Truth 6. Cut to the chase: Put the bottom line on top

Suppose you’re reporting on the results of an extended project you supervised, whose purpose was to investigate a potential new workflow system. Your basic goal is to inform and document. But that’s only part of the agenda. As in many situations, you want to accomplish much more. For example:

Goals checklist

• Tell your boss that the project was a good investment and that his/her faith in your ability as a manager was justified.

• Let readers know that the results are significant.

• Demonstrate that you’ve done a careful, thorough job on the project.

• Make your interpretation or conclusions credible.

• Present your work in the way that’s clearest, most logical, and, if possible, interesting.

• Persuade the rest of the organization or the higher-ups to act on your results.

If you articulate your goals in this way, think about how your content choice is affected—and content is always the heart of effective writing.

Content checklist

• Include a clear statement about why the project was carried out and its importance.

• Indicate exactly what the results were and their significance.

• Outline or narrate what you did and how you did it.

• Marshal the evidence that supports your conclusions.

• Indicate who your project team or collaborators were and any information about time frame and budget that’s relevant.

• Clearly state the course of action you recommend, and the benefits that may be expected.

In this situation, the order of the content checklist works. But often you may want to juggle. Be sure to establish why readers should care, and the results, right up front.

Almost always in business writing, put the bottom line on top.

Look at our two lists—goals and content—and you’ll see that by articulating your goals and then figuring out how they determine content, you’ve created an outline (with no agony at all).

Check out the reasoning in the following examples. We think your approach to memos and e-mails will change.

Challenge 1: Write an e-mail memo to your boss about your project needs.

Yesterday’s way

Dear Ms. Smith:

As you know from our previous meetings and earlier discussions, the Alliman Project has a major deadline that will be coming due in three months. To preserve the project milestones, our office will need to purchase a variety of tools and products at this time. I am including a list of project needs below, and am asking you via this memorandum to authorize these, so that the Purchasing Department will consider them legitimate company purchases.

Sincerely, Tom

Goal analysis: You want a swift, affirmative response without provoking objections that could cause delay. So you need to say just enough for your message to be read quickly and instantly understood. You want to sound matter of fact, businesslike, and efficient. Combining this goal with the conversational approach would give you something like the following version.

Today’s way

Hello Jessica,

Please sign the attached list of project needs so that Purchasing will buy them for us.

As you know, the deadline on the Alliman Project is August 1, so I need your authorization quickly for these necessary tools and products.

Thanks for your help.—Tom

The difference: The “call to action” is up front and center. The boss can’t miss it; whereas in the traditional version, she’d have to search for it. Because you first articulated your goal, you didn’t include all the extraneous information. And, the old-style memo is much more likely to generate an inquiry about how the project is progressing and whether the purchases are justified. Also, Tom comes across as efficient, effective, and reliable, so the memo contributes to advancing his sub-agenda.

Challenge 2: Your vice president has asked for a formal written update on your project.

Yesterday’s way

Enterprise Project Report

a. Overview

b. Timeline

c. Products required; availability

d. Staffing needs; new hires

e. Sites

f. Progress toward goal

g. Steps required to complete project by August 1

h. Anticipated completion date with and without necessary resources

Goal analysis: You want the VP to quickly see what’s needed and support you. How to accomplish this? A lengthy, detailed document going over the same old ground, with the progress section buried, as in the outline above? Unlikely. Ask yourself, what does she really want to know? What’s important for the company? What highlights your accomplishments? This should lead you to:

Today’s way

Enterprise Project Report

a. Progress toward goal

b. Steps needed to complete project by Aug. 1, including consequences if necessary resources are not provided

c. Brief project recap, including timeline, personnel, products, and sites

The difference: Because you defined your goals first, this report is likely to be read and is likely to be passed up the chain of command to people who can provide the resources you need. What’s important is succinctly stated, right up front, and those who want detail will find it in the recap.

Notice that often the more closely you define your goal and articulate what you want to accomplish, the less you have to include—because you’ve figured out what counts and can focus precisely on it. That means less writing.