Besides work correspondence, there’s only ONE email that I read every single day — the THRILLLIST. It’s a mailing that isn’t so saturated with stuff someone wants to sell that it’s intolerable, and there’s always a “recommended for you” section that, for the most part, is targeted to my interests. Don’t misunderstand… you will be served up ads — that’s just part of it. But when you click from email to read an article you won’t have pop-ups (especially annoying are the page pop-ups that — on a MAC using Safari — require you to either force-quit the browser or click to go to another garbage page).
For example, today the recommendation was for “The Best BBQ Restaurants in Louisville.” I’ve never been to the “Frankford Ave Beer Depot” or “Momma’s Mustard, Pickles & BBQ.” Heck, I’ve never been to “Shack in the Back” or “FDKY BBQ” either! Alright, so I’ve not eaten at even one of the recommended places — but I will now!
Go ahead and subscribe… I’m pretty sure you won’t regret it. And, it has Dharma’s seal of approval!
I have a tendency to sound harsh in email correspondences and will admit I struggle with wording certain particulars. I’m not horrible with grammar and try to be accurate with spelling. I know when to use it’s and its — and then and than, etc. Most of my business emails contain facts or answers to questions. Adding a smiley face at the end might soften them a bit, but that would not be proper.
And now, my favorite brother brought something else to my attention and it’s the hardest thing ever for me to avoid! Never use the word “I” as the first word within your email correspondence.
That means no…”I’m writing to follow-up after our conversation…” or “I completed the requested document…” or “I apologize that I missed your call…” And don’t even think about saying, “So sorry to have missed your call” as a substitute — because “sorry” is one of the 3 words you’re not supposed to use in any email.
Those 3 words — according to Business Insider — are (1) me (2) sorry (3) actually.
The email struggle is real, you guys. Almost as hard as calling your brother Mr. McKain…
The lovable guy on the left in the photo above is NOT Mr. McKain. The guy on the right? That’s Mr. McKain.
I read an article on Mashable that said closing emails with “best” is bad. After going through how bad ALL the options are supposed to be (“warm regards” is effusive — “cheers” is elitist) the suggestion was made to sign off with nothing… not even a name. I was paying attention until that last point because that’s the second I figured out the author was nuts.
I get a ton of email messages and most all are about a specific date for a specific client — from the client or from a speaker bureau about a specific client on a specific date. It makes me crazy when I receive an email that assumes I remember who, what, when & where… or when a signature isn’t included. I spend a ton of time trying to figure it out — while still making the sender feel like they are the most important person in the universe. I don’t care how you sign off an email… but at least sign off.
I got an email today from our host company that serves as a pretty good example of spreading good karma. The email basically said that because there are winter storm warnings for many regions in the US (including areas where their data centers reside) they want to ensure me (their customer) that they are prepared and are watching weather patterns. (Cool right?) They also let me know they have multiple fuel vendors on standby to provide refueling services for power generators in the event of any extended utility power interruption. (I feel better already!)
And then the clincher… They said, “Your business is important to us and we understand the challenges these situations present.”
Now our server may take a dump the second the first flurry flies. If it does, my perception will remain that they did everything they could before the fact to take good care of me. They even took ownership of the crappy weather, you guys! By proactively advising me of the potential situation, and by being transparent insofar as to their intended actions, the end result is that I feel more confident in their service than ever before. And that’s good business karma.
So to do my part, I too will spread some good, cozy karma…
… to help offset the negative aspects of what we already have and what we’re gonna get more of…
If you’re looking for rabbits in the above photo you’re not going to find any. You should instead see a proverb that is all about focus — learning that we can’t do everything and should concentrate instead on doing the most important thing. (Oh, and you should also notice the snow flurries.)
“The man chasing two rabbits catches none.”
Professionally, the one thing that occupies the most hours of my day (the fastest bunny) is email management. Sorting through the mounds of SPAM to find the 6 email messages from the same person asking a different question in each correspondence is a huge time sink (bunnies multiply really, really fast).
But here’s the problem — there isn’t a proverb that tells us we have to feed and water said rabbit we’ve caught… and that we must nurture it… make certain it gets exercise and is content. While taking care of the rabbits you’ve already got may challenge your focus insofar as chasing/catching the next rabbit, what happens if you don’t? I guess tomorrow I should talk about time management and dog ownership…
What’s the biggest challenge you face that works to destroy YOUR focus?
