Truth 5. To achieve your goal, look below its surface

Consider Andrea. She’s won an award and thinks it’s a good idea to let her boss know. So she writes:

Dear Joe,

I thought you’d like to know that I’ve been chosen as my local Chamber of Commerce’s Person of the Month. They’re holding a lunch in my honor on October 5th.—Andrea

Communicating this honor is a good move, but did Andrea do it well? Not really. She could have gotten a lot more mileage from it than she did. There’s a simple question she should have asked herself, and it’s the question you should ask yourself every time you write anything beyond a three-word message: Exactly what am I trying to accomplish with this piece of writing?

Put it in words—articulate it. Don’t write anything before you can do this, because a fuzzy purpose produces a fuzzy piece of writing. Knowing your goal makes a huge difference.

You may think that much of your writing doesn’t have a defined purpose. This is a mistake. In the business world, almost all writing is created for a purpose. Most are pretty basic, and they overlap: to inform, share information, document, persuade to a point of view, sell something, motivate, inspire, and build relationships. Even thank you letters fulfill one or more of these goals. Often you need to accomplish several of these things at once.

On a more specific level, goals are usually very concrete: You might want your reader to come to a meeting, fill out a form correctly, buy into a project, authorize overtime, assign you a new project, or answer a question about your current work, for example.

But that’s not the whole story. On the surface, you’re simply sharing a piece of information. That’s what Andrea did in writing to tell her boss that she won an award.

What to get across—Let’s stop and think. What, other than the plain facts, might Andrea want to get across in delivering her good news? She might (and should) consider that she has a chance to impress the supervisor with her increased value to the company. She could also take the occasion to personalize their relationship.

What happens if she defines these two possibilities as the goals? Instantly, ideas suggest themselves for the message’s content. She could say, for example, that

• The award recognizes her professional position, as well as her work as a volunteer.

• She appreciates the opportunities the firm gives her professionally and the encouragement to do community service.

• She’ll be giving a short acceptance speech mentioning the company, its products, and its contributions to the community.

• She hopes her boss will come to the luncheon as her guest, so that she can introduce him.

Even if her boss declines the invitation, she’s way ahead: She’s made herself more memorable. She’s strengthened the relationship. He will probably send the message up the corporate ladder, because having a staff member honored and spreading the company word reflects well on him.

When you look past the obvious to figure out your larger goals, the content of your message will almost always shift, sometimes radically. Knowing what you want is essential to knowing how to get it. And you’ll see opportunities to achieve your personal long-term goals as well as the immediate one.

If Andrea defines her goal as demonstrating her enhanced value and improving relationships, she can write a memo that actively supports her career advancement.

This is her sub-agenda. You have one or more of your own—maybe you want to grow your business, get promoted, create a strong support network, or find a new job. And once you take your personal sub-agendas into account, you’ll begin to see writing not as a nuisance, but a great opportunity to showcase your professionalism, credibility, competence, creativity, loyalty—whatever.

Notice, too, that once Andrea has clearly identified her goal, the actual writing almost takes care of itself. Moving from the checklist to the finished message becomes really easy. Here’s one way she could shape the message as an e-mail.

Subject: Good news and an invitation

Dear Pete:

I’m happy to tell you that the Fairmont Chamber of Commerce has chosen me as Mover & Shaker of the Month, in recognition of both my professional standing and contributions to the community. I’ll receive the award at a luncheon on Wednesday, November 12, and I very much hope you can be there as my guest.

I’ll have an opportunity to speak briefly. I plan to talk about the company, and especially, how management supports community service. The Good Neighbor Program gives me wonderful opportunities to help local charities, and I welcome the chance to express my appreciation publicly.

Can you attend? I’d love to introduce you to the group.—Andrea

Did it take more time to write this message compared to the one Andrea planned on? Of course…but think of the payoff. Beyond what she accomplishes for her own positioning, Andrea is able to reinforce a company policy from which she and others benefit. Learning that an employee is being honored for volunteer work, and will therefore deliver a positive company message to a significant audience, can only make management happy and confirm the program’s value.