CHAPTER 1

Business Communication Sucks

The two words “information” and “communication” are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.

SYDNEY J. HARRIS

In 2013, Marissa Mayer was ranked no. 32 on the Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. In 2014, she moved up to no. 18 on that list, just below Beyoncé Knowles. Not bad for an engineering nerd.

When Marissa Mayer took the helm as president and CEO of Yahoo! in 2012, the company was seen as a digital media dinosaur whose best days were in the rearview mirror. She quickly changed all that with a website redesign, a host of new products, a series of major acquisitions, including Tumblr, and a sales ...

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