Quick aside from writing the executive summary, but still related.

Are you familiar with boilerplate phrases?  Check out Liz Ryan’s article on Yahoo Hotjobs titled, “10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes“  The point of her article is that these phrases have been so commonly used that they no longer indicate a strong resume. Instead she says they indicate the writer is vocabulary challenged and non-compelling.  Worse, I think they hurt your credibility.

This ties into John Lucht (who I have a link in the sidebar to his website) writes in his book, “Rites of Passage at $100, 000 Plus: the Insider’s Guide to Absolutely Everything About Executive Job-Changing” about resumes: avoid catch phrases but use examples showing how you demonstrate the intention of that catch phrase.

The same thing applies in the executive summary and the business plan. People put in catch phrases and instead of making themselves stand out, they lose impact. 

Ryan suggests 10 catch phrases to avoid (I am using these without permission, but linking to her article). I am reprinting them below, but please check out her article!

Check your executive summary and business plan for these phrases.  Without specific examples they stand out as meaningless today.  Especially check the resumes that are typically put in an Appendix in the business plan.

FYI, I did check my resume, and can safely say I have none of these phrases.