What Do You Think?

2011-10-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

I was at curriculum night for my children’s school the other day, sitting at my son’s first grade desk (that was a picture!), listening to his teacher talk about her philosophy for teaching.

She said that at the end of the day, she wants her kids to walk away being able to do two things:
- Think
- Communicate Well

I bolted upright in my little chair, and almost shouted “Amen!”

I remember when I wrote their school applications, these were also my stated goals for my children. In all my working experience, no matter the industry, level or job, those who could think for themselves and come up with innovative ideas and solutions always stood out, and always moved to the next level.

And being able to communicate well – that’s at the heart of everything in business, regardless of what some might say. For businesses, it starts with the core essence of the brand and how you communicate about it; for individuals, it’s how you present yourself, your thoughts, and how you reach your goals. And to me, it truly extends to the written word. It’s not enough to be able to talk in circles – you have to be able to clearly articulate your thoughts on paper too.

Despite the trends in social media, good grammar and spelling matters. It simply does. Without the right punctuation, your emails have completely different tone and context. Without the right spelling, well, you just don’t look that smrt. (Yes, that was on purpose!)

Don’t get me wrong – I love a good short text as much as the next guy. But if you’re trying to explain a more complex thought, I hope you paid attention in first grade!

What do you think?

In this day and age is it important to be fluent with the written word? Does this HTNOTH (hit the nail on the head), or do you say DKDC? (Don't know, don't care.) I 1-D-R...

In Good Company

What Do You Think?