This is the number one rule of journalism: Don’t Bury the Lead.
William Randolph Hearst, Horace Greeley, Al Neuharth, Walter Conkrite, Tom Brokaw, et al remind all of us that the reader/listener/watcher needs to know right away the crux of our Message, Story or Presentation.
Some of my absolute favorite books (which, by the way, are some of the best books ever written) can be summarized entirely with the TITLE. (Talk about not burying the lead!) This includes Think & Grow Rich, The Strangest Secret, The Aladdin Factor, Hope Is Not A Strategy, One Great Insight Is Worth 1,000 Ideas, The Goal, The Category of One, The Power of One, and more.
Note: THINK & GROW RICH by Napoleon Hill has been singled out as THE most influential book by more successful people than any other. In reading and re-reading this classic, I’m always amazed that Hill talks about the ‘secret’ throughout the book… yet actually put the secret in the TITLE and ON THE COVER!
Don’t Bury the Lead. Make sure everyone knows your Message at the highest level. (e.g., ‘We Save Lives!’)
