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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Writing for Decision Makers summary
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Writing for Decision Makers summary
Judith K. Stein and Marya Holcombe
Memos and Reports With a Competitive Edge
18 mins
Brief summary
Writing for Decision Makers offers practical guidance on crafting clear and persuasive communications tailored for executives. It emphasizes the importance of concise, structured writing to aid critical decision-making processes in a business environment.
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Writing for Decision Makers
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Key idea 1 of 5
Your management toolkit holds the key to better writing
Many highly capable professionals find writing a frustrating, even dreaded, task.
If this sounds like you, fear not. The authors developed a framework offering a different path, called the Managerial Approach to Writing. It reframes the task by showing how to apply the professional skills you use every day directly to the page. Seeing these connections upfront helps build confidence. It makes the whole process feel less like learning something entirely new, and more like adapting familiar strengths to a different context.
Consider your people skills, for instance. You’re likely practiced at seeing different perspectives, guiding individuals, and adjusting your communication to meet specific objectives. You can apply that same empathy directly when you write. Ask yourself: Who is this document for? What single action should they take after reading it? What underlying questions might they have? This reader-focused approach stems directly from your existing people skills. It helps ensure your message achieves its goal, turning your writing into a targeted tool designed for a specific purpose and audience.
This naturally leads you to apply your problem-solving mindset. Managers excel at dissecting challenges and formulating logical solutions. So treat your writing task similarly. Ask yourself: What’s the core objective? What key points must be addressed to achieve it? Approaching the document as a problem to be solved brings inherent structure and persuasive clarity, cutting through that initial “where do I even start?” hurdle.
Structured thinking like this is solidified through planning. Just as you wouldn’t launch a project without a roadmap, outlining your document and mapping the flow of ideas before you write makes the process significantly more efficient and less daunting. It translates your problem-solving analysis into a practical guide for writing.
Now, engage your marketing instincts. You know how to position an idea to resonate. Use this skill to frame your arguments persuasively for this specific reader. Will highlighting cost benefits land best, or should you emphasize ease of implementation? Tailoring the message using your innate marketing sense dramatically boosts its impact.
Quality control is what brings everything together. Your managerial eye for detail, consistency, and high standards is directly applicable to editing and proofreading. Applying this rigor ensures a polished, professional final document that enhances your credibility and reflects well on your competence.
Each element of your management toolkit plays a vital role in your writing process. But to make your writing truly effective, where should you focus your attention first? It fundamentally begins with who you’re writing for. In the next section, we’ll see how this works in practice.
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What is Writing for Decision Makers about?
Writing for Decision Makers (1981) applies the practical skills you already use for managing people and projects to the challenge of effective business communication. The techniques offered transform writing from a dreaded task into a powerful extension of your professional capabilities.
Who should read Writing for Decision Makers ?
- Smart thinkers whose written words don’t match their insights
- Professionals wanting a repeatable system for writing clear documents
- Anyone needing to influence decision-makers clearly through written reports
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