The art of less

In my art classes, we keep returning to one question: how do you make an image that has everything it needs and nothing more?

The same question came up with a client this week.

I was coaching a group of six data specialists and their manager. They wanted their communication to be clearer and more insightful.

We worked through a real example together, and by the end, the manager noticed something: the final version was much shorter and contained almost none of their original draft.

Why?

In his words, they needed to put down their own backpack of stuff and focus on what the decision-maker actually needed.

Here’s what changed. The new version …

1. Fit on a single page, written for one specific reader: the manager's own boss. The team pushed back, but the manager was confident a single page was plenty for his 1-1.
2. Explained why the work mattered, not just what the team had been doing. The original was full of detail that fascinated the team but didn't help the decision-maker decide anything.
3. Gave them a foundation to build from. If the recommendation got support, a longer deck or doc could follow — for the people who'd actually need it.

So next time you sit down to prepare a deck or a doc, ask yourself: can I free myself from the mechanics of documentation and focus on the thing that actually matters: the thinking?

More soon,
Davina

Elevate, the book – helps leaders set their teams up to set up a new dynamic across their team that will elevate everyone’s skills, helping the team get better, faster decisions.

Engage, the book – helps individual contributors prepare papers and presentations that leaders can approve without reworking.

Engage, the self-paced course  – supports both individuals and leaders prepare more insightful papers and presentations for senior leaders and boards.

Extreme Clarity, the 2-hour workshop – introduces techniques for structuring your messaging.

Board Paper Bootcamp, the 2-week program – helps you clarify and convey complex ideas to senior leaders and boards.

WANT TO LISTEN?

1. Risk Management = Change Management
2. Richard Medcalf - Making Time for Strategy
3. Baking Learning & Growth into BAU
4. Helping Leaders 'shift testing left' to derisk projects
5. A Case Study in Digitial Transformation
6. How to help a senior leader come back from a misstep
7. How to hit the ground running in a big new role
8. How to communicate during great change
9. How to turbo charge your transformation
10. How to make your presentation butterflies fly in formatio
11.  Introducing my two new books: Engage and Elevat
12. Implementing unpopular decisions with minimal political damage
13. Overcoming resistance to coaching
14. How to match your method with your message

RELATED POSTS