The IT Leadership Deal

Etiquette - Can't say Netiquette as that doesn't begin with an E and it's a silly word anyway:

As the IT department, you have a responsibility to set the rules and best practice for e-mail. After all, if you don't who will?

Here's a good set of general rules to use as a basis

From a personal point of view, ask yourself these three questions:

1. What is the purpose of the e-mail I am going to send

2. Remembering that the power and meaning of any and all communication is with the receiver and not with the sender, after you have written the e-mail, lok at it - is it clear, concise and compelling?

3. Only send e-mails that you would be happy to receive yourself

The above does not take any extra time - it saves time, for a start you will not have to fend off that aggressive phone call complaining about the e-mail...

Tomorrow, how contrived can I be in working out what the "M" stands for...?

Make a cup of tea, or coffee, or something stronger, before you reply to a negative e-mail

And then, reply, read and have someone trusted review it - stay professional and polite, rise above any pettiness.Or don't, go and see the person, or phone them...

Or

Avoid

Personal or customer negative comments, religious sensitivities, swearing

Think, would I like to have someone else write this about me? Then think data protection and the law, then know that every e-mail is a permanent record, and will be a legacy of your...

Tomorrow - The I word i'm going to have to check how to spell from a dictionary (which is silly really, because surely you have to know how to spell a word before you can look it up...)

Iterative - yes, sorry about that, I mean this...

When you do send a round robin e-mail - do not put everyone's e-mail address in the CC field, for all to see, pass on and use - it may be that someone has trusted you with their private e-mail address, and now you are sharing it withe the world. This is one occasion when blind copying is useful - use it then no-one else can see the e-mail addresses...

Tomorrow - Lose this, and you gain the higher ground...

Leave copy copy syndrome to others

You've been there:

Dear You

You, your team, your project and your department are all useless

I, on the other hand, am a wonderful person

Kind Regards

The e-mail bully

And it is copied to the whole company, and probably blind copied to the whole world!

So your (defensive) reply is also copied - a CIO recently called this type of exchange "A whole morning's work, wasted"

So, what to do?

Simple (and brave) - simply reply to the person who wrote to you (in a friendly and porfessional way - see tomorrow - the M - for How, I need to think what the M can stand for!) and do not copy anyone - openly or blind.

I will say that again - only reply to the person who write to you - you will end CC straight away, and position yourself above the pettiness and bullying.

Now, select such an e-mail from your in-box, and do it...

Next Two Weeks - The Top Ten Priorities of CEO's - plus one they will never tell you - and what you as an IT leader can do about them...