Despite the many good things about a note card-based system of taking and organizing notes, there are occasional downsides. In this case, in going through my outline for this introductory series of posts, I skipped over the bridge between strategy and the more tactical issues we’ve begun discussing in Persuasion and will keep on with in Speaking Well and Writing Well. Specifically, in a busy life with many demands, how do you get the things done that actually matter? How do you take day to day steps to reach the strategic goals you’ve defined in accordance with your values? I don’t propose to give a comprehensive answer here, as I…
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We now come to what might be considered the heart of rhetoric, which is how to use our speech and writing to convince others of things we would like them to think, feel, or do. I hope that by now I’ve made clear why we didn’t jump straight into persuasion, as central as it may be. If we aren’t clear on our values and ethics, persuasion becomes a matter of mere expediency, twisting and turning to whatever shape suits our self-interest. Even with values nailed down, though, if we can’t think through how set goals and pursue them effectively, then we will not know when or how to deploy our…
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So far, in talking about Strategy, we’ve taken it for granted that “you” want certain outcomes, and can set goals to make that happen. But on closer examination, this “you” turns out to be more complex. All of us have experienced “wanting” something we know we’d be better off without, or the opposite, knowing we “should” want something, but lacking the motivation to make it happen. To think clearly and effectively about strategy, then, it’s helpful to clarify what part of ourselves we ought to heed in setting goals and going after them, which I propose ought to be the old-fashioned notion of the Will. Desire, Wanting, and the Will…