PREFACE

Before appearing on the Today show to discuss my previous book, The Six Fundamentals of Success, I was talking to Matt Lauer about some of the ideas in the book. Right before we went on the air, he leaned over and said, “You know what really drives me nuts? When people come into my office for a five-minute conversation and, an hour later, they’re still there! Why can’t they cut to the chase?”

Matt was among the first to single out that rule, but he was not the last. In countless conversations with CEOs and managers, in my speaking engagements and in my consulting work with executives at some of the top companies in the country, I heard similar questions: How can I get people to stop wasting my time? How can I keep conversations on track? How can I get more done in less time? They all boiled down to the same answer: by cutting to the chase.

Cutting to the chase is about much more than getting to the point. It’s about defining your purpose—whether in accomplishing a specific task or in your career and life. It’s about knowing your world—your job, your organization, your industry—and your place in it. It’s about concentrating—shutting out distractions, setting personal boundaries, and focusing on your goals. Ultimately, it’s about understanding that your time is, quite literally, your life.

The rules that follow are lessons that I’ve learned from my decades of working with managers and executives. You can apply these lessons to your own life and career, no matter what your job or how high up in your organization you are—or hope to be. This book will help you as individuals and leaders, as family members and community members, to continually reinforce the purposefulness of your actions. Nothing, I would argue, translates more directly into effective performance. But these rules aren’t only for individuals; companies, too, benefit from cutting to the chase. In fact, I believe helping people cut to the chase is the critical leadership skill of the next decade.

I believe that each of the 100 rules in this book is essential and have avoided repetition whenever possible. However, you will find recurring themes—keeping meetings short, conversations focused, and communication clear. Ideas as important as these bear repeating in different contexts and applications.

Whether the waters ahead are calm or turbulent, people who cut to the chase are the ones who will thrive. Because cutting to the chase isn’t just about doing your work faster—it’s about putting your career on the fast track. It will lead to better business results—and liberate you to focus on everything you’re working for: your community, hobbies and avocations, and, most important, the people you love.

While the payoff for cutting to the chase is more time, ironically, it often requires you to invest some time and energy up front. As with any type of personal training, it requires discipline, practice, and heart. I suggest tackling a few rules to start that speak best to your situation. Take note of how much time they help you to save—I promise that you’ll be invigorated by the results.

Life is beautiful and fragile. The disasters that have rocked our world in the early twenty-first century have, I believe, led people to a greater awareness of that fact. We live in an age where our competitiveness is matched only by our desire for work/life balance. Of course, at the same time employees are striving for greater meaning in their lives, employers are struggling to create increased value for customers and shareholders. How do you solve these seemingly conflicting problems? By defining your purpose, knowing your world, and concentrating. In other words, by cutting to the chase.

I’d enjoy hearing your experiences applying these rules. Please e-mail me at cuttothechase@stuartlevine.com. You can also visit our Web site at www.stuartlevine.com. Thank you.

—Stuart R. Levine