I am, frankly, terrified to write today’s post. If you are a woman, I need your help. My upcoming book is full of advice about how to communicate in a clear, bold, and powerful way in the workplace. But my editor posed a question that I need to address: how are these challenges different for…
Three organizations have screwed up recently: The Motion Picture Academy nominated zero actors of color for Oscars, Chipotle made its customers sick, and the Boston Globe couldn’t deliver papers. I wanted to follow up on my recent posts about Chipotle and the Globe, and see if the Academy Awards folks could do any better. All three needed to…
Here’s the situation. You’ve been doing the same thing, probably at the same job, for a while now. You’re pretty good at it, but sometimes it’s a pain. It’s become easy; it’s not really challenging. The challenge is keeping yourself motivated, because it’s too familiar. And you’ve begun to yearn for something new. If this…
Phil Simon and I are kindred souls. He comes out of tech, has written seven books, and hates jargon and doubletalk with a burning passion. When he’s not appearing in commercials for Breaking Bad, he’s out there fighting the good fight. Here’s my interview with him. Your main point in the book is that most business communication…
Chipotle Mexican Grill’s CEO Steve Ells is “deeply sorry” after 141 of his customers in Boston College contracted Norovirus. This comes in the wake of virus outbreaks in nine other states over the past year. The restaurant chain has deployed a team of copywriters to solve the problem. Their efforts on the company’s website gave me a stomachache….
It’s just no fun if you’re the only one in your organization dedicated to clear, bold communication. Don’t stop there, spread the word. Here’s how to do it effectively. If your company, department, or workgroup doesn’t put a premium on clarity, it’s your job to change it. Remember the Iron Imperative: The Iron Imperative: You…
You might be new at work. You might be shy. Maybe you’re just not at your best in person. Learning to write without bullshit could be the best way to boost your career. We all have an image of the “leaders” at work. They can stand in front of a group and inspire us. They’re…
Two months after The New York Times‘ devastating takedown of Amazon’s culture, Amazon fired back. Where’s the whole truth here? There is none. Because by definition, stories always leave out more than they include. As briefly as possible, here’s what happened. On August 15, the Times wrote about Amazon’s “bruising workplace.” Jeff Bezos emailed his employees a non-denial…
Don’t waste words. That includes meaningless disclaimers at the bottom of your emails. This week I dismantled a recruiting email with an astoundingly low meaning ratio of 6%. At the bottom of that email was the following disclaimer: Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. This message (including any attachments) is confidential and may be privileged….