K.I.S.S.

I recently read an excerpt on writing from C.S. Lewis.

“Always try to use the language that makes quite clear what you mean and your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.”

After going through this latest election cycle I suppose I ought to wait until you get up off the floor from laughing so hard… O.K. finished?

What a brilliant man. Solid and to the point. Also, a couple of weeks ago I attended a luncheon with speaker Ken Blanchard. Not C.S. Lewis, but solid, and to the point in his own way. Ken shared how he would ask CEO’s to give him the mission statements they had developed after $30 thousand consultation fees from “mission” experts. When asked why he collected so many mission statements he said, “I keep them next to my bed when I travel. If I have trouble getting to sleep...”

Keep it simple, saints. K.I.S.S. That is my motto lately for leaders. It is so critical that the people you lead know where you are going. After all, it’s only fair.

You know how frustrating it is when you are in a strange place and driving a different car and your friend says, “Just follow me.” Then you play stoplight bingo (rushing through a “yellow/red” to keep up). Your friend ends up waiting on the side of the road half the time. How much better that everyone knows where you are going. Then if they don’t want to follow, you’ll have given them a clear choice.