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In my first finance job I learned the military strategy called BLUF - bottom like up front. For instance, when sharing an investment opportunity I start with my recommendation and then work through the supporting points.

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Yep. Inverted pyramid ftw!!!

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Dec 19, 2023Liked by The Management Consultant

Good summary: thanks for sharing. I'd add a comment about working on making sure the "ask" or update etc, is only trying to communicate one key point / decision / approval etc at a time. Barbara Minto's SCQA framework's been my "go to" on this. For years. It certainly helps one thiink from the reader's viewpoint (and to avoid getting into teller mode too far or too fast).

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This is a strong point. Most of the times, our emails are about atomic points, so I definitely agree that we should stick to one single piece of communication.

The objective, as usual, is to make it easy for the reader.

Interestingly, I'm just now reading a book titled "Nobody wants to read your sh*t", so this point resonates!

Occasionally, we might have to give a longer update via email, so more than one single point is required. In that case, we can use some of the other tactics I mention.

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Dec 20, 2023Liked by The Management Consultant

Agreed. TL;DR is often a winner.

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