1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to use the headline test. When you 4 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: are making a decision, consider how your decision would sound 5 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: as the headline of a newspaper article. You want to 6 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: make the best decision, not just the most popular or 7 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,520 Speaker 1: easiest one, but there is also something to be said 8 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: for considering how other people will be likely to understand 9 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: your decision at first glance. You want to make sure 10 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: it won't come off in a way that you don't intend. 11 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: Many business leaders learn the advice that you shouldn't do 12 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: anything you wouldn't want written about on the front page 13 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: of the Wall Street Journal. If you would be embarrassed 14 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: by that prominent telling of what you are about to do, 15 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: you should really think about whether you should do it, 16 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: And that is good advice. But even if you are 17 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: doing something reasonable, headlines often tell the most controversial or 18 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: grabby aspect of a story. If people are likely to 19 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 1: talk about what you are doing, you want to think 20 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,559 Speaker 1: about the potential headlines so you can be intentional about 21 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: how you explain the decision and your reasoning. For instance, 22 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: if you are on the school board for your town 23 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: and decide to move your own child to an independent school. 24 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: You will realize that this probably does not pass the 25 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: headline test on its face. School board member abandoning public schools, right, 26 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: that's what people will think. So you need to think 27 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: about how you will narrate that decision in a way 28 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: that doesn't undercut your support for your town's public schools. 29 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: And there are various reasons that this might be the case. 30 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: Maybe your child has a special need that a local 31 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: private school specializes in. You can talk about the decision 32 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: that way and emphasize that you are working on expanding 33 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: your public schools special education offerings, but in the meantime, 34 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: you are making this decision for your child. As another example, 35 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: suppose your organization goes to a high deductible health insurance 36 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: plan from a more traditional health insurance plan. The obvious 37 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: way employees might write this headline is that cheap boss 38 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: slashes healthcare benefits. And if that is what you're doing, 39 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: that is one thing. But maybe you have plans to 40 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: give employees an hs A card that would cover most 41 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: of the deductible change, and it turns out that your 42 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: organization will still save enough that everyone can get a 43 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: cost of living salary increase. If that is the case, 44 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: you need to make sure that you are talking about 45 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: those things every single time you talk about the health 46 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: insurance change to try to shape the headline that people 47 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: would see. Sometimes the headline test will prompt you to 48 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: think carefully about how to communicate your decision, and other 49 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,239 Speaker 1: times the headline test may lead you to do something differently. 50 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: Maybe ideally you would rather concentrate your charitable giving on 51 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: fewer organizations so your donations make a bigger difference. Your 52 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: kids school seems pretty well funded, so it isn't one 53 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: of your top giving priorities. But if you see that 54 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: the principle would perceive this headline as parent of current 55 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: students thriving at the school stops give in to the 56 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: school because of other priorities, you might not like that headline, 57 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: so you could potentially give a small amount even if 58 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: you don't give a lot. When you use the headline test, 59 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: you can make sure that your thoughtful decisions seem thoughtful 60 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: to someone without all the details. That way, you'll know 61 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: when you may need to be especially intentional about your 62 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: explanations or even perhaps change what you do if you 63 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: try using the headline test, I'd love to hear about it. 64 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. 65 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 66 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 67 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from it. You can send me 68 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,039 Speaker 1: your tips, questions, or anything else. Just connect with me 69 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's 70 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: b E the number four, then breakfast p o D. 71 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 72 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is 73 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should 74 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is 75 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from 76 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 77 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.