Key Competency #5: Brevity

If there's one thing I struggle with most when writing these blog posts, its knowing how long to make them. If I make them too long, I risk the reader losing attention. On the other end of the spectrum, making them too short runs the risk of not explaining something thoroughly enough.

In most cases, I think making them shorter is probably better. Pretty much everything life is better when its shorter, hence why I'm labeling "brevity" as a key competency.
How many of you have sat in a meeting that has gone on for far too long? By the end of the meeting, you can tell you're not the only one who feels that way. Glazed looks pepper the crowd, with many simply staring down into their "laps" (aka phones).

This is one of the points that the Heath brothers drive in their excellent book, Made to Stick. If you want your idea to stick in the minds of your listeners, it can't be long form. People just don't retain information that well. The very first "S" in the Heath brothers' SUCCESs acronym is "simple".

To quote the infamous Michael Scott, we should keep another acronym in mind: KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

And keeping my own advice in mind, I'm going to end this post here. Peace!

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Five Albums to Listen to This Autumn

There's no doubt in my mind that autumn is my favorite season. I love everything about it. Of course, there are the things like cooler weather and pumpkin-flavored treats, but it goes beyond that for me. Falling at the end of the year (pun not intended), autumn signals an end of sorts in a number of ways. The year is coming to a close, so I find it as a time of reflection. Nostalgia is a very appropriate word here. Anyway, music is something very important to me, and I purposefully don't latch onto a single genre of music since I since there is a time and place for everything. The fall is no exception, so I wanted to share five albums you should give a listen to this autumn. I'll even take it a step further and recommend a specific song from each album, too. Without further ado, let's get into it.

"Money Only Makes You More of Who You Are"

On Christmas Day of 2002, 55-year-old Jack Whittaker was lucky enough to pick the winning numbers of the Powerball, earning him a whopping $314.9 million, the largest ever lottery win at the time. Jack was already doing pretty well for himself as the president of a construction company, so this windfall had pretty much set Jack for life. Shortly after his win, Jack seemed to have his life on track. He donated a good chunk of money to philanthropic efforts. But this lifestyle wasn't to last. Things quickly took a turn for the worse. Foolish with his money, Jack carried around enormous sums of cash in briefcases just because. Because of his reputation of carrying around this cash, he was robbed multiple times. Jack also lost a ton of money literally gambling it away. And if that isn't bad, it gets worse. Jack's granddaughter, only 17 years old, was found dead (presumably murdered), wrapped in a tarp and dumped behind a van, reportedly with many drugs in her system....

Thinking Big

Steve Jobs is often cited as one of the greatest influencers in modern business, and rightfully so. He not only helped to establish one of the largest companies in the world but helped to resurrect that same company from almost certain death in the late 1990s. Time and time again, Jobs helped usher in a new idea via a new product that would ultimately revolutionize the industry again and again. Those familiar with the popular biography by Walter Isaacson will know that Jobs's sustained success had a lot to do with what people called a "reality distortion field". Under this "reality distortion field," Jobs had an almost magical influence to make people truly believe in anything Jobs had to say, regardless of how wacky it seemed at the time . Where some people looked at Jobs as insane because of this, history has proved in favor of Jobs with the success things like the original Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and even the Pixar Animated Studios. So, what was it ...

Who Do You Think You Are?

Worldview. Religion. Outlook. Passion. Whatever word you choose, we all have some sort of identity. Some people are able to put a finger on that more easily, labeling themselves as Christian or Muslim. Some have a general sense of who they are, noting that they promote family values and being a good person. And then there's another category of people altogether. These people may not admit it to themselves, but there is a particular person, object, or idea that drives their entire lives. This last group makes me nervous, especially when a person's identity becomes wrapped up in their job.

The Problem with Hierarchical Hiring

I browse LinkedIn pretty often, and the category of things that appears most on that main feed are inspirational quotes by inspirational leaders. Folks like Richard Branson and Simon Sinek appear most often. More specifically, the quotes have a central theme to them: companies need to hire good people. For example, one of the latest quotes I've seen on my feed include this one from Tina Fey: "In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and getting out of their way." That's a great sentiment, but is that really reinforced in reality?

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