How to Lead, 5th Edition

Chapter 33

Write effectively

Good business writing is one of those oxymorons that is up there with military intelligence, social services and head office help.¹ It is definitely a case of ‘Do as I say, not do as I do.’ None of us is likely to write as well as our favourite novelist or screen writer. But at least we can save our colleagues from the kind of drivel that they impose on us from time to time.

For many years I was beaten up by an editor who kept on pulling my work apart. Eventually, I figured he caught me consistently on just five rules which I always broke, and still do too often:

• Write for the reader.
• Tell a story.
• Keep it simple and short.
• Make it positive in substance and in style.
• Support assertions with facts.

This sounds ...