Characteristics of Tip Lists

BrassTacks TipLists™ are a genre of lists that offers aggregations of other peoples’ experiences, advice, admonitions and guidelines. These bare-bones, to-the-point lists can really tell you things that are both important and useful. Click here to see some examples.

The best BrassTacks TipLists™ are compiled by wise people with deep experience. They typically itemize terse suggestions, observations or recommendations concerning a given topic. They offer short, to-the-point, experienced-based bits of advice and insight – often accompanied by admonitions – that, if seriously regarded can expand the efficacy of your actions. It’s the type of easy-to-grasp input that one typically wishes would be offered up by learned, but too often verbose, authors, seminar leaders and operating manual editors. It constitutes “been there; done that” advice and opinion that can be quickly comprehended and acted upon.

BrassTacks TipLists, if well composed, can constitute an especially powerful tool since they are:

Distilled: Getting to the essence of an issue in few words; short and to the point.

Focused: Addressing a narrow and defined topic, issue or challenge that you can easily relate to

Experience-based: Filtered through the experience of an accomplished contributor who has made the effort to learn, usually the hard way.

Action-oriented: Providing terse recommendations that can be immediately implemented.

Connected: Relating directly to current or anticipated circumstances in your life.

Memorable: Easily recalled or easily recorded on a 3x5 index card for reference.

Un-intimidating: Easier to engage that a five-hundred page book (that usually contains only a hundred worthwhile words anyway)

Portable: Conveniently re-directed to friends and colleagues who could benefit from the input.

Time saving: Input that's short, sweet, and swift. See "Un-intimidating."

Stimulating: Typically telling a very personal story that, if carefully contemplated, can induce understanding and action.