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|CHAPTER 3|

Three More Ways to Focus

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

—ALBERT EINSTEIN

Only Got a Minute? Start with Your Conclusion

Imagine that your job is to analyze bonds. You work for a global money management company, and every day, you go to a fast-paced morning meeting with 30+ colleagues and senior executives.

You’ve got one to two minutes, at most, to speak about a particular bond.

Here’s what your audience wants to know: Should we buy the bond, or not—and why? What they don’t want: irrelevant details.

Sounds simple, but takes skill and practice.

One of my consulting projects was to work with these analysts. I asked the chief investment officer, Bill Adams, who runs the morning meetings, “What does ...