A Word To Use Next Time You Get a Chance
I learned a lovely word today: MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is an irrelevant interest grabber — a story whose purpose is to draw attention to itself and away from something else.
It comes from a plot device invented by Alfred Hitchcock. He borrowed it from a shaggy-dog story that goes something like this:
A couple, riding in an English train, notice a tall man carrying a large, odd-looking package. They ask him what it contains. Instead of telling them to mind their own business, he says, “A MacGuffin.”
“What is that?” they ask.
“It’s used to catch tigers in the Scottish Highlands,” he replies.
“But there are no tigers in the Highlands,” they say.
“Well then,” he says, shrugging his shoulders, “it must not be a MacGuffin.”
End of conversation.
Latest News
- You read ETR Monday through Friday. But have you been missing Michael Masterson’s Journal on Saturdays? Check it out. It’s pure Michael. Unfiltered and uncensored. It will be in your inbox tomorrow.
“Critical to our business.”
“I was very impressed with ETR’s Bootcamp. The speakers and the experts brought in to teach us have given us a lot of tools to use, and I would say I could use 90 percent of them.
“I think this will be critical to our business immediately. I really enjoyed listening to MaryEllen Tribby. Her speech was very applicable to our business. Just the way she laid things out and the details, the step-by-step process to get our business to where we want it in the near future.”
David Patrick
—————————————————–Highly Recommended —————————————————–
What MBA Students Have That You Couldn’t Get (Until Now…)
An unconventional course has appeared at Columbia University’s business school… at the London Business School… and at the Haas Business School at the University of California.
Says Brandon Peele, “I attribute 80% of my $120K MBA price tag to this one class. It changed my life in profound ways.” Now you can get the same life-changing benefits… From your home… For less than a thousandth of the tuition.
Comments