Scene: It was this day in Aug 2006, I got to the office around 8pm and A good friend of mine excitedly jumped in my office (he was just next door) and said…
Hero: (yes that is his real name) hey bud, did you get your Blackberry yet?
Bernie: Yes, I did! They (the company) gave it to me before I ended my shift yesterday. I haven’t set it up though. Why?
Hero: Dude… you should totally do that. I tell you, this thing is amazing. I get to read my emails at home, I can send email to people even when I am out, It has increased my ability to stay connected. I don’t know how I lived before this! This is a must have for everyone!
Bernie: Wow. That is amazing!
Hero: ok, so please tell me you already bought a PS3
Bernie: not yet. On the weekend, I will
And 14 years later, somewhere in the time between, something weird happened. In this example (and many like it) there are a larger majority that seem to have made emails the default conversation.
Back then, emails were sent when you couldn’t find the person you wanted to talk to, instead… you walked to their office and speak with them face to face (Primary) – you got the info you needed in real time. You were able to authenticate how sincere/reliable the info is by watching facial reactions matched with tone.
Barring that, you picked up the phone to ask your question or to clarify something (secondary) – you got the info you needed in real time.
If that still doesn’t work, you then send an email that would read like – “hey, I couldn’t find you in the office earlier and you weren’t picking up your phone, I just wanted to ask… “ (Least preferred) – you got the info you needed in 24-48 hours. Prone to misunderstanding, errors, delays in some cases.
And it worked!
For awhile now, to this day, the system for most people – is in reverse.
Initial inquiry sent via email, follow up with a phone call if there is no response in 24-48 hours, and then we try and set a face to face meeting with the person to try get to the bottom of the issue.
Wrong.
Which is counterintuitive to the whole purpose of why we stay “always connected” and why we have the ability to send emails anytime we wanted.
This is another reminder so we dont forget – emails were meant to SUPPORT and ENHANCE our ability to communicate, stay connected. When face to face or phone calls was just not possible, we email as a last resort. This was not meant to REPLACE face to face (which you can still do via Zoom or Teams) or phone calls. This is not the PRIMARY way to communicate.
Let’s promote and adhere to the more old school way of doing things. Now more than ever, we need to stay connected in the truest sense of the word, where it actually promotes real time, personal and genuine connections.
pragmatic leadership 