Smart Brevity

Don’t waste anybody’s time with a barrage of details. Maybe it took you five years to develop your idea, but no one wants to hear about that when you’re trying to sell your idea (to an investor or a customer)—that can become part of your legend later on. You need a sharply focused plan, with all its various strands woven together into a cohesive un

The best approach to take in our overcommunicated society is the oversimplified message. In communication, as in architecture, less is more. You have to sharpen your message to cut into the mind. You have to jettison the ambiguities, simplify the message, and then simplify it some more if you want to make a long-lasting impression.

It’s important to challenge yourself and your peers to cut even the good ideas if they aren’t perishable (can be done later), strategic (don’t directly support this plan’s strategy), or differentiating (set you apart from your competition). Instead, put those resources against the top priorities.