THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

E Mail

"In the time honored tradition of email, just ignore the question." - John Doddin.

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Stop Emailing and Pick up the Phone

Email has fundamentally changed the way we interact. But, it cannot replace live conversation. This especially applies when resolving a conflict or communicating an important business decision. Far too many people try to do sensitive business via email. This is problematic because tone and context are easy to misread. In a live conversation, how one says something is as important as what they are saying. Without inflections and intonations, it's hard to understand the feelings behind the words. In fact, email-based conflict often escalates because you aren't forced to be as thoughtful as you would be in a one-on-one conversation. Next time you have a delicate or complex issue to discuss, take your hands off the keyboard and pick up the phone.

Today's Thought is adopted from "Don't Send That Email. Pick up the Phone!" by Anthony Tjan as cited in Management Tip of Harvard Business Review blog on January 13, 2012