Crafting Concise Project Briefs

When I first asked my team for feedback, the room went SILENT. Why? Because speaking the truth felt too risky. This isn’t just my story, it’s the reality in countless workplaces. Here’s the truth: feedback is a minefield. 🔴 Done wrong? It breeds tension and mistrust. 🟢 Done right? It fixes problems—it transforms teams. Here’s how to get it right: 1/ Timing Is Everything ↳ Feedback during chaos? Disaster. Wait for a calm moment. ↳ A private 1-on-1 works best. 💡 Pro Tip: Start with a positive comment—it sets the tone. 2/ Lead With Solutions ↳ Complaints without fixes = noise. Solutions = action. ↳ Try this: “We could avoid confusion with more clarity upfront. What do you think?” 💡 Pro Tip: Frame solutions as support for the team’s success, not criticism. 3/ Be Clear, Not Cryptic ↳ Instead of “Communication could be better,” say: ↳ “Inconsistent updates slow me down. Weekly check-ins might help.” 💡 Pro Tip: Use examples to back it up—clarity builds trust. 4/ Use “I” Instead of “You” ↳ Feedback isn’t a blame game. Stick to “I” statements to share your perspective. ↳ Example: “I feel I don’t have enough autonomy to contribute fully.” 💡 Pro Tip: Highlight how solving the issue benefits the whole team. 5/ Know When to Let It Go ↳ Pick your battles. Save your energy for what really matters. ↳ Does this impact the team or my work? If not, let it go. 💡 Pro Tip: Focus feedback on what aligns with team goals. 6/ End With a Vision ↳ Great feedback doesn’t just fix problems—it builds something better. ↳ Paint the big picture: “Here’s how this change could help the team hit the next level.” 💡 Pro Tip: Vision-driven feedback inspires action. The takeaway? Feedback isn’t about proving you’re right, it’s about progress. Master these steps, and you’ll not only solve problems, but you’ll also earn respect and trust. What’s your biggest feedback fail (or win)? Share it below. 👇 ♻️ Repost to help your network get better! ➕ And follow Shulin Lee for more.

When I started working in law firms, it was hard to get feedback on my work. Senior lawyers were often busy and giving feedback wasn't always top-of-mind unless something was really wrong with what I was doing. In case it helps, here are a few things I learned to do to drive feedback discussions: 1️⃣ Generate compares Using document comparisons will show the differences between your draft and the final version that goes out to the client. It's the easiest way to show the changes your supervisor has made in both style and substance. It's also good for generating specific questions for your supervisor to answer instead of a general "is there anything I could improve?" 2️⃣ Set up post-project catch ups It's usually easiest for supervisors to give feedback after a matter (or phase in that matter) has finished, instead of when everything is still ongoing. "Hi Jane, I'm trying to get a bit more feedback on my work. Would it be okay if I set up a [15 minute] meeting for me to ask you a few questions after we send this out to the client?" 3️⃣ Ask specific questions One of the most difficult things for supervisors to do is give 'general' feedback. It's much easier (and more constructive) if you can identify a few specific areas to improve. "I felt like I had trouble juggling the different tasks on this matter. Could you walk me through your process?" "This is how I approached the task. Is there a better way you'd do it next time?" "I've looked through the compare and I wanted to ask why these changes were made." 4️⃣ Implement feedback and follow up Just as you'd like to receive constructive feedback, supervisors like to know if it's had an effect. Taking a bit of time to follow up and share how a piece of advice has worked out can motivate them to keep providing feedback in future. "Hey I just wanted to let you know that I tried out your process and it's been working a lot better now. Thanks!" Anything else you'd add? ------ Btw, if you're a junior lawyer looking for practical career advice - check out the free how-to guides on my website. You can also stay updated by sending a connection / follow. #lawyers #legalprofession #lawfirms #lawstudents

Are your stakeholders arguing about commas instead of what truly matters? It might not be their fault. Here’s a familiar nightmare for comms professionals: You spend hours crafting content - getting the tone right, aligning with the objective, polishing every detail. You send it out for approval… …and what comes back? A flood of comments about word choices, commas, and the colour of a chart. This often starts with the wrong ask. When you say, “Please review and let me know if you have any feedback,” you’re inviting every type of input - useful or not. Let’s fix that. Here’s how to get more focused, higher-value feedback: 1️⃣ Ask for specific input Narrow the scope so stakeholders know exactly what their role is. The queen of Internal comms Joanna Parsons recommends asking: 👉 “Can you fact-check this for accuracy?” This shift keeps the review focused on what actually matters. 2️⃣ Set a clear deadline Always include a concrete date and time. And add this line: 👉 “If I don’t receive feedback by the deadline, I’ll consider the information approved and move forward with publishing.” This removes ambiguity and speeds up approvals. 3️⃣ Raise the stakes if necessary Some stakeholders can’t resist commenting on every detail. 👉 If that’s your reality, send the content as a PDF. It’s reviewable - just less editable. If major changes are truly needed, they’ll ask for an editable file. This naturally filters out low-value edits. Just to be clear: this isn’t about avoiding input. It’s about protecting everyone’s time. When you guide stakeholders toward the feedback that truly matters, you keep them out of the comma-and-colour weeds and focused on impact. Just make sure before tightening the feedback process that you understand your stakeholders - sometimes maintaining strong relationships matters more than speed. Image credit: E.S. Glenn for The New Yorker

Getting the right feedback will transform your job as a PM. More scalability, better user engagement, and growth. But most PMs don’t know how to do it right. Here’s the Feedback Engine I’ve used to ship highly engaging products at unicorns & large organizations: — Right feedback can literally transform your product and company. At Apollo, we launched a contact enrichment feature. Feedback showed users loved its accuracy, but... They needed bulk processing. We shipped it and had a 40% increase in user engagement. Here’s how to get it right: — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟭: 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 Most PMs get this wrong. They collect feedback randomly with no system or strategy. But remember: your output is only as good as your input. And if your input is messy, it will only lead you astray. Here’s how to collect feedback strategically: → Diversify your sources: customer interviews, support tickets, sales calls, social media & community forums, etc. → Be systematic: track feedback across channels consistently. → Close the loop: confirm your understanding with users to avoid misinterpretation. — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟮: 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 Analyzing feedback is like building the foundation of a skyscraper. If it’s shaky, your decisions will crumble. So don’t rush through it. Dive deep to identify patterns that will guide your actions in the right direction. Here’s how: Aggregate feedback → pull data from all sources into one place. Spot themes → look for recurring pain points, feature requests, or frustrations. Quantify impact → how often does an issue occur? Map risks → classify issues by severity and potential business impact. — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟯: 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 Now comes the exciting part: turning insights into action. Execution here can make or break everything. Do it right, and you’ll ship features users love. Mess it up, and you’ll waste time, effort, and resources. Here’s how to execute effectively: Prioritize ruthlessly → focus on high-impact, low-effort changes first. Assign ownership → make sure every action has a responsible owner. Set validation loops → build mechanisms to test and validate changes. Stay agile → be ready to pivot if feedback reveals new priorities. — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟰: 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 What can’t be measured, can’t be improved. If your metrics don’t move, something went wrong. Either the feedback was flawed, or your solution didn’t land. Here’s how to measure: → Set KPIs for success, like user engagement, adoption rates, or risk reduction. → Track metrics post-launch to catch issues early. → Iterate quickly and keep on improving on feedback. — In a nutshell... It creates a cycle that drives growth and reduces risk: → Collect feedback strategically. → Analyze it deeply for actionable insights. → Act on it with precision. → Measure its impact and iterate. — P.S. How do you collect and implement feedback?

The creative brief is the most underrated document in our business. And most of them are terrible. I've seen thousands of briefs over 30 years. Award-winning briefs and briefs that should never have left the building. Here's what separates them: 01 - A bad brief tells the creative team what to make. A great brief tells them what problem to solve and trusts them to find the answer. 02 - A bad brief has six objectives. A great brief has one. If everything is important, nothing is. 03 - A bad brief describes the audience as a demographic. A great brief describes them as a human being in a specific moment, feeling a specific thing. 04 - A bad brief is written by committee. A great brief is owned by one person willing to defend every word in it. 05 - A bad brief asks for something safe. A great brief gives the creative team permission to surprise you. The best creative work I've ever seen didn't start in a studio. It started in a room where someone wrote a brief that was brave enough to demand something extraordinary. You can't get great creative output from a mediocre brief. It's not possible. What's the worst brief you've ever been given or written? #Advertising #CreativeStrategy #BriefWriting #Design #BrandBuilding #CreativeLeadership The One Club for Creativity

Briefs should be… well… brief. I wrote my fair share of really shitty briefs. I still remember the first one. I think it was like 20 pages long. And I got home really proud thinking that my brief was able to answer any question the agency may have had. Well, little I knew that most likely no one ever read that brief 😂 The quote from Mark Twain was repeated multiple times to me by my former boss, mentor and friend Steve Miles. And it’s so so so true. It’s really hard to write a concise, to the point and insightful brief. To do that you need to know what is the one most important thing to communicate. And leave out the temptation of adding a laundry list of things. And believe me: It is indeed very tempting to ask for more and more and more. The issue is that the more you put in, the less consumers will take out (and I will illustrate that with data in a future post). And if the creative team cannot put their finger on the one thing that they need to communicate (and understand the insight/ tension behind it), chances are you will get average creative. The best work I had the chance to be part of had a very simple, unforgettable, one line sort of brief. “Let’s make women feel more beautiful” triggered Dove Real Beauty Sketches. “Our food is not crap” triggered Moldy Whopper. “Play with fire” was the brief behind Burning Stores. That’s the thing. I still remember all of them. And so does the creative team. My first ever 20 page brief? Can’t remember what was in there. #Advertising #Creativity #Marketing

If you write a lousy brief, you'll get lousy advertising. Garbage in, garbage out. I've seen too many creative briefs that try to do everything: → Drive trial AND increase usage frequency → Target everyone from 18-65 → Deliver 7 different messages → Show up on every media channel Then marketers wonder why the creative work misses the mark. Here's what actually works: ✓ ONE strategic objective (not three) ✓ ONE tightly defined consumer target (not "everyone") ✓ ONE desired consumer response (not think, feel, AND try) ✓ ONE main message (not a laundry list) ✓ TWO reasons to believe (maximum) The best creative briefs force brutal decisions. You can't say: "Drive penetration and usage frequency" — Pick one. They require different targets, different messages, different media. You can't target: "18-65 year olds who shop at grocery stores" — That's everyone. No one will feel "this brand is for me." You can't deliver: Seven unrelated messages and expect consumers to remember anything. The discipline starts at the brief. The brief sets up everything that follows. Strategy before execution. Always. [Link] Read the full line-by-line breakdown with examples of good vs. bad briefs → https://lnkd.in/epk9F-cK What's the biggest flaw you see in creative briefs? P.S. Follow me for daily insights on brand strategy that challenge how you think about planning and execution. We have a 1-day training session on writing smarter Creative Briefs. I make marketers smarter.

The Brief I Wish I Got more...   The briefs that get me fired up aren’t the ones that give me “freedom.”     It’s the ones that actually make space for creativity. And oddly enough, those tend to be the most prescriptive.     Not prescriptive like “do this, say this, use this font.”     Prescriptive like:   → We know the human truth we’re solving for   → We’ve got one emotion we want to land   → We’re clear on what not to do   → And are willing to be honest about what we are Those are the briefs that let you run. Because the playground is defined, and now you get to decide how wild you want to go inside it.     Too loose? You’re guessing.   Too tight? You’re stuck.   The best ones? They guide without gripping.  

Stop asking clients "what's your feedback?" Well, I don't mean don't ask for feedback. Obviously you should. But "what do you think?" is an open invitation to chaos. I made a small cheat sheet in Framer that you can bookmark for your next design review. Every designer has lived this meeting: you present refined brand concept and someone reopens the logo discussion. Someone else mentions a competitor. The color debate starts again. Suddenly the entire project is back at square one and you're playing design ping-pong with six people who all have different opinions about blue. The problem is that nobody defined WHAT kind of feedback the work actually needs right now. One trick I learned at IDEO is naming the feedback mode at the beginning of every session. Not "any thoughts?" but what kind of thinking we're doing today. Here's the framework I use: [Inspire mode] When we're exploring what the brand could become, ask questions like: → Which references feel closest to your ambition? → Which ones feel completely wrong? → Where should this brand sit culturally — more institutional or more experimental? [Challenge mode] When we need to stress-test the concept, ask: → Does this feel too safe or too bold for where the company is today? → What objections would users or investors raise? → Would this still feel right if the company scaled 10×? [Decide mode] When it's time to commit, ask: → Which direction best reflects the company's future, not just today? → What trade-offs come with this choice? → If we shipped this tomorrow, would you defend it publicly? [Refine mode] When the direction is right but the details need tuning, ask: → What parts feel strongest? → Where does something feel slightly off — even if you can't articulate why? → Where do you want more clarity or emphasis? [Polish mode] When the work is almost ready to ship, ask: → Anything unclear before launch? → Are there key use cases we haven't stress-tested? → Anything that makes you nervous about rollout? Once I started doing this, feedback sessions stopped being fight-or-flight situation. And the framing can be very simple in practice! For example: “For this review I’d love to stay in inspiration mode. I’m not looking for approval yet — I’m trying to understand what territory feels right for the brand. Which of these directions feels closest to your ambition, and which ones feel completely wrong?” Or later in the project: “Today we’re in refine mode. The concept is already chosen, so I’m mostly looking for signals on details — what parts feel strongest, and where something feels slightly off.” A tiny shift in framing, but it changes the entire conversation. I hope it might save you from at least one unnecessary “i don’t like this shade of blue” debate!

Once a 6-page narrative has been written on Amazon, the bulk of the responsibility shifts to the document's readers. These readers are not passive recipients; they are decision-makers, stakeholders, builders, and owners of what happens next. The role of the readers is to extract insights, identify gaps, challenge logic, propose next steps, and help the team move forward after the meeting. The progress of a plan or new initiative idea depends on engaged, high-judgment readers. During the silent reading period at the beginning of the document review, the readers take notes and leave questions in the comments. They flag unclear assumptions, risks not addressed, and disagreements. They also note any ideas for improving the plan. Done well, these comments give the authors valuable feedback to strengthen both the thinking and direction. Here are common questions that Amazon readers carry in mind as they read narratives: → What assumptions are being made? Do I agree with them? → Does the logic hold together? → Is there a clear recommendation or call to action? → Are we ready to decide, or is further exploration needed? → What’s missing—and how do we get it? Specifically for an Annual Operating Plan document, they will carry these questions as they read: → What’s the current truth of the business? → What are the key input metrics and how do we influence them? → Are the goals ambitious and achievable? → Are initiatives scoped clearly? → Are the resource asks realistic? → How does this plan compare to other investments? Specifically for a PR/FAQ, they may ask themselves: → Do I understand the customer problem? → Is the problem real and significant? → Who is the customer and what do they care about? → Is the proposed solution clear to customers? → Will this change customer behavior? → Is the TAM big enough? → Can we test this faster or with less scope? → What’s the recommended next step: build, test, pivot, or stop? Once reading ends, discussion begins. Two formats work well. One is sequential: Go through comments in order while someone takes notes. The second method is round-robin: Each person raises their most important questions, starting with the most junior and ending with the most senior person in the room. Finally, the meeting must end with a clear next step. That could be a greenlight, a request for more data, a narrowed scope, or a reframed problem, but it must be explicit, actionable, and assigned. If the meeting ends without clarity, it’s the document authors’ responsibility to ask, “What decision have we made and/or what action are we taking from here?” The purpose of the narrative exercise and the review meeting is to drive clarity, action, and high-quality decisions. If that doesn’t happen, the value of the document hasn’t been realized. To learn more about writing narratives for your business: https://lnkd.in/d_BUzQ2W