Improving Effectiveness

on the Road  to

Work Life Balance

Thoughts and Tips on

Overcoming E-Mail Misuse

E-mail is a two edged sword. To what extent do we appreciate the risks of e-mail misuse?  Who has the responsibility of ensuring that leaders and knowledge workers use e-mail effectively?

  

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Ageless Wisdom

"Do you see a man who speaks (e-mails) in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him"

Proverbs 29:20

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A life of  MIFG

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Maximum Impact for God

Thoughts

On August 29, 2005 at the peak of Hurricane Katrina Michael Brown, the head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, sent the following e-mails to the FEMA staff:

  • “Are you proud of me?  Can I quit now? Can I go home?”
  • “If you look at my FEMA attire you will really vomit. I am a fashion god.”
  • “I am not answering that question, but do have a question.  Do you know any one who dog-sits?”

The above references, along with others, are from a book we recommend - SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe.  

I can imagine Michael Brown as a man who is not careless, but like most of us is so overloaded with demands and urgency that common sense is often overlooked.  Mr. Brown’s mistakes teach a key lesson; E-mail is never confidential.  The fact that e-mails like this are in the public domain is a risk that most of us cannot afford.

Tips

What SEND stands for is:

  • Simple – Remove words and sentences until your e-mail is as tight and pared down as you can make it without losing your meaning.
  • Effective – You may not have another chance to connect with the person you’re trying to reach. Make sue your e-mail is focused and can achieve a clear specific objective.
  • Necessary – What would happen if you didn’t send this email?  If the answer is “Nothing much,” trash it.

  • Done – If your e-mail requires action you should figure out how you are going to follow up on it before you send it.

SEND, lists the eight deadly sins of e-mail:

  1. The email that’s unbelievably vague. (“Remember to do that thing.”)
  2. The email that insults you so badly you have to get up from your desk.  (“HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE DONE THAT THING?!!!!”)
  3. The email that puts you in jail.  (“Please tell them that I asked you to sell that thing when it hit $70.”)
  4. The email that’s cowardly.  (“Here’s the thing: you’re being let go.”)
  5. The email that won’t go away.  (Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: that thing.)
  6. The email that’s so sarcastic you have to get up from your desk.  (“Smooth move on that thing.  Really smooth.”)
  7. The email that’s too casual.  (“Hiya!  Any word on that admissions thing?”)
  8. The email that’s inappropriate.  (“Want to come to my hotel room to discuss that thing?”)

 To answer our question above, individually we own the responsibility to use e-mail effectively. Think before you send. When in doubt, never write anything in an e-mail that you could not write in an open post card placed in your local mailbox or that would not make your mother proud.

Check this book out at www.amazon.ca ISBN 978-0-307-27060-3 

Note:

* These thoughts and tips are complimentary to you.

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