Even the character Polonius, as written by Shakespeare in “Hamlet” over four hundred years ago, knew the value of being concise to be memorable: “Since brevity is the soul of wit/ And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief.”
Applied to modern business, the same sentiment still holds: If guiding principles or management philosophies are going to be used in any organization, they have to be concise and easy to remember.
Cascading bullets, dense copy and complex concepts are simply too difficult to read, say and remember.
But becoming easy to remember is hard to do.
Neuroscientists call our recall of sounds “echoic memory,” and it lasts for only a few seconds.
If a statement takes less than three seconds to say to yourself or say out loud, it is significantly easier to recall and use. If an idea can be said out loud in under three seconds, the chances of usage go up dramatically.
A few years ago, Microsoft went through the difficult process of distilling its historically long lists of behaviors, competencies and skills into three big ideas: Create clarity, generate energy, deliver success.
Today, those three big ideas are how Microsoft talks about itself and thinks about new ventures. Clarity-energy-success can be readily held in the mind as a single chunk, ready to guide decisions in real time.
It’s an important lesson that shows that any sort of leadership principles, cultural values, or company strategies have to be designed with the brain in mind.
Make principles pithy if you want them to be remembered – and practiced.
Have a great week.
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