Writing the Great Corporate Memorandum

Concise, clear business writing that supports the author’s purpose remains important, notwithstanding the sloppy, wayward styles favored by many professionals using electronic media. And after you write that excellent note, you must make an important decision: who should receive it. 

I started my corporate career at Xerox Corporation. I thought I was a hotshot writer and considered one memo I wrote to my boss, the general counsel, to be superb and convincing. He didn’t, and he identified errors and provided outstanding advice on how I could improve it. He said that every memorandum should be written as though intended for the chairman and chief executive officer. Writing must be at the highest level, every time.

This was news. I wrote a lot, often with care — but not always. My writing quality was not consistent. It is easier to write a long memorandum than a short one. And it is easier to organize generally and write what flows. But is every sentence in the right order? Is there an internal logic to what is written? How tight is the language?

I took my boss’ advice. Soon I wrote, rewrote, and rewrote again. My notes became shorter, more tightly written (but importantly not so tight that the reader didn’t get the message). I would put drafts aside and look at them the next day with a fresh eye. I rearranged sentences, took out big words, and inserted shorter ones.

I developed another rule. Never write more than one page to a company chairman or chief executive. These busy people set long tomes aside and delegate them to others. I’ve seen a tart note written by one CEO to an executive vice president admonishing him to “cut it down.” If there is important back-up material, append it. The reader will decide what’s of interest. Leave out everything that is not absolutely necessary.

When I became a boss, I shared my new skills and taught my teams the tools for better writing. Some complained, saying they didn’t have time to write well. That didn’t cut it with me. I still get comments from some of my former colleagues who recall those lessons.

Sometimes there are positive results when a boss asks for information, and he likes what he reads. While responsible for executive development at AIG, I met at our New York offices with Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, then chairman, who asked me for a memorandum explaining two extensive executive development programs I was running. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was considering me for Asian assignments. This was one test. In the next couple of days, I wrote 15+ drafts and reduced the note to just under one page. Off it went. It worked, and six weeks later, I began assignments lasting two years in Tokyo and Hong Kong.

So, who gets the memorandum you write? Of course it should go to the person who asked for it, or to the person from whom you want something. Assuming it’s not a confidential note, who should get it beyond that? My view is that it’s better to copy others who are in the chain of responsibility. Don’t blindside people whose goodwill and support you need in getting your job done. Don’t send it to everyone in your corporate network. People have too much to read, and they resent non-relevant clutter.

Some people work in a matrixed managed format: They have a straight line (direct) boss and a dotted line (indirect) boss. An example would be an attorney in an operating group who reports directly to the group head (the direct boss) and also has functional responsibility (indirect) to the corporate general counsel. In such a case, copy both. 

If you write to your group head about a financial matter, you will most likely want to copy the responsible group financial officer. You get the picture.

My challenge occurred when I worked in Hong Kong. I continued to have my permanent boss in New York, an executive vice president. I also had an indirect line to the corporate head of human relations in New York, a senior vice president. In addition I had the three top Asian executives as my bosses.  Suffice it to say that I needed the support of all five, but other than writing to one of them on a specific matter, or responding to a request, I rarely copied all four others. It was a balancing act to include those who should read the material.

My target length for most articles (this is my 27th) is 800 words. It takes numerous drafts to bring them down to this number. You should use the same discipline in your business writing. Your readers will appreciate it.