Roger Ailes wrote a book many years ago entitled, You Are the Message. This was long before he became the head of Fox News and, in fact, long before he developed a taste for blondes. It was after the work he’d done on The Mike Douglas Show for which he’d earned an Emmy®. Anyway, I read the book in 1989, and of all its many quotables, this one stood out:
Always carry a notebook. Take notes selectively. Take notes continuously throughout the day. It helps you to listen more effectively. Keep a notebook or a diary with you at all times and jot down ideas or important bits of information from phone conversations, meetings, etc. Writing improves memory and accumulating notes gives you a quick reference source and cuts down on the number of loose scraps of paper in your office.
I once worked for a man who took his own spiral-bound, four-subject notebook everywhere. Jokingly, he picked it one time as we were headed out for a coffee break, saying,
“Joe, just in case you say something worth remembering.”
LOL, but his point was that opportunities for brainstorming will present themselves whenever and wherever the mind allows them. Carry a notebook and capture thoughts and ideas.
I came of age in the information revolution. Well, to be fair, BEFORE the information revolution (I am that old). I so wanted to embrace the idea of a personal computer for note taking and of course for word processing. As an accountant, I embraced the spreadsheet immediately. As a manager, I embraced the idea of back-office process improvement through the use of technology. But I always carried a paper notebook. Always.
[this post was originally published in 2013]
