The burning bush

Back in the day, I would share an esoteric fact about new technology with my business partner. He would momentarily fix me with a blank stare and then ask, "How does that affect UCLA's chances of going to the Rose Bowl?"

 

Point taken.  How does this affect me?

 

Similarly, we sometimes react to news of breakthrough technology by asking ourselves, "How will this change our business?" But is this the proper prism through which one should view technological change?

 

I liken navigating through our changing technological world as hiking from Death Valley to the top of Mount Whitney. The journey begins in an arid desert, stark and primitive. As you progress, elevation changes bring new terrain. Plant and animal life become more abundant. The climate changes, as does your apparel. Perhaps you encounter the burning bush, which signifies that you are the chosen leader. Forget that last part.

 

So, too, we navigate through our lives encountering new technology, some of which is life changing. Artificial Intelligence navigates us and guides us through traffic. Fintech enables us to move money around instantly and effortlessly. A wristwatch records our temperature and heart rate and notifies emergency responders if it detects that we are in distress.

 

Each of these things will likely change our perspective on how other things should perform. If Waze can calculate my arrival time to the minute, why do I have to wait for 45 minutes in my doctor's office? If I can instantly transfer $1,000 to my brother Fred, why does the bank put a three-day hold on my deposit? New technology raises our expectations for how things should work.

 

We often hear or read about new technology and wonder how it may affect our business. Will it lower the barrier to entry? Will it enable a new competitive advantage? Do we have to reinvent ourselves? This is provincial thinking that can often mask the effects of technological evolution on our industry.

 

Rather than drawing a straight line from the advent of new technology to your business, my advice to you is to view technological change in a broader sense: how will it shape consumer expectations for what I offer? Then, consider how you might deliver similar benefits using a different business model or technology.

 

Second, don't adopt new technology because it's vogue or sexy. Choose technology that is the right tool for the task, regardless of whether it sizzles.  Applying new technology that sizzles may be akin to killing flies with sledgehammers.

 

Next, peek over the fence now and then at other industries wholly unrelated to yours to see how they are adopting new technology or new business models to protect themselves from disruption. While their business may be different, their strategy can be relevant.

 

Finally, be preemptive. Look for the nexus where a new technology confronts an old problem.

 

 

Take a stand and build a brand

Want to build your personal brand? Adopt content-based marketing. Simply put, it's about publishing articles, posts and blogs to advance a point of view or share your specialized perspective on technology, emerging business models or social trends. When done properly and consistently, it shapes you as a subject matter expert and thought leader.

Let's talk about the mechanics of writing a modern message.

Develop an outline

Step one is to create a blueprint of your message. This forces you to plumb the depths of your thinking and outline a fully fleshed message.

I use a product called Mind Manager when I outline a piece. It's a tree-branch-leaf approach to organize your thinking.  Here's an example.

 

My "mindmap" guides me through the writing process. It keeps me out of the swamp and ensures that I focus on themes that underpin the big idea. It may require 2-3 days of development, but it saves time and reduces frustration when I face the bull that is the sheet of paper with no writing on it.

Be succinct

Legend has it that someone once asked Abraham Lincoln how long a man's legs should be. "Long enough to reach the ground," was his reply. Similarly, your writing should be long enough to convey your big idea—without fluff or filler.

Writing that meanders or is stretched to meet a prescribed word count dilutes your message and fatigues the reader. I realize I'm up against prevailing wisdom on how long LinkedIn or blog posts should be based on measurements that purport to show opening and sharing metrics. But speaking as a consumer, I find writing that is brief and to the point to be more interesting and engaging.

Keep articles to 1,200-2,000 words unless the publisher requires otherwise. Blog posts should be 400-750 words. And LinkedIn posts should top out at 400 words. While there are exceptions to the rule, if you blow through the word count, ask yourself if you're trying to cover too much ground. It may be better to spin additional material into a new piece.

Make it personal

Write in the first person using "I," "me" and "we." These are your thoughts, and you should own them. The first-person narrative gives your writing credibility, and it conveys that these are your ideas and points of view.

In the same vein, try to write using the active voice. At the risk of sounding like your high school English teacher, the subject of the sentence should perform the action. Instead of "attention must be paid," say "we must pay attention." Rather than "my first assignment will always be remembered," say "I will always remember my first assignment."

You will produce succinct and direct communication when you adopt this approach.

Find a good editor

Good editing produces good writing. While it's possible to edit your own work, you probably won't do so with a dispassionate eye. An editor will catch grammatical and spelling errors, spot hackneyed phrases and remove redundancies, the kind of stuff you might overlook.

A good editor will also help you maintain a consistent voice and develop your personality across your catalog. Your voice should become familiar to your audience as it projects your personality.

A final thought: don't agonize over every word or phrase when you write. Let the words tumble off your frontal lobe and on to the paper. Clean-up is a part of the editing process and you will probably go through several--even many--drafts before your work is ready for prime time.

And remember that writing is a muscle. The more you write, the easier and better your writing becomes.

So, go ahead and join the chorus.