“I ask, then I act” is an attention-grabbing statement, but it’s admittedly simplistic. I don’t fall in the “ready, fire, aim” school, but believe that action incorporates review. As the management consultants Daft Punk stated many years ago:
One more time
And they proceeded to say:
One more time
So I guess it’s important.
“One more time” with a client’s content
One time I used my technology product marketing expertise to draft a piece for a client, which the client then edited with Track Changes on. The client made a number of improvements to my text, so I should have been happy with that and let it go. But I thought I’d look at the document.
One more time.
Stupid Word tricks, the Read Aloud edition
So I made a copy of the document, accepted all the changes in the copy, and had Microsoft Word read the document to me (Review menu, Speech section, Read Aloud).
Unlike the audio transcription tool (now superseded by AI meeting assistants), the built-in “Read Aloud” feature remains essential today.
Everything flowed well, and Word’s built-in editor didn’t flag anything.
My eyes had seen the problem
But my eye caught something.
In my initial draft, I had referenced the client’s 800 number.
Which in and of itself isn’t bad.
Except for the fact that this is a worldwide company, and many of the prospects who responded to the piece would be calling from outside the United States, where 800 numbers are not supported.
So I shot an urgent message saying to correct my error and change the number from an 800 number to a domestic number.
That one additional review eliminated a possible source of friction between my client and its prospects.
Problem solved, even before anyone noticed there was a problem.
You knew this was coming
Anyone notice the similarity between this song and Phil Collins’ “One More Night”? Or is it just me?
Bredemarket 