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Email Lemon of the Day: The Swoop & Poop

11/11/2014

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Of all the email lemons, one of the worst is the Swoop & Poop.  These are emails that don’t add value to a conversation and are often sent for selfish or ego-centric reasons.  People swoop in, drop their “gift” in your inbox, and then fly off again.  I’ve observed two varieties:

  1. The Brain Dump:  If you’re asked to do something via a lengthy, disorganized, and unclear message, please see my post on a special kind of Swoop & Poop called The Brain Dump.
  2. The Quick Poop: Email for the sake of email, these are short, unhelpful messages that clutter your inbox.

Why do people swoop & poop?  One or more of the following reasons usually applies:
  • They mistake sending the email for doing real, thoughtful work.
  • They believe they are so smart and/or authoritative that the recipients should be happy to have gotten the input – even if it wasn’t actually helpful.
  • They haven’t given any thought to your current workload and priorities.

Here are a few Swoop & Poop examples (I’m sure you can think of more!):

The “hey, I’m here” email
A lot of people do this – especially on weekends – because they think, “Hey guys!  Look at me!  I just dumped another email in your inbox so you’ll think I’m working hard.”  More often than not, the content of the email is meaningless.  Sure, every now and then, you might need to send a strategically timed email to let your boss know you’re working above and beyond, but don’t abuse the tactic.  If you use it too often (and your emails really are meaningless), people will see right through it.

The “let’s look into this” email
Usually sent by a higher up, this email is typically a forward with a short line at the top asking you to dig deeper into whatever messy issue is below.  The problem is that the direction is vague.  There’s no sense of timing, priority level, or the desired outcome, which then causes stress and frustration for the recipient.  The email either gets ignored or results in….you guessed it…yet another email seeking clarification.

We can avoid doing a “swoop and poop” by always asking ourselves, “Does this email add value to the conversation?”  Here are a few ways to tell that you’re adding value:
  • You’re responding to a question or request
  • You’re providing specific direction, including: what needs to be done, why it’s important, and when it’s needed
  • You’re providing new information; e.g. a proposal for next steps or an update on a conversation with a coworker and how it affects the project 

Remember: not every email warrants a response, so please put yourself in the other person’s shoes and think about whether you’d want that message in your inbox.  If you wouldn’t literally poop on someone else’s computer, then don’t do it figuratively either!


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Email Skills Your Global Team Needs: Part 2 (Clarity)

10/22/2014

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As much as I love working with global teams, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s tough.  Language barriers, multiple time zones, and cultural differences on top of heavy email use…as if projects weren’t already hard enough!  Fortunately, there are simple ways we can ensure that our global communication results in success.  I’m breaking it down for you in a 3-part series, so refresh yourself on Part 1, and get ready to layer on Part 2 – Clarity.

Unclear emails result in wasted time (which rapidly adds up if there’s a significant time difference).  Thanks to the above-mentioned challenges, achieving clarity is sometimes more difficult–but even more important–with global teams.  Here are three tactics to help you:

A picture is worth a thousand words, so use the picture. If you are questioning or giving direction about a detail from a document, piece of artwork, web page, etc. and notice that you’re using a lot of words to describe it, mark up a screen shot instead.  (My personal favorite tool for this exercise is Snagit.)  The picture is much more likely to get your point across on the first try.

The bulleted list is your friend.  If you are listing three or more items, you should immediately consider turning them into a bulleted or numbered list.  This tip is especially important if you are requesting information or actions from the reader.  When lists of items are included in the body of a paragraph, it’s almost guaranteed that one of them will get missed.

Watch out for expressions that may not translate.  For example, if you need a ball park idea of when they’ll have the information, dropped the ball on getting that answer, or want a full court press until the end of the week, you might not make your point.  (Writing from a US perspective, it’s amazing how often we use sports idioms!)  Sometimes these phrases are so engrained in our language that we don’t even realize we’re using them, so do this quick check:  Read your email and look for any phrase has a different meaning than its literal translation.  If you find one, replace it with the literal meaning.

Don’t let unclear emails get in the way of your global team’s goals.  Keep these clarity tips in mind, and stay tuned for Part 3 – Tone!


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Email Skills Your Global Team Needs: Part 1 (Time Management)

10/6/2014

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I had always been conscientious when it came to email, but working internationally took my focus to another level.  Since email was the main day-to-day communication method, I realized that my words had to work even harder.  I gave a lot of thought to questions like:

How can I build a strong relationship with someone I’ve never met?
How can I save time?
How can my emails serve the other person so that we’ll both get the best outcome?

Over time, I embraced and developed a number of practices that produced fantastic results.  I’m breaking the essentials into a 3-part series – starting with time management.  If you don’t communicate internationally, no problem.  I've found that the best practices from international communication also apply to domestic emails, so these tips will be helpful whether you work in one time zone or ten.

Respond to emails within 24 hours. 
I used to manage a US-based team that was the communication hub for a network of offices around the world.  (We were the corporate office, but we didn’t like to refer to ourselves that way.  It sounded too…corporate.  Maybe there’s another lesson.)  I’ll never forget when the manager of our Hong Kong office told me that we were the best “home office” she had ever worked with.  She was only a few months into the job, but she was already paying us this high compliment.  The main reason?  We were responsive to emails.  When she – or anyone else – reached out to us, we had a response to her inbox by the time she came into work the next day.

The 24-hour responsiveness guideline is a great way to quickly build credibility – and start relationships on the right foot.  You may not have the answer yet, but at least acknowledge the email and buy yourself some time.  No one wants to feel like their message went into a black hole, and this feeling is only exacerbated with large time zone differences.  Being responsive lets people know there is a thoughtful human being behind the computer. 

Preemptively answer questions.
With a little extra thought on the front end, you can often save a whole extra day of back-and-forth.  Think about the questions your readers might have as a result of your email – and go ahead and answer them.  Put yourself in their shoes.  What might they be wondering?  Did you explain why you needed X?  Did you give enough information for them to do Y?  Are there next steps you can communicate as a result of them doing A or B?  Obviously you don’t want to turn your email into a 10-page manual, but preemptively answering basic questions will save time for both of you.

Respond to the real need or question – not just the one that appears at first glance.
Sometimes people have a hard time expressing what they need, and if you read their email too quickly, you’re going to miss the true request.  Especially if they are writing in a non-native language, some deciphering may be involved.  (Before you get judgmental, try writing an email in their native language.)  Other times, they will ask for one thing, but if you take the time to truly understand the email, it’s apparent that they are getting at a separate issue.  It’s time well spent.  You’ll save at least another day of additional back and forth, as well as earn a reputation for being helpful and smart. 


Stay tuned for Part 2 - Clarity!

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