sampling sip of what’s inside (Key Takeaways). Only after you’ve passed the reader’s sniff and sip test, should you hit them with the full gulp of content. Forcing them to gulp before they’ve have had a chance to sniff and sip, is overwhelming. When readers feel overwhelmed with information, their gag reflex is to hit the delete key and walk away.

Don’t play click bait game. Another disturbing trend I’ve seen is the use of provocative words or phrases within subject lines, headlines, even Key Takeaways in order to grab the reader’s attention. DON’T use “sex positions” or “salary survey” or “Kardashian” or “Musk” unless your content really is about those topics. If you do, be ready for the backlash.

Conclusion
Do yourself and your readers a favor. Respect their time. Summarize accurately. Highlight the three or four most valuable things readers will gain if they invest their valuable time with your words. If you do, they’ll be happy to post comments, share on their social channels, and keep coming back for more. They may even become clients.

Don’t agree? Tell me why.

Here’s how you can support the people of Ukraine

#KeyTakeaways, #SummaryBullets, #ContentMarketing, #GeorgeBreeden