I tried emailing like a CEO and it made my life better • Hacker News Board

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

#61

Post by crispyambulance » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 4:49 PM UTC

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.

You're right, only the most high-powered people in an organization can get away with terse responses that leave recipients guessing at what their precise intent was.

"Fluff" is a highly subjective term. What may be fluff for you could be critical signalling for others. Stripping everything down to the bare-bones of what you (or I) may think answers the request sounds intentionally flippant and dismissive. If we fail to address the recipient in a context they understand and share with us that is taken as an offense.

With a little effort, however, it is totally possible to be cogent, compact, AND polite.

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

#62

Post by bshimmin » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 4:51 PM UTC

cwilkes wrote: post #21

hashkb wrote: post #6

On the flip side, I take my time to write detailed replies with full explanations of issues. Usual reply: "can u hop on a call"

Being snarky I would ask you how is that working out for you? I bet on the call your replies are short. So just reverse the order: make your emails short and to the point with the abstract of your reasoning behind it. End with you can discuss in detail on a conference call. I bet no one takes you up on it.

Sometimes when I write a lovely, thorough, well-crafted email and get a "can u hop on a call 2 discuss" response, I "hop" on that call and simply read out my email. Occasionally I add little pauses to make it sound like I'm not reading, if I can be bothered.

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

#63

Post by balabaster » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 4:54 PM UTC

hnrodey wrote: post #45

styfle wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you missed a key point in your example which you demonstrated but didn’t explain. The last sentence of the email should be an action for the reader. Don’t make them scroll back up.

I'm abominable with conclusions in emails and personally feel like they are a waste (majority of the time). I know it's something I should probably be better at, but often I just finish my thought(s) and hit send.

This is too often the case. However, what it does is leaves the ask unasked. When a specific ask isn't made, with everyone's high workloads, it allows everyone just to shrug and say "Okay, not my problem." If you allow someone to interpret that nothing was actually asked of them, that's exactly how it will be interpreted more often than you would like.

If you need someone to take up the cause you have identified, you need to specifically ask them so they have to say "No, I'm not going to do that" if they're not going to pick it up. This is as much for their benefit as yours. When someone must say "Yes, I will do that" or "No, I will not do that" it helps them draw a black and white line around what they are willing or not willing to take on as part of their job. In a world where boundaries are grey, life itself is grey, it's hard to have a feeling of completion in anything. When you have no sense of completion, it leaves you feeling like you never really accomplish anything and being pushed with the current, not in charge of your own destiny.

Help people to say "Yes, that is mine" and "No, that is not mine" it is not only helpful for you to know who is in charge of something, it is helpful for them as well. It will help them to say "Actually, I've got too much on my plate already, I don't have any more capacity to take on any more just now. It would be really helpful if you could ask someone else to take this on."

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

#64

Post by snowwrestler » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 4:55 PM UTC

turc1656 wrote: post #57

Why would a link like this be on HN? It's Buzzfeed. The same people that bring you those quizzes like "Answer these food questions and we'll tell you which Power Ranger you are". I can't take this article seriously and I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to. Although, I do have a new unread email goal. I just assumed I was the world champion. Didn't realize I was already being bested by the guy with 150k unread. That's…

I would not blanket-dismiss BuzzFeed. Sure, they publish mostly clickbait, but it's not all crappy quizzes and listicles. They employ some good writers and journalists.

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

#65

Post by joshuaheard » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 5:02 PM UTC

I once heard a CEO's job is to make decisions and communicate them. This article seems to reinforce that. I'm not a CEO, but I try to be as concise as possible when I communicate by email. Two things I do are not mentioned in the article. I always address the recipient by name if possible. And, I always add my signature, which on my computer includes my address and phone number. Addressing the recipient by name gets their attention better. And, having my contact info in every email makes it easy if they want to communicate with me via another medium. Also, I always say Please and Thank you. In terms of email management, I use the Getting Things Done method, which works well for me.

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

#66

Post by bshimmin » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 5:06 PM UTC

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?

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

#67

Post by LeoJiWoo » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 5:07 PM UTC

Probably should be a disclaimer to articles like this.

Doing X like Person Y makes life Z really only works well when you are basically very similar to person Y.

Emailing like a CEO works best when you are a CEO, and are above office politics.

Probably shouldn't email like a CEO if you aren't one.

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

#68

Post by albertgoeswoof » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 5:08 PM UTC

jstanley wrote: post #48

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #19

As a manager or senior a huge part of your job is communication and distributing information, and email is one of, if not, THE core method of doing this. The author has decided to provide poor communication because she can’t handle her inbox. One word replies can be extremely misleading and will cost her more time overall than reading and replying to her emails properly. I would be fuming if I was her boss or worked…

> The author has decided to provide poor communication On the contrary! The author has decided to provide efficient, immediate, communication, instead of vaguely planning to send a more detailed reply later if she maybe gets around to it. If everybody treated email this way it would be 100x more efficient. If her reply doesn't contain the info you need, just reply back asking for the info you need, and she'll reply w…

But what if you don't know the information you need to know? Or if you're worried about looking incompetent by asking because she always sends such curt replies? Or maybe you're just hacked off that you crafted an email to try to convey a point in a clear, concise manner and she just responded with a one word reply and you have no idea whether she read it and understood it at all

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

#69

Post by vidarh » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 5:09 PM UTC

uladzislau wrote: post #55

Well CEO can do it because she is a CEO. If any employee would use this method it'd be considered poor communication and the person considered as lazy and incompetent.

You can as a general rule not be as informal as your superior (unless you know the person well enough), but need not be much more formal.

Put the most important bits first. Be as brief as possible while still being courteous. Recap at the end, including specifically calling out necessary next steps.

My experience is that people often tend to include detail that is only of interest to them, often because they're not certain their request will stand on its own.

Only spend time to add information you're certain is necessary (and I know I often err on this); if your manager needs more info to make a decision, they'll ask.

People will often be grateful if you spare them the details of things they don't need the details of, as long as you can show you've done your work if/when they do ask. The more they can trust you to have data to back up what you ask for, the less they'll actually ask.

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

#70

Post by danvoell » Mon, Dec 04, 2017, 5:09 PM UTC

Yes and No on this. One of Bezos' big things is "don't manage by proxy". This feels like a communication proxy. Be natural. If you write novels, learn how to be more direct. I have had a lot of terrible bosses who try to act/write/behave like CEOs.