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1 Story, 3 Lessons

- Case studies, - Change management, - Clarify your purpose, - Deductive storylines, - Patterns, - Understand your audience, 1 - Design your strategy, 2 - Develop your storyline

In our most recent working session we helped Brooke prepare a ‘quick’ storyline. Even though on...

Making time work FOR us not AGAINST us

- Productivity, - Thinking Skills (general)

Do you always have too much to do?It's not entirely surprising since our only finite resource,...

One important consideration for progress updates

- Grouping storylines, 1 - Design your strategy

As always, my week unearths an interesting conundrum that has some useful insights buried within....

Diving Deeply into Big Picture Thinking and Synthesis

- Articulate your Answer (So What), - Problem Solving, - Q&A Recording, - Thinking Skills (general), Synthesis

Over the first half of 2022 a small group of us have been working on a conundrum: what process can...

Why thinking into a doc is dangerous

- Prose, - Thinking Skills (general), 2 - Develop your storyline, Communication Strategy, Writing

I was reminded this week how we must get our thinking straight in a one-pager before we prepare a...

How to ‘flip' storyline patterns

- Patterns, 2 - Develop your storyline

Sometimes clients tell me they use our storyline patterns exactly as they are. They assume that...

How poor communication and burnout can be linked

- Plan your process, Communication Strategy

You might be scratching your head about this week's topic, but let me ask you this.How often have...

Why not to use tables alone when recommending which option to use

- Articulate your Answer (So What), - Problem Solving, Synthesis

When I heard that NASA spent millions of dollars trying to find a ball point pen that would...

What to do with ‘pros and cons'?

- Articulate your Answer (So What), - Problem Solving, 2 - Develop your storyline, Synthesis

I had a fabulous question this week: where do we fit 'pros' and 'cons' in our storyline?That is a...

2 ways to spend less time prepping your comms

- PowerPoint, - Prose, 3 - Deliver your communication, Presentations

Love or hate Jeff Bezos, he has had some very, very good ideas when it comes to decision making...

How to kill off unwanted email chains

- Articulate your Answer (So What), - Clarify your purpose, - Emails, - Understand your audience, Blog

I wasn't sure if we'd have anything to work on during today's working session, but as usual I was...

The power of explaining ‘why' in getting actions and decisions

- Business Case, - Patterns, 2 - Develop your storyline, Recommendations

I have been enjoying a terrific discussion with one of my corporate clients this week that has...

Pimples: clarity of communication = clarity of skin

- Articulate your Answer (So What), - Introductions (CTQ), 2 - Develop your storyline, 3 - Deliver your communication

This is an unusual post but one I hope will help. I just responded to a post by an old friend, Dr...

INTERVIEW – Busting 3 Business Negotiation Myths

- Clarify your purpose, - Interviews, - Negotiating Skills, - Patterns, - Stakeholder Management, - Understand your audience, 1 - Design your strategy

I came to Friday's interview with Matt Lohmeyer a bit selfishly. Negotiating has often made me...

Can you tell bad news by email?

- Emails, - Understand your audience, 1 - Design your strategy

Emailing bad news has traditionally been considered risky, and often down right poor form. But is...

How to get people to read AND reply quickly to your emails?

- Emails, 3 - Deliver your communication

I realise in some ways emails seem a bit basic, or even hum drum. We receive tens if not hundreds...

How do we storyline when not making a recommendation?

- Articulate your Answer (So What), - Clarify your purpose, - Understand your audience, 1 - Design your strategy, 2 - Develop your storyline, Synthesis

Have you ever wondered whether a storyline is the right tool to use when you are not providing a...

Why ‘updates' are hardly ever JUST an update

- Clarify your purpose, - Introductions (CTQ), - Patterns, - Q&A Recording, - Understand your audience, - Updates, 1 - Design your strategy

This week's working session drew out one of my pet peeves: Updates. Leaders, of course, want you...

Is your paper really for ‘noting'?

- Articulate your Answer (So What), - Board communication, - Clarify your purpose, - Leadership skills, 1 - Design your strategy

I had a terrific question from a client today that highlighted a common strategic challenge.How do...

What to do when stakeholders disagree with you?

- Board communication, - Clarify your purpose, - Stakeholder Management, - Understand your audience, 1 - Design your strategy

I was recently asked a wonderful question:  How do we communicate with a large group that includes...

Why formatting really matters

- Board communication, - Prose, - Templates, 3 - Deliver your communication

You may have noticed that I focus heavily on the substance of our communication potentially at the...

Build a Winning Career Series with Bill Cowan

- Job hunting, - MasterClasses

I have had the pleasure of working with Bill Cowan on a series of live workshops where we discuss...

Discussion – Building a Winning Career

- Interviews, - Job hunting

Bill Cowan rightly pointed out in this week's workshop that most of us are good at our jobs, but...

How to tell a story when you can't offer a recommendation

- Case studies, - Finance, - Q&A Recording, 1 - Design your strategy, 2 - Develop your storyline, Synthesis

I am often asked a question that goes a bit like this: "How do I use a storyline when I can't or...

How to handle ‘background' in board papers

- Board communication, - Case studies, 3 - Deliver your communication

How often do you see decision making papers that begin with a section for background? And ... how...

How to know when you are stuck in the weeds

- Case studies, - Problem Solving

Have you ever wondered how to know when it's time to 'pop up' out of the weeds so you can see the...

Houston, we have a problem …

- Patterns, 2 - Develop your storyline, SO WHAT STRATEGY THEORY

++++++++++++++++++ ALERT - Those of you who are new may like to save this one for later. I am...

Exploring bottom up and top down thinking when problem solving

- Problem Solving, - Q&A Recording, 2 - Develop your storyline

This was a terrific session where we explored a concrete example that we can all relate to. We dug...

How to use a storyline as a thinking tool to develop your strategy

- Templates, 1 - Design your strategy

Two of this week's coaching sessions shone a very bright light on how storylining is about much...

A script to help you get feedback on a storyline

- Templates, - Templates, 3 - Deliver your communication

This week one of our number was using a storyline with their manager for the first time and was...