Please! “Don’t make me think”

Please! “Don’t make me think”

>> A great book - but a nasty trend that kills your chances.

Years ago I read Steve Krug's excellent book, "Don't make me think".

It gives you very wise advice on something essential to success : how to communicate better.

If you can't, people won't do what you want and you won't succeed. 

But looking at what's happening online today leads me to a worrying conclusion. 

Consider how the organisations that rule our on-line universe make our lives easier. 

They actively discourage you thinking for yourself.

Here are examples but I’m sure you can think of others.

When I switch my phone on it says “Send a message to so-and-so! Call such and such!”

If you go on LinkedIn seeking business everything is done for you. 

But is it done well?

You are given ready-made messages that start with saying what you do. 

But nobody gives a hoot about what you do. 

They want to know what you can do for them.

And to beat your competitors you must explain how you do it better than them.

But what if you reply to one of these mass-produced no-think messages?

Why, ready- made responses come whizzing back.

No effort or intelligence needed at any point.

This is all a magnificent machine for churning out idiots. 

It leads to the suicide of independent thought and the development of skills.

There are parallels all around you.

Consider, if you will, the joys of cooking and eating.

When ready made meals started being produced - over 100 years ago - they were a wonderful thing.

The quality got better and better - but not to the degree that they are now.

People have stopped learning to cook. 

What does the easy life do for you?

The fewer resources people have the more resourceful they must be. 

The more you must think, the more you will think and the better your ideas will be.

Do you ever think the harder way may be the best way?

Do you prefer to think for yourself rather than have a machine do it for you? 

Did what you just read make sense? 

Do you like to deal with people who do think - but not the same way as everyone else.

People who might perhaps point you in a different, better direction.

Let's talk!

Best,

Drayton



Lisa Starkey

MPH (Health Education & Promotion) | Leveraging leadership, strategic thinking, and critical evaluation to drive impactful public health programs and elevate community health.

4 年

I do concur! I think I've spent much of my life trying to be more resourceful than I "need" to be just for the sake of using my brain. I do things the hard way almost as a rule! Though sometimes I end up realizing that some things are better left to the experts. Or I realize I could save so much time by just buying what I need or automating a task. To me it's a shame we have so many opportunities to let others do the thinking for us, and I often wish I lived in a world where we were forced to do things ourselves to survive. On the other hand, survival these days is not what it used to be. Without some of the "conveniences" we have now, would we not fall terribly behind? It's a question that gnaws at me often! Anyone else? ??

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