Becoming Our Best
“E-MAIL (Plus Social Media), ONE MORE TIME”
More and more scathing stories about the misuse of e-mail seem to arise each day. And then there are the sometimes-shocking disclosures from information available to the public on Facebook and other social media sites. We seem to live in an era when everyone very much wants to maintain their privacy boundaries in real life, but these boundaries are seemingly totally porous in the electronic world.
Plus, I have clients and fellow consultants who tell me their stories of confusion and extra work caused by clients’ brief e-mails that are supposed to save time but end up in misunderstandings and extra time spent. Or they looked at the pictures on a Facebook page of a potential candidate for hiring and decided, “Absolutely not!”
So here are a few thoughts about the world of e-mail and social media:
• Remember that the party scenes that are so entertaining to you and your friends may be just what your boss or potential employer doesn’t need to see.
• Always use “Please” and “Thank you” in e-mails to soften the rough edges of electronic communication.
• Spend 20% more time writing and editing an e-mail to save the 80% extra time spent later trying to clear up confusion after the fact.
• Think about this priority order of communication: E-mail for data; telephone for matters that could be easily confused; in-person meetings for anything of importance to you or your team.
Being in a hurry usually is not helpful. As Mom used to say, “Haste makes waste”. And recent studies have shown that few of us can multi-task effectively. Maybe brainstorming about ways you and your team could be more effective might include better ways to use e-mail and social media. It’s worth a try!
Author: Bruce Johnsen Management Consultant:
824 Munras Ave Suite G
Monterey, CA 93940
831-373-5969
bruce@brucejohnsen.com
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