“The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter.” - Blaise Pascal

I have seen plenty of good ideas fall down simply because their communicators lacked the time and resources to hone their story, and their audience had no time to absorb it. If I had a dollar for every time I have asked or thought, “Let’s get down to the brass tacks–what are we trying to say here?” I would be writing this blog from a bungalow on Hanalei Bay , island of Kauai , while being fanned by a cabana boy with a gold-dipped palm frond. 

Why is it so hard to tell a short, good story?

1. There’s the foregone conclusion: long = complex = smart = valuable. Did this ever add up? Your high school English teacher didn’t think so. Neither did Hemmingway.

2. There is the issue of clear vision and mission which, ironically, tend to get murky as change takes hold in companies and the clarity and frequency of communications become more important than ever before. Understandable? Yes. Insurmountable? No.

3. There is the tendency—frankly rife in boardrooms everywhere—to focus on the short game. Time is tight. Everything is Priority One. The Fire Drill rules. Who has time to think about the story when they spend 16 hours a day reacting to the most recent crisis?

And how long can you remain competitive in this mode?

Stories are proactive. They are the plot that drives prioritization in a world full of “to dos”. When the pressure is high to be everything to everyone, they are bedrock to stand firm on. And on those bad days when you ask yourself just what in the hell you’re doing and how you got here, your story is the shortcut back to the forward track.

But it has to be a good one. One you can tell to anyone who’ll listen, any time, day or night. Because your stakeholders simply don’t have time to wait for you to make your case.

In a world where information knocks long and loud on every door into the human consciousness, where data demands to be dealt with moment to moment, and more and more companies are realizing that information is their business, the competition for your customer’s ear is exceedingly stiff. Make it easy for them to understand your point of view quickly, and the battle for their hearts and minds will be half won.