The Washington herald., 1916-10-11
Be Brief.
By oRIsoN SWEET MAIDEN.

By ORlsON SWEET MAHDENs
There is business so important that it
cannot be told one sheet of paper" said
Cyrus w. Field. Time is very valuable. Pune
tuaty honesty, and brevity are the watchwords
of life. Never write a long letter. A business
has not time to read it. If you have any
thing to say be brief
Years ago, when l was laying the Atlantic
cable, l had occasion to send very important
letter to England. l knew it would have to be
read by the Prime Minister and by the Queen.
l wrote out what l had to say. 1t covered sew
eral sheets of paper. Then l went over it twenty
times, eliminating words here and there, making
sentences brefer, until finally l got all had to
say sheet of paper. Then / mailed it.
In due time l received the answer. 1t was a
satisfactory one, too; but do you think l would
have Jared we'll if my letter had covered
half dozen sheets? No, indeed. Brevty is a
rare gift"
A. T. Stewart-as does every progressive bust
ness man-regarded his time as his capital
No one was admitted to his private office
until he had stated his business to a sentinel at
outer door and then to another near the
Office If the visitor pleaded private business,
the sentinel would say: "Mr. Stewart has no
private business" When admittance gained,
one had to be brief The business of Stewards
establishment was dispatched with system and
promptitude which surprised rival merchants.
There no dwadling dallying or foong,
but business" was the watchword from morning
until night. He refused to be drawn into friendly
conversation during business hours. He had not
moment to waste.
Many youth has failed to get situation
because he talked to much when making his ap-
pcation. Most business men have no time to
waste and they appreciate brevity. Brevity of
expression always makes a favorable impression
upon a good business
When you have occasion to call on a man
during business hours, stick closely to the mat
ter under discussion and use as few words as
possible and get away as quickly as you can.
Every moment of his working hours is valuable,
and he has no time for useless conversation.
If there is anything that exasperates busi-
ness man it is to try to do business with men
who never get anywhere, who never come to the
point who beat about the bush" with long in
Productions and meaningless verbiage. Like a
dog which turns around a half dozen times and
then lies down where he was in the first place
they tire one out with useless explanations in
Productions and apologies and talk about all
sorts Of things but the business Of the moment.
There are some men you never can bring to
the point. They will wander all around it, over
it and under it, always evading and avoiding,
but never quite touching the marrow. Their
minds work by indrecton their mental proc
esses are not exact. They are like children in
the play called "Poison"-they try to avoid
touching the designated object 1t seems un-
accountable that people will take so much trou-
Bile apparently to avoid coming to the point
When boys and young men ask my opinion
about their ability to succeed in business | try
to find out whether they have this power of di-
rectness, of coming to the point clearly, squarely
and forcibly without indirection, without parley-
ing, without useless words If they lack this
quality apparently there is little chance OF their
succeeding in large way, for this is character
stic OF men Of affairs who achieve great things.
The indirect man is always working to disad-
vantage. He labors hard, but never gets any
where
The quality of directness is characteristic OF
all men of great executive ability because they
value time too much to squander it in useless
and meaningless conversations it is an indispen-
sable quality of the leader or manager of all
large enterprises.
Many man has gone down to failure be-
cause he lacked ability to arrive quickly and fe-
fectively at a conclusion. While he was delib-
Grating and balancing and beating about the
bush" the opportunity to save himself passed
and the crisis ruined him.
1t does not matter how much ability, educa-
tion influence, or cleverness you may have if
you lack the art Of coming to the point quickly
and decisively, of focusing yourself Immediately,
you can never be very successful.