Words
I’ve always prided myself on being a really good writer. All through school I killed almost every paper I wrote, straight up knocked them out of the park…tests were another story. I am simply better at communicating through written word, so a lot of my really important conversations have started with a letter or an email. But when I came to Morrison four years ago, I learned very quickly that I am in fact, NOT a great writer. I’m a good creative writer but I’ve got nothing on the grant writers who work here.
I’m also an avid reader. I love reading fiction and just consume books on fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, etc. But again, when I came to Morrison four years ago, I saw the caliber of books in our lending library and was floored. Books on professional development, growth, spirituality, grammar, leadership everything you can imagine for personal and professional growth. I read, but not like that.
Words are powerful and I’ve always known that, but I never knew how to use them in a truly powerful way. Yes, as we all know they can be used to cause a lot of harm, but here at Morrison they are used to do so many good things. We write grants to apply for funds for non-profits and agricultural producers. We write reports on recruitment candidates who may better serve our clients in a new role. We write business plans to help our clients lay a foundation for their organizational future. And when we read, we read grant application guidelines, legal interpretation of mandates, professional growth books like The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, or The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell. We use these words, written and read, to build up our clients and our team members to be better.
It took me some time to get through the shock at the fact that I am a narrow minded reader and a mediocre writer at best, but when I did, I realized I wanted to grow beyond my current abilities. I’ve always loved to learn, and this is easily something I can spend the rest of my life learning. So I’ve picked up some books: Give and Take by Adam Grant – for professional growth with my Rotaract book club; Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio – for spiritual growth; and The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – for my fiction fix. Perhaps my penchant for fiction is what’s helped me improve as a creative writer, and with the added content to my reading list I can further improve my writing skills. Either way, I have the best resources here at Morrison to learn from.
Michelle Genova is Morrison’s Business and Marketing Coordinator. To get in touch with Michelle, please find contact information for Morrison here.