“How to Write”
Have always thought these were great pointers – although so hard to do — from a memo crafted by David Ogilvy on September 7th, 1982:
The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well.
Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.
Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:
1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.
~David
A Visit From the Goon Squad
Loved my first read of Egan. It’s been sitting beside the bed for too long. The passage of time is incredibly fluid in this one – and a theme itself. Thought the .ppt chapter was indulgent and confusing. Didn’t do much for me.
The rest of the story was great. Well worth the read.
****
The Chemistry of Tears
Another brilliant read from Peter Carey. The use of language and words is as brilliant as the story itself. One theme I haven’t seen mentioned is that of entrapment. All kinds of layering of the theme throughout the story.
*****
DELETE Email
I’m not a fan of email. Social is so much more immediate and conversational. And then there’s the phone. Seems like Dailmer is going after one of my habits – deleting vacation email. Good move.
I don’t understand the complaints on returning from vacation about a full inbox. Just delete it all. If it was that important, they’ll be back. Dailmer is going to do it in advance for their employees.
Atos, an international information technology company, plans to phase out all e-mails among employees by the end of 2013 and rely instead on other forms of communication. And starting in the new year, employees at Daimler, the German automaker, can have incoming e-mail automatically deleted during vacations so they do not return to a flooded in-box. An automatic message tells the sender which person is temporarily dealing with the employee’s e-mail.
The idea that this will somehow help employees lead balanced lives is right.
Employees, husbands, wifes… we all need to be encouraged to make healthy choices – it won’t always happen on its own. Entrepreneurial cultures are often high-growth and favor always on work practices. More established cultures tend to be less so. Either way the practices start with the manager setting boundaries. And the more common those boundaries are across the business, the more likely chance of them working for everyone.
I’m just looking forward to the day that email goes the way of the Fax.
This Year
Great moveI’m going to get this blog rocking again in 2013. Been to slow on the posts and not getting the posts I want to get up on the site.
I’ve also found I’ve been sharing more and more on Facebook and Twitter vs. here. That’s ok. But it isn’t a replacement for writing – which I miss. So, am going to start here and post there. Simple.
