-
Top Posts
-
Why Nobody Can Copy Apple
-
The Job Decision Matrix
-
Path To Green
-
You are Thinking of Your Career Trajectory Wrong
-
STOP 0xC2 aka BAD_POOL_CALLER Blue Screen and bad memory
-
The 5Ps: Achieving Focus in Any Endeavor
-
Have Backbone, Disagree and Commit
-
Work Backwards From The Customer
-
Merit Badges – A Mental Model for Success
-
Tenets
-
Retail Pricing, Markup, and Margins
-
Customer, Business, Technology, Organization (CBTO)
-
One-Way and Two-Way Doors
-
Be a Great Reader
-
Paying Developers is A Bad Idea
-
RSS
Tag Archives: writing
A FAQ About Frequently Asked Questions
A list of questions with answers written in English are a great way to drive clear thinking on all the stuff that surround the central idea presented in a narrative. This ‘stuff’ includes things like strategy, execution, technology, business, and resources.Continue reading
Tools to Achieve Clarity of Thought
This post is an inventory of tools I use to drive clear thinking. I update it regularly as I learn new tools, or gain new insights about existing tools as I use them. I am available to do 1:1 or group coaching on all of these topics. See Advising, Coaching, and Consulting | Kindel Charlie’s Clarity of Thought Toolbox Embrace Mental Models. A mental model is an explanation of how something works. It is a …Continue reading
Let Word Work For You
One of my biggest pet peeves is when I have to edit a document someone else has written and they’ve manually messed with the formatting. Microsoft Word has an incredibly flexible style system that makes creating docs that look great easy. It also makes easy for others editing the doc can keep things consistent. This isn’t to say Word’s style system is perfect. Far from it. Many of the same styling bugs that existed in …Continue reading
Clear Narratives Show Instead of Tell
This is yet-another-post on the topic of Amazon-style “six-page memos,” aka Narratives. This post focuses on the mantra: “Great narratives show, they don’t tell.” When writing things you believe to be facts, ask yourself: How do I know? How can I qualify it? Then, qualify it in your words. Tell (Bad): The BMW E28 M5 is a rare car. Show (Good): Of the 722,328 E28 5-series sedans BMW built between 1981 and 1987, only 2,191 …Continue reading
Be a Great Reader
When an organization has a culture where the written word is valued, being a great reader is just as important as being a great writer. Over time, I’ve tried to have a very high-bar for my own writing. I wrote a little about this in my post Details Matter. I’ve also learned the importance of being a great reader, and that’s the topic of this post. In the 2017 Amazon Shareholder letter Jeff Bezos wrote …Continue reading
Details Matter in Presenting Narratives
Narratives are written documents used to present clear thinking. Narratives enable readers to quickly understand the author’s ideas in order to drive robust conversations and decisive decision making. Details matter when it comes to printing narratives for others to read. Sloppy presentation of the written word detracts from content and shows the author lacks obsession about his or her customer (the reader). Authors must apply a very high standard for making it easy and pleasing …Continue reading
RSS - Posts