Holloway Editione1.0.0
Updated August 14, 2024Youβre reading an excerpt of Great Founders Write, by Ben Putano, writer, entrepreneur, and book publisher. Heβs the founder of Damn Gravity Media, a publishing house that inspires and educates tomorrowβs great founders. Purchase now for lifetime access to the book and on-demand video course.
Nothing great is built alone. The best founders are able to rally support around their vision and purpose. They see the future so clearly and vividly, youβd think theyβve already been there. A powerful why is one of the strongest forces behind a successful startup.
But we often forget to identify an equally clear vision and purpose for our writing. We start writing without really knowing what weβre trying to say. And once we do find the point, we donβt edit our work to make it clear. The reader has to slog through lines of rambling just to understand why you wrote them in the first place. Itβs exhausting.
Writing this way is like trying to sail a boat with no rudder. Getting to your intended destination is all but impossible, especially in choppy waters. This isnβt just an inconvenience for your readerβit costs your company precious time and actual money.
Josh Bernoff, author of the excellent book Writing Without Bullshit, calculated that poor writing costs American businesses $396 billion every year.
In his survey of workers who write as part of their jobs, Bernoff identified the main concerns they have with bad writing:
Too long
Poorly organized
Unclear
Too much jargon
Not precise enough
Not direct enough
These bad writing habits all have the same root cause: writing without a clear purpose.
When we donβt know what to say, we ramble. Our ideas are all over the place. We speak in vague terms instead of specific details. We use big words to cover up our lack of understanding. We donβt give precise or clear directions. We use phrases like, βWhat Iβm trying to say is β¦β or βLong story short β¦β as if this makes up for wasting our readerβs time.
Better writing begins with the end in mind.
And thereβs just one question you need to ask yourself to get started.
With any powerful tool, careful aim is vitally important. Writing is no different.
Bezos has a clear purpose for every shareholder letter: to reinforce Amazonβs long-term mission of market leadership. Most of the time, your purpose is more mundane, like rescheduling a meeting. Big or small, you need to know what youβre trying to achieve.
Start every piece of writing by asking yourself, βWhy am I writing this?β It doesnβt matter if itβs an email or a book. In fact, the shorter the communication, the more important the question.