In his book Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, renowned businessman Harvey Mackay shares a story about the time he was invited by former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz to join the team for a road game.

Holtz had his players dress in jacket and tie as public representatives of the University.  They lined up in front of the bus and then waited for their leader to look them over.  Only when every shirt was tucked and tie straightened could they board and be on their way.

Mackay got the message and articulated it well:  “If you’re going to be a winner, guys, look like a winner.  Little things mean everything.”

I love this because it’s a grounded way of capturing such an important principle not just in sports, but also in life—including business.  Like it or not, your attention to detail (or lack thereof) speaks to the standards you set for yourself and your organization in the minds of others.

While maintaining a professional eye is applicable across the board, many of the most common shortfalls occur on the writing side.  Grammar, spelling, punctuation, consistency—the amount of pride you take in getting these things right impacts, to varying degrees, how prospects, customers, and even your own colleagues perceive the value you bring to the table.

Now, before I continue riding this high horse, let me acknowledge a few realities:

• Not everyone was an English major. Expecting Oxford-level prose by every single team member is unreasonable.
• Even the most pedantic of editors is going to miss something every now and then. Nobody’s perfect.
• We all have different strengths. A well-rounded team that plays to those strengths goes a long way in producing great results in and out of the business world.

So, it comes as no surprise that I’m asked from time to time how much is actually accomplished by nitpicking one’s writing, especially in an age of text message shorthand (the insidious enemy of the modern grammarian).  “In the grand scheme, isn’t it the idea behind the copy that really matters?”

Yes, the idea (or solution, strategy, etc.) is ultimately what matters.  But, if you’re constantly botching the sentences that are supposed to convey your idea, that ain’t a good look.  At all.  Whether it’s a sales deck, advertisement, webpage, memo, or even an email, the quality of what you put out into the world reflects directly on you and, by extension, your broader group.

During my agency days, I often worked with other shops on inter-agency projects.  At times I was horrified by what some groups delivered to our shared clients.  I’d see things that I wouldn’t dream of submitting to my manager as a rough draft, let alone to our client as a formal submission.  I suppose the positive side of all this was in the teaching moments I could use with my own crew—namely, take these as examples of what not to do.

Some clients, or prospects you’re trying to turn into clients, may be able to see around such sloppiness.  That’s fine.  Others, however, take it as an indicator of how you do business.  If you can’t be bothered to polish the deliverables you’ve been hired to produce—or the sales and marketing materials you use to try and get hired in the first place—then what else is slipping through the cracks?  What other corners might you be cutting?  Why should they be confident that you’ll be any less careless in other ways, especially once the contract’s signed and you already have their nonrefundable money?

That’s why “I’m just not a good writer” is just not a good excuse.  If you know pen and paper aren’t your strong suit, then find someone who can at least spot check your content before it goes up the ladder or out the door.  This also counts as attention to detail because you’re aware of it, and the effort to take the extra step on a consistent basis instills good habits that subconsciously elevate other areas of your work.

Don’t take my word for it.  There’s pretty compelling data that (hopefully) shows I’m not some anal elitist out to tsk-tsk people for splitting infinitives.  Give these a gander and come to your own conclusion about the merits of proofreading:

• 97% of people claim grammar mistakes influence their image of a company
• Websites with typos have an 85% higher bounce rate
• Poor grammar in Google Ads costs companies 72% more per click

There are plenty of other stats like this out there, but let’s be real.  Not everything will be spotless.  No one bats a thousand in this game, including linguistic fussbudgets like me.  Hell, I’ll even bend the rules here and there to make messaging more powerful depending on the platform.  That said, don’t let minor, avoidable mistakes add up to sabotage the great work your business pumps out otherwise.

To borrow a line from Old School’s silver-tongued Vince Vaughn,  “You’re better than that.”

I will now step off my soapbox and wait by the phone for all the smart alecks who find an error in this post.  I do love me some irony, though.