Season’s Greetings––––––––––
FROM THE S4K TEAM
We would like to thank you for this year and provide some thought-provoking Holiday reading.
We asked our content curation experts to each select their favourite piece from everything they've read over the year and share with you the reasons behind their respective picks.
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When Writing for Busy Readers, Less Is More
At S4K Research, our mission is to connect the latest and most thought-provoking management insights with the leaders who can put them into practice. Given the limited time available to many, how can we effectively deliver these valuable ideas?
As an editor, I constantly reflect on how we can perfect our emails and their accompanying 1 Minute Summaries, so they serve as a seamless gateway to access the core ideas we’ve spotted in the original content. This fall, I was particularly inspired by the new book “Writing for Busy Readers” by Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink.
The book's first core principle, "Less Is More", presented in the book extract summarised for you in the link below, highlights the power of brevity. Despite research showing readers are generally more likely to understand and act on a message when it is presented in a more concise way, people often go for “more is more” by providing excessive information. This not only puts an "unkind tax on readers' time" but also decreases your chances of getting your points across.
With compelling research and illustrative examples, the authors underscore the impact of spending extra time upfront to craft less wordy emails. Applying this approach in your daily communications will undoubtedly make your writing more effective; and your busy readers will thank you for it!
Finally, for full transparency, this post was originally twice as long.
Curated by Elise Olander, Senior Editor
Change My Mind: Using “Pre-suasion” to Influence Others
As a content curator specializing in leadership and management, my mission is to facilitate continuous learning and development for leaders and employees. In an era where attention is a precious resource, one enduring challenge we face is helping individuals prioritize learning amid their hectic schedules.
This struggle is universal in our attention-scarce world. Leaders tirelessly seek ways to nudge their teams; HR and learning professionals must navigate stakeholder relationships with persuasion; and salespeople are in constant competition for the attention of clients and prospects. Regardless of one's role or job title, understanding the mechanisms of social influence and behavioural science can yield substantial benefits.
One highlight of 2023 for me is a podcast featuring Robert Cialdini, a distinguished psychologist and a renowned thought leader in persuasion and marketing. Cialdini excels at making intricate insights accessible and relatable to a broad audience, particularly in the realm of storytelling. His research into human behavior is thought-provoking, and its practical applications in persuasion are widespread.
It's fascinating how crafting your message in the right context can wield significant influence. To enhance the impact of your next conversation, I encourage you to explore the summary of Cialdini's insights, discovering how you can initiate persuasion even before a conversation starts.
All it takes is one minute from your busy day, and the dividends of learning can be enduring and transformative for your career and personal life. I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and that it brings you closer to your aspirations.
Curated by Jamie Zhou, Content Curator
Are You Ready for Employees to Scrutinize Your Sustainability Strategy?
Three years ago, for my season’s greetings pick, I opted for a content piece titled “Taking ownership of a sustainable future” and I argued that “businesses are made up of individuals and ultimately, a sustainable future comes down to the mindset and awareness of the CEOs who make individual choices on a daily basis”.
This stands true today, but this year, I’d like to invite you to reflect on the capacity of all employees in an organisation to contribute to ensuring a sustainable future. This article draws attention to how a growing number of employees are holding their organisations to account over sustainability commitments and how HR can play a critical role in ensuring their voices are heard and integrated in the organisation’s sustainability strategy.
What I like most from this article is that it recognises activist employees as the resource that they are, reminding the reader that “activists are engaged and passionate employees, not disloyal ones.” As you read this 1 Minute Summary, ask yourself how you can best contribute to supporting the organisation’s sustainability strategy.
Curated by Diana Gaftoneanu, Content Curation Lead
How Jazz Can Unlock Your Team’s Next Breakthrough
As a part of my job in S4K Research, I am not only exposed to the best new ideas and practices from global thought leaders, but I also get to meet highly skilled HR professionals in our clients’ organisations. In our annual Business-Challenge-Mapping, they are guided to identify the critical challenges that leaders in their organisations face and they help us understand the unique, internal perspectives of these challenges.
Occasionally, these two aspects merge and one of our contacts becomes a thought leader. This has happened to Per Hugander of the Swedish Bank SEB, among others. Hugander used to be our main contact at SEB and has since started writing for some of our sources, including MIT Sloan Management Review and Harvard Business Review.
He is also co-author of my pick for 2023, the Wharton article “How Jazz Can Unlock Your Team’s Next Breakthrough”.
Read the article to understand how generative conversations enhance creativity and help unlock the diversity of the organisation. Hugander describes how he used jazz as inspiration for his colleagues at SEB to adopt the methodology. Similar to the “first take” approach of classic jazz albums like Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”, participants in generative conversations should listen more and talk less; build on each other; and contribute to what is emerging in the conversation.
I am undoubtedly biased as I’ve always been impressed with Hugander’s sharp, analytical sense, but I strongly believe you will find the article helpful and inspirational. Finding ways to get more people to join discussions and add their unique perspectives is incredibly valuable when solving challenging problems and making new and exciting improvements to our service offerings.
Curated by Søren Pind, Chief Content Curator
With best wishes for the holiday season and the coming year.
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Fredric & Søren