November 2006 Archives

Download Microsoft's new Office Accounting Express 2007 software FREE. The press release offers a complete list of features. The site is pretty cool, with the virtual studio-created online videos my tech idol Tom Antion teaches people how to create.

Microsoft is doing a cool promotion in conjunction with the product launch. Susanna Hamner at Madison Avenue West has all the details. Download the submission form for the promotion. Even if you don't have a big idea to submit, take the time to think through and answer the questions on the application. It's a great way to take the pulse of your business D.R.E.A.M.

What does your correspondence say about you? Does it say you are knowledgeable, professional and detail-oriented or does it imply you are mediocre, sloppy, and inattentive?

How you present yourself in written form says a lot about you.

I just received a shocking (and sad) marketing pitch letter from the CEO of a company with whom I regularly do business. It was shocking because it is full of typos and grammatical errors, including sentence fragments in random places and bold highlighting used to emphasize almost one-half the letter. It was sad because it was obviously a mass-blast snail mail letter, which means it not only went to all the CEO's colleagues and current clients but probably prospective clients as well. It is a very poor representation of the CEO's abilities and the company's capabilities.

If this were my first contact with the company, I would be unimpressed and toss it out. It was obviously thrown together in a hurry without much thought as to whether the points were coherent or the context made sense. If they are this careless with their own work, how careless might they be with mine? Now, I happen to know the team is extremely conscientious and they produce top quality work. But unfortunately, those prospective clients may never give them a chance.

Here are a few tips for making sure your correspondence accurately reflects your capability and that of your company:

1. Develop a theme and stick to it.
Determine your main point then stay focused on it. If you absolutely must include multiple points, separate them into different paragraphs. Order the paragraphs with the most important point first and provide good transitions between paragraphs so they flow smoothly.

2. When in doubt, check it out!
If you aren't sure how to spell a word, DON'T GUESS! If you don't have a dictionary close by, use an online version.

3. Don't rely on SpellCheck.
I once had a woman apply for a public relations position. Her use of SpellCheck had her applying for a position in a more nefarious field (remove the "l" in public and you get the idea). At least SpellCheck is consistent: her cover letter, resume, and application all had the same mistake. She didn't get the job.

4. Use emphasis sparingly.
If you want to capture your reader's attention, bold and italic formatting are certainly options, but use them judiciously. If you have multiple points you want to emphasize, consider putting them into a bulleted or numbered list. Highlight the point, then include your supporting or explanatory statement(s) as I have done in this list.

5. Use real words.
I've mentioned it before but it bears repeating: irregardless is not a word. And while we're on the subject, "nother" is not a word or a contraction either. "Whole 'nother" is an incorrect phrase. "Whole other" or "another" is correct when talking about something separate or additional.

6. Mix it up.
If you must use the same word more than once in your communication piece, consider synonyms. If you can't think of one, try an online thesaurus.

Additional online resources:

Purdue University's online writing lab has several basic primers, including one on business writing.

Oregon State University also offers Business Writing Help online.

Washington State University has a great list of common errors in English.

If I told you about a book out by a biochemist turned computer programmer, a medical college graduate, and a biochemist, you'd probably yawn and wonder why I would mention something so boring, right? Well, think again.

Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar, Jeremy Salter teamed up to write The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History.

HarperCollins describes 101 Most Influential as an "endlessly entertaining compendium of fictional trendsetters and world-shakers who have helped shape our culture and our lives" noting the paperback "offers fascinating histories of our most beloved, hated, feared, and revered invented icons and the indelible marks they made on civilization..."

A quick peek at the Top 10 of the 101 shows 101 Most Influential just might be the perfect gift this holiday season for those hard-to-please or hard-to-buy-for gift recipients on your list:

1. The Marlboro Man
2. Big Brother
3. King Arthur
4. Santa Claus (St. Nick)
5. Hamlet
6. Dr. Frankenstein's Monster
7. Siegfried
8. Sherlock Holmes
9. Romeo and Juliet
10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Get a head start on your Christmas shopping now. Get a copy for you and a couple of copies for people on your gift list.

Here I am with my Uncle Jackie, who as you can tell, was making me laugh when my aunt snapped the photo.

I'm off to start working on my trytophan coma! It looks like my aunts have pulled out all the stops again this year. There is more food here than some of the restaurants we frequent in Orlando! Of course, the food here is going to be a lot better. There's nothing that beats home cooking!

They deserve a very big "thank you" because, as a traveling relative (coming to Baton Rouge from Orlando), I have the privilege of just showing up, while they on the other hand spent this past weekend planning, shopping and cooking, then got up today at dawn to start getting everything ready.

And I knew they wouldn't let me down! My aunt Shirley makes this incredible orange cake that is one of my all-time favorites...and there it is right in the middle of at least three dozen desserts sitting on the kitchen table!

I may need to walk back to Orlando to work off all the calories and fat grams I'm about to consume...

We're heading to Baton Rouge to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. We haven't been over there in a couple of years so it will be nice to see all my aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins...and we finally get to meet my uncle's fiance'!

The IRS has increased the mileage deduction for business use of your car. Next year, you can write off $0.485 per mile. Charitable remains the same at $0.14 but medical and moving is up two cents to $0.20.