What makes an idea powerful? That’s a question I’ve been pondering for the last five years. Powerful ideas have to be right, new, and big. But they have to be simple, too — or at least simple to express. The realm of pure ideas is Darwinian. Some spread, some die. If you have an idea, you need…
If you think too much jargon is creeping into your writing, try reading it aloud. If it sounds anything like this, you may have a problem.
Today’s post is my first unboxing video. The new book by Jay Baer, author of Youtility, is Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers. If you’re smart, you’ll give it a look, because customer service is the new marketing.
Fear makes people hide their meaning with extra words. It backfires. We know you’re afraid. Adding words make people less likely to trust you. A friend forwarded me an excellent example: a 414-word missive about financial improprieties in the school district of Northborough/Southborough, Massachusetts. I know how this letter must have developed: a panicked set of people at the…
Warren Buffett recently released his letter to shareholders for 2015. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway consistently delivers excellent financial results; his letters to shareholders consistently deliver clarity, humor, and wisdom. Let’s take a look at just how much better Buffett’s prose is than the muddy, overly technical, jargon-laden and obfuscatory verbiage that makes up most investor communication….
Apple has already convinced half of America that it has a case to defy the FBI. Now Tim Cook has extended the company’s clear, jargon-free communication to its own employees, and to the public with an Answers page. According to a survey of over 1,000 people from the Pew Research Center, 51% of the respondents think Apple…
Apple’s in a bind. The FBI wants them to crack the encryption on a San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone. Apple believes that’s a dangerous precedent. Apple CEO Tim Cook’s open letter is breathtakingly simple and clear. Learn from it. Here’s Apple’s logic: Breaking encryption creates a “back door.” Any such back door would inevitably get out. Thieves…
Maybe you saw the football game last night. You probably noticed the commercials. Some were funny and sharable. Some were effective for the brand. But not that many were both. If you talk about your product, you’re probably being boring. If you try to be funny or cool, you risk wasting effort, leaving the viewer mystified about…
The press release for Pepsi’s new bar (oops, I mean “experiential lounge”) shows how you can pump up almost anything with extra fizz. This is fashion. Fashion can’t just use simple words like “blue” and “polyester”; similarly, a fashionable bar talking about drinks would sound boring. So we get “experiences.” Let’s look at some fabulous excerpts. I’ve…