I was at an FT125 conference earlier this week where I had a fascinating discussion with the CEO of a medium-sized cosmetics brand company. I told him about my background in Communications and was surprised to hear that he too started his career in a somewhat similar role. “So how has the meaning of the word changed for you now?”, I asked him. “A lot”, he said, “what I value most in communication today is brevity. Today – whether it’s an email, a call, or a meeting – I insist that the writer/presenter tell me in the first sentence what he/she would have told me in the last sentence. That simple rule helps remind everyone what is the most important point of the conversation!”. Brilliant; reminded me of Donald Coduto’s famous MPT rule, “The most important thing (MPT) is to keep the most important thing the most important thing” … Would you agree?