Rob Biesenbach 
All corporate annual reports should come with a disclosure notice on the inside cover, detailing the amount of staff hours invested in creating the report and the number of drafts/rounds of approval it went through on its way to completion. That, more than the financial statements or the chairman’s letter or the glossy spreads inside, … Read more
I am far from a social media expert, but there are three things Twitter users do that drive me insane and that absolutely violate fundamental principles of good communication. 1. Auto Tweets I understand it’s an efficient way for busy people to schedule out their tweets over the course of a day, but it’s important … Read more
Are there really people out there telling the same old tired stories about the ship vs. the lighthouse or the Chevy Nova in Latin America? Both are myth, by the way, which doesn’t necessarily disqualify a great story. What does disqualify a story is that it’s been told over and over again by millions of … Read more
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of being told what to do. Just this morning before breakfast I had more than 100 people giving me advice via articles and blog posts in my RSS feeds, email subscriptions, LinkedIn and Facebook. (And that’s not including Twitter.) The Dos and Don’ts of This and … Read more
Chit-chat, jibber-jabber, blah-blah-blah. Many of us feel awkward making so-called “small talk.” I know I do. Mitt Romney clearly does. It seems like an inescapable part of getting along in life, in the workplace, and at networking events. But it doesn’t have to be that way. One of the best lessons I’ve learned on networking … Read more
I came across an excellent article in a little journal known as the New York Times about the “music” of language. It really spoke to me, as I’ve always said that while I have no actual musical talent, I do seem to have a knack for understanding the rhythm and flow of language. That’s probably why I … Read more
There’s quite the tempest going on at my alma mater, the University of Virginia. And they don’t seem to be handling it well. The school’s president has been essentially ousted by the Board with seemingly no notice and little explanation. Apparently she was well respected by the faculty and popular with students and everyone is … Read more
I talked the other day about how writers squander their most powerful words and ideas by burying them. Just as bad is the opposite problem: growing overly fond and even dependent on certain words to the point we repeat them incessantly. In the book I call them crutch words, and when you learn what yours … Read more
Writers constantly struggle to find just the right words. But then we go and squander them by burying them somewhere in the middle of a sentence, undermining the strength of the point we’re trying to make. The issue is captured in a book I often reference: Story, by Robert McKee, which is widely acknowledged as one … Read more
They say dead men tell no tales. But dead companies do. And not all those tales are cautionary. At first glance, you might not think much of the old Montgomery Ward headquarters building in Chicago. But its design holds a powerful lesson. And not just for architects — for anybody. Why are the corners blocked … Read more