Stephen Mostrom's Linkedin Analytics

Want your emails answered faster? Your messages taken seriously? Your ideas to gain traction? Write like a pro. Here are 5 ways to level up today. 1. Adopt a beginner's mindset. 70% of pros THINK they're above-average writers. The reality? Most writing is unclear, wordy, or just plain forgettable. Instead of focusing on what you already know, focus on where you can improve. We can all improve. 2. Start with the WHY before the WHAT Most people write to inform. The best writers write to influence. Before you type a single word, ask: Why should someone care? Then, you can wordsmith. 3. Forget everything you learned in school - Formal introductions and conclusions - Lofty, highfalutin language - Mandatory word counts These have nothing to do with business writing. Your career will reward you for writing short, direct, and clear. Aim for that. 4. Use AI for the gruntwork Grammarly = editing ChatGPT = brainstorming Perplexity = research Save yourself hours by working smarter. 5. Improve every day Writing is a skill. And skills sharpen with practice. - Edit your emails before sending - Write on LinkedIn - Study great writing Here are a few of my favorite books on the subject: 📚 Everybody Writes // Anne Handley 📚 On Writing // Stephen King 📚 Smart Brevity // Jan VandeHei and friends ——— 💭 Have a stand-out writing tip? Drop it in the comments. ♻️ 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to share this with your network. 🧠 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 the Develop Daily newsletter for weekly playbooks on learning, career development, and productivity.

Smart people grind for MONTHS on a new skill, only to forget 90% of it. Avoid these 5 costly mistakes: ❌ Mistake #1: Thinking consumption = learning Binge-reading books, watching courses, or listening to podcasts feels productive. And that's the trap. Without action, your career won't move forward. ✅ Fix: Apply as you go. After learning something new, put it into practice immediately. — ❌ Mistake #2: Trying to “cram” in information Learning isn’t a last-minute test. Trying to absorb too much at once leads to burnout and poor retention. ✅ Fix: Space it out. 15 focused minutes a day beats 5 hours of cramming. — ❌ Mistake #3: Thinking one course will teach you everything No single book, class, or expert has all the answers. If you stop at one source, you stop at one perspective. ✅ Fix: Get diverse inputs. Read books, take courses, listen to experts, and experiment in the real world. — ❌ Mistake #4: Not tracking progress If you’re not measuring growth, how do you know if you’re improving? ✅ Fix: Break the skill into smaller, trackable wins to stay motivated and on course. Progress feels invisible until you start measuring it. — ❌ Mistake #5: Learning in isolation Going solo makes learning harder. No accountability, no external feedback, no one to push you forward. ✅ Fix: Find a learning community. Join a group, get a mentor, or teach what you’re learning — it speeds up growth. — What would you add to this list? ♻️ 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to share this with your network. 🧠 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 the Develop Daily newsletter for weekly playbooks on learning, career development, and productivity.

I've spent weeks, months, (years?) testing AI for content. Writing tools. Headline generators. 10-step "AI-powered" workflows. Know what I learned? More tools = more problems. The irony? AI is supposed to make life easier. But the overnight explosion of tools did something else... It overwhelmed us. 😨 You Google “best AI tools for LinkedIn” and get hundreds of results. 😨 Every AI influencer swears by a different must-have tech stack. Five tools minimum. 😨 You test a few, get frustrated, and go back to writing manually. No productivity gains. No content boost. After slamming my head against the wall trying to chase every AI trend, I've settled on another approach. 👉 A minimalist use of AI. Guidelines: - Clear use case - One tool, not five - A simple, repeatable process The result? Less time tinkering. More time creating. Anyone else hit AI overwhelm and simplify? What’s working for you?

I've talked career growth with 1000+ professionals. The biggest blockers? It's these 3 silent killers 👇 1. The Learning Cliff You leave formal education and step into the workforce… Then what? Without a system for continued learning, your skills decline. Opportunities shrink, and growth stalls. 💡 Solution: Build a daily system for skill-building. Career momentum isn’t automatic — it’s a habit. —— 2. Random Acts of Learning You know you need to grow, so you jump into books, courses, and podcasts. But without a clear career goal, nothing sticks. It feels productive, but your learning ROI is low. 💡 Solution: Pair daily learning with a process — intentional skill-building, not just consumption. —— 3. Quiet Quitting You feel disengaged, like you’re just going through the motions. Without career momentum, motivation drops. Performance follows. 💡 Solution: Set real development goals. A spark of progress can reignite purpose and direction. —— Which of these enemies have you faced in your career? ♻️ 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to share this with your network. 🧠 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 the Develop Daily newsletter for weekly playbooks on learning, career development, and productivity.

I wasn't watching Netflix. I wasn't scrolling TikTok. But I still wasted hours every week without realizing it. How? 👉 Productive procrastination We check tasks off our list. We're staying busy. But our most important goals don't move. This graphic from Janis Ozolins says it all. —— How do you know if you’re stuck in productive procrastination? Watch for these signs: - You organize your inbox instead of tackling hard emails - You tweak your to-do list instead of tackling the work - You sit through meetings that don’t need you - You keep researching instead of executing Remember: Busy isn't the goal. Progress is. —— How to break the cycle: ✓ Clarify what actually moves the needle. Write it down. ✓ Audit your time. Where are the hidden distractions? ✓ Set limits. Give admin tasks a time cap—then move on. ✓ Get an outside perspective. A peer or mentor can spot fake work faster than you can. What’s one “productive” task you’ve caught yourself using to procrastinate? ♻️ 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to share this with your network. 🧠 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 the Develop Daily newsletter for weekly playbooks on learning, career development, and productivity.

If I could rewind my career five years, these are the NON-NEGOTIABLE HABITS I’d build immediately: 1️⃣ Write down one lesson learned per day. Most people let experience pass them by. I started treating my daily work like a classroom—jotting down one key lesson each day. Over time, this became my personal “playbook” of insights. 2️⃣ Spend 15 minutes a day on intentional learning (not just scrolling). I used to confuse consuming content with learning. But skimming headlines and absorbing random information isn’t growth. Committing to 15 minutes of focused, structured learning changed everything. 3️⃣ Ask for specific feedback instead of generic praise. “Great job!” doesn’t tell you why something worked. I started asking, “What’s one thing I could have done better?” and that single reframe made growth exponential. 4️⃣ Keep a “wins” document for reviews. We all forget what we accomplished six months ago. I started tracking small and big wins throughout the year — and suddenly, performance reviews and job interviews became a lot easier. 5️⃣ Make learning visible by teaching others. Knowledge compounds when you share it. Teaching forces you to refine what you know, and it also builds your reputation as someone who thinks deeply about their field. The common theme? None of these habits require talent or luck.  Just airtight execution. What career habit do you wish you'd started sooner? ♻️ 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to share this with your network. 🧠 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 the Develop Daily newsletter for weekly playbooks on learning, career development, and productivity.

One minute, I was working. The next, my manager was yelling at me in front of the entire team. I had two choices: 1️⃣ Fire back. Defend myself. Make things worse. 2️⃣ De-escalate and work on a solution. Here’s the four-part approach that turned an explosive moment into a productive conversation: STEP 1 - Move the conversation Instead of reacting, I said: 💬 "Sounds like we need to talk. Can we do it in private?" We stepped into an empty room — away from the crowd and emotions. STEP 2 - Set a boundary I looked him in the eye and said: 💬 "I’m happy to talk about any concerns. But please don’t yell — it makes it hard for me to listen and respond." He took a deep breath. “That’s fair." STEP 3 - Find the real issue At first, he was fixated on a small mistake. But I had a feeling there was more. So I asked: 💬 “Is this really about the X?" He hesitated, then said: “Honestly, it’s not. I just need more from the team right now.” STEP 4 - Prevent it from happening again Before we ended, I said: 💬“Next time, can we talk about concerns in private first?” He agreed. And he never yelled at me again. The Lesson? 🚫 Don’t fight emotion with emotion. 🚫 Don’t assume the first issue is the real issue. ✅ Control what you can: your response, your boundaries, and how you navigate conflict. P.S. That same manager gave me a glowing recommendation for my next promotion.

CAREER PATH. I’m done with this phrase. If career paths were real, every hard-working professional would be thriving. But that’s not how it goes, is it? The problem... When you walk a path in real life, it's been paved for you. You're not: - Hacking your way through the jungle - Climbing, crawling, and doubling back - Choosing between unknown paths But that's exactly how careers work. (At least mine — and every one I’ve seen.) So can we ditch the "path" language? It's a lie. Careers aren’t walked. They’re built. The best roles don’t come from following. ↳ They come from strategic moves. Promotions don’t go to the most deserving. ↳ They go to the most visible. Your next big opportunity? ↳ It’ll come from a conversation you almost didn’t have. If you want career growth, stop looking for the path. Start creating one. ✓ Build skills that give you leverage. ✓ Take on projects outside your job description. ✓ Talk to people doing what you want to do. —— What’s a career move you made that wasn’t “on the path” but changed everything? ♻️ 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to share this with your network. 🧠 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 the Develop Daily newsletter for weekly playbooks on learning, career growth, and productivity.