Should you project plan your family? What goes on the critical path? Here’s an idea. Bruce Feiler, the author of The Secrets of Happy Families suggests that to deal with the stress of modern family life, we should ‘go agile’. Agile is an approach to developing software that based on iterative and incremental development. It promotes adaptive planning […]
Monthly Archives: March 2014
If I could show you how one small tweak change improve your future earnings, health, and happiness, would you be interested? Who wouldn’t, right? It’s to do with active and passive surfing. The way you surf online affects your long-term objectives. For example, if I read one article from Harvard Business Review every day, and […]
Before you put your hands on the keyboard and start typing, ask yourself: Specific – what’s the one thing I want this person to understand? Response – what’s the response I want from this person? Incentive – what incentive can I give this person to reply as fast as possible? #1 What’s the one thing […]
Looking for a tutorial on proposal writing? We’ve updated the five part course and added some new sections you may find helpful. Part 1 – are you writing a proposal that customers want to read or trying to promote yourself? You need to highlight your skills but it’s how you frame, position, and empathize with […]
As a writer, I’ve worked on both sides on the fence. I’ve interviewed and been interviewed for both business and technical writing positions. Let’s say you’re planning to hire someone as a writer. What should you be looking for? You can break it down into three areas: Writing skills – have they writing samples, a […]
What’s the one difference between having a to-do list and making a calendar entry? To-do lists are static. It states what needs to be done. Calendars are a commitment to making something happen. You’ve probably noticed that systems like GTD (Getting Things Done) work for a while but then become less effective as time goes on? Most people I know […]
Summary: Writing for the web is very different from what you learn in school. The rules about grammar, structure, format, and narrative often don’t apply. In this tutorial we identify best practices on how you can improve your web writing, especially if you write for a company, corporate, or government agency. The University of Chicago “Most […]
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin Money habits are formed by age seven I didn’t know how to write a check until I was nineteen. I didn’t get my first credit card until I was twenty-three. Some of my family never had had a credit card. We weren’t poor, it just wasn’t […]
Here’s the problem. Imitation is in our DNA. You look at successful people, see how they dress, cut their hair, eat, travel, and try to copy them. The thinking is that if you replicate their actions – the ones that appear to have made them successful – you’re likely to be successful too. Doesn’t work, […]
‘I’d love to be a better business writer but don’t have the time.’ Ever hear yourself saying something like this? We’d all like to be better writers, but… How about if you could sharpen up your writing skills in fifteen minutes a day? Sound like a plan? Here’s how to do it. Getting started: create […]