header text

Andrew Knevitt's blog on Business Analysis, Complexity and Everything Cloud.

August 09, 2012

There is a place for email


A recent blog I responded to encouraged me to explore appropriate use of email.


Email is a channel too often used inappropriately...
It is time to discuss what it should be used for, and what it should not.


What email is for:

  • Personal messages - can be a good tool for clarity in one-on-one dialogue, eg after a phone call..."I'll send you an email to confirm our discussion"
  • A directive - to a group of people and don't expect a response
  • Specific people - when you want to limit (not control) distribution
  • Notifications - consolidates updates from various platforms (C3, Facebook, Linkedin, etc)



What email is NOT for:

  • Dialogue - telephone and IM are better tools for one-on-one discussion
  • Discussion  - email is a channel, not for discussion. Stop the 'reply all' emails. 
  • Innovation - Controlling distribution is a significant dampener to innovation.
  • Everyone - a question, comment or answer will be of greater value on a platform.



Stop inappropriate use of email!

No comments:

Post a Comment