Tag Archives: John Updike

Writing Your Own Leading Script

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By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help established expectations in a new position. Reading time: 3:04

Congratulations! You’ve been promoted. Or maybe condolences are in order. New department. Same old problems.

writing-a-letter You’ve seen this movie before. And it ain’t pretty. So now what do you do?

Write a new ending of course. This is YOUR movie now. Direct it –the WRITE way.

Write a personal letter to each one of your direct reports, a personal letter that details your passion and your expectations for that person’s area of responsibility.

That’s what a four-star general did when he became Chief of Staff of the US Army. Gordon R. Sullivan refers to his Letters to Commanders in his book HOPE IS NOT A METHOD , What Business Leaders Can Learn from America’s Army. Continue reading →

Give Your Problems Their Last ‘Writes’

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By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to enhance your problem solving skills. Reading time: 2:57.

Two executives are tugging away at a vexing problem. It’s getting late in the day and both are frustrated. “What do you think?” says one. “Not sure,” responds the other. “Okay, here’s a way forward. She reaches into her purse and says: “Take two of these and call me in the morning.”

Oh, what a headache! Both smiled at the two sharpened pencils. They knew those pencils would do what no aspirin could: help them think.

After all, “writing is thinking on paper,” as author William Zinsser notes in his book On Writing Well. Writing is proven method to organize your thoughts, establish your point of view, pose and defend your argument to make decisions and solve problems. Continue reading →