Everyday Reflections

Recently, I came across an article by Itzy Sabo about the importance of a “Think First Culture.” that laid empahsis on writing first. It resonated with me because whenever I meet someone professionally, I ask them to produce a document that can help me understand the context of our discussion or form an opinion. I believe that putting your thoughts in a well-formed approach, with the help of visual aids, is the best way to establish context and provide insightful comments.

One-liners or mere visuals may be useful for brainstorming, but they cannot beat the old-style approach of putting your thoughts together in a well-formed document. The writing culture reduces fluidity in conversations, but it leads to more grounded outcomes. It also helps review your goals, hypotheses, and where deviations may have occurred due to changes in macro factors.

Personally, I have found this approach to be helpful because it slows down my thought process and provides structure to what I want to communicate to stakeholders. In addition, it allows me to raise pertinent questions that can be addressed and incorporated back into the overarching thought process.

In my opinion, writing is an essential leadership skill that helps drive clarity for anyone. So, let’s embrace the “Think First Culture” and keep writing!