My Books
BRIEF: Make a bigger impact by saying less” (Wiley & Sons, 2014) tackles the importance of clear and concise communication. My second book “NOISE: Living and leading when nobody can focus” (Wiley & Sons, 2020) addresses the devastating effects on information overload, digital devices and non-stop distractions. My most recent book “Quiet Works: Making silence the secret ingredient of the workday” (Matt Holt | BenBella Books, 2024) proposes simple, realistic ways to get important work done alone. All of these books are practical, encouraging and highly relevant. Together, they form a perfect pairing: Clear thinking and concise communication. www.thebrieflab.com/books
Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less
The only way to survive in business today is to be a lean communicator. Busy executives expect you to respect and manage their time more effectively than ever. You need to do the groundwork to make your message tight and to the point. The average professional receives 304 emails per week and checks their smartphones 36 times an hour and 38 hours a week. This inattention has spread to every part of life. The average attention span has shrunk from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight in 2012.
So, throw them a lifeline and be brief.
Author Joe McCormack tackles the challenges of inattention, interruptions, and impatience that every professional faces. His proven B.R.I.E.F. approach, which stands for Background, Relevance, Information, Ending, and Follow up, helps simplify and clarify complex communication. BRIEF will help you summarize lengthy information, tell a short story, harness the power of infographics and videos, and turn monologue presentations into controlled conversations.
- Details the B.R.I.E.F. approach to distilling your message into a brief presentation
- Written by the founder and CEO of Sheffield Marketing Partners, which specializes in message and narrative development, who is also a recognized expert in Narrative Mapping, a technique that helps clients achieve a clearer and more concise message
Long story short: BRIEF will help you gain the muscle you need to eliminate wasteful words and stand out from the rest. Be better. Be brief.
Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus
In the current digital age, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to stay focused. Smartphones, tablets, smart watches, and other devices constantly vie for our attention. In both business and life, we are constantly bombarded with tweets, likes, mentions, and a constant stream of information. The inability to pay attention impacts learning, parenting, prioritizing, and leading. Not surprisingly, attention spans have gotten shorter. Already being pulled in a dozen directions every minute, managers and business leaders often struggle to address important issues and focus on everything that needs attention.
Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus teaches managers and leaders how to help themselves and others sharpen their focusing skills. In this follow-up to his first book Brief—the proven, step-by-step approach to clear, concise, and effective communication—author Joseph McCormack helps readers cut through the static and devote their attention to what is important. This engaging, informative book will help you:
- Apply effective, real-world techniques to hone your focus and reduce interference
- Learn the lessons taught to organizations such as Harley-Davidson, BMO Harris Bank, MasterCard, and the US Army
- Understand how modern technology can actually strengthen your focus if used correctly
- Avoid becoming a casualty of “weapons of mass distraction”
Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus is a valuable resource for leaders and managers seeking to develop laser-sharp focus and apply it to everything you do.
From the time we wake up, our workday starts. We’re on our smart phones, texting and emailing, scrolling news feeds, jumping on video conference calls. It’s a 24/7 hamster wheel. Work culture—at the office, hybrid, or remote—is defined by too much information and constant collaboration. There’s no time or place for thinking alone.
In Quiet Works, Joseph McCormack proposes a simple, practical, and useful way to work more strategically and intentionally. You will learn to:
- Make appointments for quiet, and not run from or cancel them
- Set boundaries to alert others not to disturb or distract you
- Balance time spent alone in quiet with time together collaborating
- Design workspaces that are conducive to quiet
- Use tools and practices that are realistic and rewarding
The noise of constant distractions, interruptions, and digital devices doesn’t need to defeat us. We can set the conditions for ourselves, colleagues, and organizations to slow down periodically while everything is speeding up. Quiet Works will help you become a stronger professional who is empowered and energized to work in a better, smarter, and more productive way in today’s competitive, noisy environment.