Have you ever been embarrassed by a mistake in an email you sent? Whether you’re creating marketing emails that go out to thousands of people, writing business emails that go individually or in small groups to colleagues and clients, or just emailing to your family and friends, accuracy and clarity are essential for effective communication. [...]
I confess: I indulge in gossip occasionally. But when I find myself in a conversation where other people are being discussed, I do my best to remember the rule my mother taught me: Never say anything ABOUT someone that you wouldn’t say TO them. It’s a pretty good policy to live by. Remembering it has [...]
If you only have time for one business seminar this year, go to a Business Battleground event. Like many business owners, I’ve been to countless business seminars, ranging from valuable to forgettable. My work as a ghostwriter has taken me behind the scenes of the information product industry, so I know what's involved in staging [...]
Recently I was browsing around some old files on my computer and found several messages I wrote for the children’s time at church a few years ago. Here’s one of those messages, and it’s as meaningful—and perhaps even more meaningful—for adults as it is for children, so I’m sharing it with you now. Don’t Wander Away [...]
I love plants but only the hardiest of them can survive my lack of gardening skills. A couple of recent plant-related incidents made me think we would all be a lot better off if our legislators governed the way I care for my plants. Incident 1: Orchid Cactus - photo by Jerry D Clement [...]
On April 10, 2017, in San Bernardino, CA, a man walked into a classroom where his estranged wife was teaching and opened fire on her. He killed her and an eight-year-old student, wounded another child and then killed himself. This was not a terrorist attack, but a case of domestic violence. It did not appear [...]
The War on Fear is winnable! The Bible tells us to not be afraid, and yet so often, we are. But what if we weren’t? In the opening paragraph of War On Fear: What Would You Do If You Were Not Afraid?, John Morgan asks: “What if fear was a tool to be harnessed and [...]
Do the people in your audience understand you? Whether you're in business dealing with customers and creating written content for your website, social media and content marketing campaigns or you're a writer creating your own books, be sure you’re communicating in a language your audience understands. As I write this, we are in the final [...]
I’ve had a number of clients over the years that have done some significant – and often traumatic – restructuring to their organizations while I was working with them. The process was usually driven by an urgent need to reduce costs and improve productivity. While these otherwise intelligent, savvy business leaders were usually successful in [...]
I get a kick out of the graphics about Fridays and Mondays, especially the ones with cute pictures of animals (like the one at the top of this post featuring our Peaches during a bath). But there's an issue related to those images that makes me sad. Assuming you work a Monday-Friday work week, the [...]
