Mylan and its CEO Heather Bresch are under fire. It raised the price of its EpiPen product — an essential protection for people with life threatening allergies — by a factor of five in the last eight years. Mylan’s statement defending itself clarifies what it’s doing — providing rebates — but evades the main issue of…
Breaking rules is necessary, because if you follow all the rules to the letter, you’ll never accomplish anything new and original. Ironically, though, every piece of advice on the Internet — including my book and my blog — is setting up new rules (“Avoid the passive voice! Build your personal brand! Floss!). So should you break the…
If you’re an executive or senior manager, why trouble your people about clear writing? Does it really make a difference to how your organization runs? Dramatically. It will change the tenor of how you work. Frankly, “Writing Without Bullshit” is a departure for me. After 20 years as an analyst, I’m used to giving strategy advice to…
When I work with clients, we sometimes trade contracts written in legalese. Both sides have a pretty good idea what we want. So why not just say it? Just for reference, here’s what I do: I help authors with book ideas. I help authors write book proposals. I run clear writing workshops for companies. I…
Blab, a livestreaming startup with 3.9 million users, just shut down abruptly. Founder Shaan Puri’s message to the world is crystal clear. Unfortunately, he also treats his users like any other resource — they were useful for a while, but now he’s discarding them like an obsolete iPhone. Blab had a good run. In addition to its…
Macy’s announced it will close 100 stores yesterday, but you have to dig deep into the press release to find out. Here’s a news flash: doubletalk in corporate releases fools no one. Bad news smells no better when you swaddle it corporate blather. The bullshit begins with the title: Macy’s, Inc. Outlines Moves to Drive Profitable…
Yahoo’s been on a downhill slide for years. Now they’ve sold the company to Verizon/AOL for $4.8 billion, a fraction of what it was once worth. But this is good news – just ask Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. Her email to employees reads like cotton candy — sweet, airy, and puffed up. Unlike the employee email I…
I once had a cool, but ethically questionable business idea. I asked my boss if I should go ahead with it. “Ask yourself this,” he suggested. “How would you feel if everyone, including your mom, knew what you were doing? Then decide.” I decided not go ahead. That’s the same question the Democratic National Committee staff…
While others write bullshit-filled press-releases, Elon Musk tells you exactly what he’s planning, in plain language. Here’s what you can learn from Musk: write directly to the reader, be clear, be organized, and be engaging. Elon Musk’s Master Plan, Part Deux Yesterday, Elon Musk posted “Master Plan, Part Deux” on the Tesla site. It begins like this:…