Observed

The Battle of Jericho, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1851-60. Joshua and the Israelites marched around the walls of the fortress seven times before blowing their horns and bringing down the walls.

Looking for a good way to be remembered?  One route is literary.

Another way is more quantitative than qualitative.  More about deployment than style.

I’ll call this one The Rule of Seven.

Most behavioral psychologists will tell you that it takes between about five and seven impressions for most humans to store anything in their long-term memory.  Short-term memory, BTW, lasts about 18 seconds; long enough to remember, for example, a phone number. (more…)

Shoemaker, Das Ständebuch, 1568

There are two kinds of entrepreneurs:  Craftsmen and Opportunists.  Picture the first type bent over a workbench or keyboard perfecting whatever.  This one figures that the excellence of their product is enough to keep the work coming in.

The other type of entrepreneur has a pair or binoculars, a periscope (that can look around corners) or some other kind of optic or diagnostic tool.  This type is looking for…well, opportunities.  Potentially lucrative gaps in the supply chain where the competition is thin or thinner.

I’m a little of both types.  As a freelance writer, I had better be crafting something of high quality for which there’s a profitable market or I cannot sustain what I do.

That’s what I do.  It’s not, however, what I’m selling. (more…)

Clients often give me content that is bulleted…or lends itself to be listed that way.  This usually turns into a teachable moment.

If they’re attorneys (a lot of them are), they tend to be VERY linear thinkers.  They believe the most important thought or item in the list ought to go first, with whatever follows coming more or less in descending order.

While they didn’t sign up for the lecture, I give it to them anyway.  It goes something like this:

I say, “Not all readers are as linear as you are.  Whether it’s a list, an article or magazine, studies suggest that people are likely to skip around.  They MIGHT even begin at the bottom.”

Once this heresy has soaked in for a moment, I offer them the science behind that kind of graze-as-you-go reading behavior. (more…)

I’m a big fan of consistency.  And its cousin, repetition.

These qualities make a lot sense…most of the time.  Such as getting in the habit of flossing my teeth.  Or, putting together an effective ad campaign.  Or, getting my Sunday New York Times delivered every Sunday.

I want some things the same way pretty much every time I want them.

Except when I write.  Or communicate.  That’s when a little variety every once in a while can help. (more…)

Seth Godin said it really well today.  While Seth’s context was business plans, he was so right when he wrote, “In my experience, data crowds out faith.”  He added, “Relying too much on proof distracts you from the real mission–which is emotional connection.”

I wish I had a nickel for every time a marketing director asked the elevator speech question: “What if someone asks, ‘What do you do?’ and you have 20 seconds to answer? What do you tell them before the doors open and one of you gets off?”

I think, therefore I am (more…)