Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 4/7/25
I hope you’ll allow me the freedom NOT to comment at the moment on the tariffs, recriminations, court filings, and the prospect of Doomsday.
What I’d prefer to focus on is making you effective, prosperous, and positive under any conditions. And I happen to know, and have practiced, the four conditions for accomplishing those ends. In no special order:
Reading with comprehension. I’m not impressed if you can finish an article or book in record time if you can’t tell me what it was about the next day or how you’ve applied the ideas in it.
Speaking with influence. Whether a formal talk in front of 300 people or a casual conversation with a couple of friends, you must have command of the language, of metaphors, of social proof.
Writing with expression. We need to make our writing memorable, rich with imagery, yet precise and brief. In a world of constant distraction, we have to command the attention of the reader.
Listening with discernment: What’s said “between the lines” and what’s not said, that might be even more important than what is said, is a rare ability. Persiflage and bloviation should become as obvious as a ham sandwich.
The command of these four communication avenues will help you to stand out in any crowd. (And we all know that, while many people succeed at standing out in a crowd, they don’t look very good while standing there.)
How do we become adept at these four, powerful abilities? By practicing them continually, not just “when the opportunity is right.” All of them improve interactions, so don’t be bashful.
Incidentally, as social proof, politician Cory Booker recently set a record by speaking for 25 consecutive hours in Congress without a break. No one heard him, he certainly didn’t have 25 hours of value, and he was engaged in a stunt for self-aggrandizement.
What struck me the most is that Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address lasted for two minutes. I look on Booker as just another politician. I look on Lincoln as one of the greatest people in history.
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. —George Bernard Shaw
Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. —Rudyard Kipling
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said. —Peter Drucker
This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read. —Winston Churchill
I can't hear you, your behaviors are too loud. —Alan Weiss
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