A memorandum from Winston Churchill to the War Cabinet from 1940-08-09. Originally seen in https://twitter.com/Oliviersmith/status/701151794001477633 and typed up for accessibility reasons.
To do our work, we all have to read a mass of papers. Nearly all of them are far too long. This wastes time, while energy has to be spent in looking for the essential points.
I ask my colleagues and their staffs to see to it that their Reports are shorter.
- The aim should be Reports which set out the main points in a series of short, crisp paragraphs.
- If a Report relies on detailed analysis of some complicated factors, or on statistics, these should be set out in an Appendix.