Monday, 16 June 2008

My colleague Richard Boughey sent me this after my rant about e-mail...


"Hi Chris, The issue to me is not so much the email or the phone calls or the conversations, it's more that there is a pressure for people to say everything to everyone. The thing I particularly dislike is being cc'd - does this mean I should read/action it or not? I was once taught that you should answer this question before sending an email: I am sending you his email because...? If it's that you need to read page 13 of a 100 page document then you should say that. My worry is that the email free day idea wouldn’t remove the clutter of the emails if we don’t change why we send messages or have meetings. Richard"

And of course Richard is right; like everything e-mail is brilliant if used well and terrible if used badly. We all need to ask ourselves the questions Richard raised:

  • Why am I sending a colleague this e-mail?
  • What do I want the colleague receiving it to do?
  • Why am I asking colleagues to this meeting?
  • What do I want colleagues to do as a result?

Why not try it.

Chris

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