Did the McKinsey consulting experience help me in my startup journey? The answer is complicated. Yet, one aspect did — clear communication.
In consulting, when you want to think clearly, you just open a PowerPoint deck and start writing. But to write clearly, don’t you need to first think clearly? So like the chicken and egg, what comes first – clear thinking or clear writing?
It turns out to be an iterative process.
With your initial thoughts, you start writing and put some structure around it. And soon, you have the first draft, which you almost always hate because it is not clear enough.
That forces you to think more clearly, and then rewrite. After a few ‘think-write-rethink-rewrite’ cycles, clear and persuasive writing emerges.
The next time you want to communicate something clearly — be it a blog post, investor presentation, or newsletter — iterate through this writing-thinking cycle a few times.
Every polished document comes after 20 embarrassing drafts that, thankfully, nobody ever sees.
– Rajan