I have spent a great deal of space on this blog arguing that if you aren’t managing your email effectively, you aren’t being fair to yourself, your co-workers, or your customers. Here’s an example.
Some time ago I was asking an associate for some needed information. In three separate emails I asked for the same documentation. In all three responses the associate seemed to either ignore and/or simply not understand what I was asking for. I went back through our correspondence trying to see if I was being too vague or whether I needed to simplify my request in a way that the recipient might understand.
That’s when it dawned on me that the problem wasn’t comprehension; my associate simply wasn’t reading anything beyond the first sentence or two in all of my emails. I assume he was just too overwhelmed to read the whole request.
My point – think about the impression you give to your co-workers, business partners and customers when you aren’t managing your email properly. Don’t let bad email management make you look stupid.
Secondary point – this would have been a lot less painful for the both of us if I’d just picked up the phone. Sometimes email isn’t the best medium for the task at hand.