E-mail is a great tool that is being used in the wrong way all over in American businesses today. Have you ever gotten an email from someone in the next cube asking if you want to go to lunch? I have. Have you ever asked someone to go to lunch with you and heard them say “I can’t. I am waiting on an important e-mail.” E-mail is a misused tool and like using a sledgehammer to put a nail in the wall to hang a picture, misused tools result in people getting hurt.
There is a great podcast called Manager Tools where they discuss many issues in the world of being a manager today. The episode (at http://www.manager-tools.com/2005/09/got-email/) was very helpful to me. Even though I am not currently a manager, the topics they discuss have as much relevance to me as an employee and they would to someone who is actively managing people.
The real issue is that people have too many things that want their attention and e-mail is in some ways satisfying. You can reply or delete or file an e-mail and feel like you got something done. It is a false achievement, one that comes at the expense of doing real work.
We as a people need to fundamentally change the way we use e-mail. That includes WHEN we use email and for what kinds of communications. It means not hitting ‘Reply to All’. It means only including the people that need the information you are presenting. It means not checking email every few minutes. Let it go. If it is real important, that is what your cell phone is for.
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