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I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

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Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#111

Post by amyjess »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #95

Here's the next rule for you: DO NOT TOP POST Seriously, posting inline is easier to write and read and makes your email more clear. You don't have to wrangle your words to make it clear what part of their email you're replying to. If you don't need to refer to anything they said, delete the whole email and just put in a couple of words alone. Stop top posting!

I've worked at four companies over ten years. Everyone at all four companies top posts exclusively.

Bottom posting is a good way to be branded "that weirdo who can't follow standard procedure". In the business world, this old Japanese proverb applies: "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down."

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#113

Post by jdmichal »

sandworm101 wrote: post #23
alexhutcheson wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just bold the names, which has a similar effect.

I try to avoid any formatting beyond ascii. It just makes life harder when people are trying to cut and paste.

I use *s surrounding, just like here. Outlook automatically bolds it, but they're still present for unformatted views.

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#114

Post by laumars »

bshimmin wrote: post #66
splittingTimes wrote: post #58

I started to follow this approach [1] 6 month ago and it is amazing how much clearer my own thoughts in communication have become. 1. Subjects with keywords. The subject clearly states the purpose of the email, and specifically, what you want them to do with your note. Keywords: ACTION, SIGN, INFO, DECISION, REQUEST, COORD 2. Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF). Lead your emails with a short, staccato statement that declares…

so try to fit all content in one pane, so the recipient doesn’t have to scroll Oh no, have we introduced "the fold" into emails too, after a decade of forlornly trying to persuade people it doesn't exist on the web?

Emails always used to be written like memos though. There was even an etiquette that signatures shouldn't be more than 3 lines long.

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#115

Post by buxtehude »

account0099099 wrote: post #40

This doesn't work. I've gotten many bad reviews, because people thought I was being "curt" or "mean" because I was replying to their question with short replies. None, of my emails were intended to be mean, I just didn't see the point in fluffing up my emails, and only responded with the required information, but I guess people require the fluff or they get their feelings hurt.

I use short responses only for people I work with regularly every day (direct team members).

For everyone else I throw in the fluff to keep things amicable. When I do that - sometimes I feel like I'm wasting time - but in the end I believe it protects you from people thinking you are a jerk - or worse introducing bias into decisions that might be made that could go against you or your team.

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#116

Post by dllthomas »

splittingTimes wrote: post #58

I started to follow this approach [1] 6 month ago and it is amazing how much clearer my own thoughts in communication have become. 1. Subjects with keywords. The subject clearly states the purpose of the email, and specifically, what you want them to do with your note. Keywords: ACTION, SIGN, INFO, DECISION, REQUEST, COORD 2. Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF). Lead your emails with a short, staccato statement that declares…

> use active voice, so it’s clear who is doing the action.

Using the active voice is neither necessary nor sufficient for clarity as to "who is doing the action". Just make sure it is in fact clear, and write as understandably as you're able. It's true that sometimes people use the passive voice inappropriately, but that's no reason to mangle your writing to avoid it.

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#117

Post by rurban »

sdenton4 wrote: post #56
hnrodey wrote: post #7

Rules for good emails 1. Keep the message as short as necessary but no shorter. 2. Put the most important information at the top of the message. 3. If it email is for an ask, call out from who you need the response and put it at the top of the message. 4. If you need to send a long email with many details, put the most important information at the top (ie. what the reader needs to know) and then fill in the body with…

I dunno, dude, I'm kinda looking the two-word reply style in the article. My suggested Verizon of the message here would be "Hey Jane; let's 1:1." Or, if you think face to face communication is a waste of time, "Hey Jane; pick one for Friday: feature 123 or bug xyz?"

Why "Hey Jane" at all. Can be cut

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#118

Post by sushid »

yuhong wrote: post #109

I am thinking seriously about Yishan-style CEOs at this point. I wonder how many professional (as opposed to founder) Yishan-style CEOs even exist at this point. Yishan is not a founder-CEO BTW.

What is being a Yishan-style CEO except for the fact that you're not a founder/co-founder? I'm not sure how this is relevant to the article above?

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#119

Post by ThomaszKrueger »

When I see the phrase "emailing like a CEO" I imagine mainly not asking for opinions or decisions rather making statements of fact or decisions. For example, I got into the habit of not asking for vacation, rather I say "I am taking time off from day X to day Y", or declaring my design decisions instead of asking for opinions.

In the case of asking for time off, my rationale is to avoid making someone spend time evaluating if my request is acceptable.

Re: I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better

#120

Post by buxtehude »

gk1 wrote: post #38
mgv11 wrote: post #25

We had external trainer here some weeks ago and at one point he mentioned(boasted) that he had inbox of 4000+ unread emails. On the last session he wrote his email on the board and said that we can just contact him for further questions and of course no one wrote it down.

I don’t understand why people flaunt their unread counts. To seem important? To me it just says you are indecisive or unorganized.

The flip side of that is what I sincerely have believed for many many years: I don't understand why people flaunt their read counts.

I read all the email from people on my team.

I also receive a lot of email from various sources in the organization as well as external sources - and sometimes all I'm looking for is the subject to decide if it's worth my time to open it and read it.

I feel that not all of that non-team based email is worth my time opening, reading/scanning, then archiving or deleting - time that adds up over the years: How many days of your life have you spent organizing your inbox so that your number is 0?

A stack is a beautiful thing :)

If I don't care about it, it goes away with minimal effort after a little time.

I don't want to be a slave to my email inbox - and at the same time I value the sources of the incoming emails that I don't always read - I read some just not all - and that's ok with me and I do that when it's socially acceptable (not trying to be a jerk about it).

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