Below is an archive of every blog post shared through this site since 2010. For posts by topic, check out articles on marketing, leadership, and building new products.
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Every time I have to explain a process to new team member, I search in my Google Drive first. Why?
I’m a documentation and playbook nerd. If I’m repeating the same conversation more than three times, I create documentation—it saves time and energy for all parties involved.
At moments like this when I find my own notes, I say, "Thanks Past Wes! You just saved me an hour."
Read MoreAs a changemaker and entrepreneur, your work probably involves writing as a way to inform, persuade or connect with your audience.
Read MoreNo one is coming to save you.
[Cue panic and running around in circles.]
I remember the first time I realized no one knew the right answer. It was simultaneously alarming and liberating.
Heck, I sat ten feet away from the most famous marketer in the world.
One day, we were discussing growth strategies. He stopped and said, “Wes, you should decide. I don’t have the answer. If I did, I’d just tell you."
Read MoreIf you are pitching ANYTHING–getting funding, getting a meeting with a decision maker, getting picked to win an RFP…
You should assume that your audience is skimming your note. When your memo arrives, most people are busy doing something else.
They are feeling dull, distracted, or cranky. They are scrolling through their phone. They have 15 browser tabs open and running late.
Most of us say we want feedback. That is, until we actually get it. Then we get a little defensive:
“Well, actually, what I meant was…”
“I see what you’re saying, but you misunderstood.”
“Really? Because you’re not great at that either!” (A classic.)
These are all ways of saying, “Thanks for your feedback, but you’re wrong." You know how to give feedback... But how good are you at taking it?
Read MoreA deadline doesn't really feel like a deadline until it's inches from your face. That's unfortunate--by that time, you're about to get punched. That feeling quickly spreading is called panic.
You should always feel like there is a deadline looming. "Looming" sounds ominous, but it's not. It's the realization that you'd better be moving forward each day.
There's always a deadline coming up. Even when you think there isn't, you'll soon realize there is--when you're grasping trying to make something happen quickly overnight.
Read MoreIf you’re immersed, will you learn by default?
It's easy to think we can absorb through osmosis, that we'll hum along and improve simply because we're present.
But immersion and proximity are not sufficient.
Learning is a result of deliberate thinking. Not osmosis.
Read MoreWhen you read great advice, it hasn't actually changed anything in your life...yet. There are dozens of times each day when you might notice something. You might think,
"I should try that."
In the moment, you're excited to learn something new. You think, "This is another tool in my toolbox. This is fantastic!"
Read More"If you could solve one thing about your business with a magic wand, what would it be?"
This question is usually asked in a list of other questions, so it seems harmless.
But let's take a look at the underlying assumption. The assumption is, "If this one thing were fixed, everything else would fall into place."
Read MoreI'm not good at holding my tongue when I sense that a train wreck might happen. If you've tried speaking up before, and no one listened, it's tempting to want to teach them a lesson.
Okay fine, well the train will crash. THEN they'll see why they should have listened to me all along...
You don't get to take the moral high ground there. If you sense that something might be wrong, speak up before it's too late.
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