Most people don’t own their email’s domain (i.e., the part after the @ symbol).  Many exclusively use an email address that was provided to them by their internet service provider or place of employment.

This is a wake up call: don’t wait any longer to own and control your email. Here are some scenarios that may fit you, and how to fix things.

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Filed under: Email, Professionalism, Technology
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A pet peeve of mine is receiving unprofessional email–but I realize there’s no easy way to learn the subtleties. I’m not talking about email content, but how you format and configure it. This stuff is visible to your recipients and easy to fix. If you’re not familiar with this, then that’s the point–I hope you’ll read on to improve how your email reflects upon you.

Next week I’ll tackle the much harder topic of the email content, but for now…

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Filed under: Business, Email, Outlook, Professionalism, Technology
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The last article I wrote explained how we shouldn’t make others feel that “we’re busy”–that their time is less important than ours. Being perceived as being in high demand may help to command respect, but you can accomplish that without feigning busyness or sacrificing those you care about. This post is generally in response to Skellie of skelliwag.org [great site], who commented:

If others perceive you as being in high demand, as having a full schedule and generally having a lot of work, your perceived value/talent goes up. Clients want you more. Clients want to pay you more. It’s a social proof thing — if everyone wants you, you must be good. Freelancers who never seem busy, who make themselves available all the time, tend to get treated like they’re not busy for a reason…. [M]anufacturing some of that busyness can be good for business!

I completely agree–the key is to recognize the difference between being responsive and being too available. I personally respond to every email/call I receive, but I won’t do it right away. Most problems don’t need to be solved that quickly, and most projects are not due today. Clients and coworkers may make us feel that way, but they ultimately will respect a consistent response within a reasonable amount of time. In other words, I try to be responsive but not readily available.
Responding right away may come off as eager. (more…)

Filed under: 4-Hour Workweek, Productivity, Professionalism
Article Tags: 4-Hour Workweek, 4HWW, getting things done, gtd, Productivity
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We have a problem when we equate busyness with productivity (or, worse yet, success). We have a problem when we let people know we’re fitting them in to our schedules. We’re all busy people, and some of us might be considered productive, but none of us have the right to make others feel less important. A productive person is one who gets a lot done but doesn’t feel busy (or make others feel that they are).

I was talking with one of my employees about how much I had to do and when I would be able to get him some feedback. A few minutes after our conversation I cringed–I may have leeway with when I get him the feedback, but he didn’t deserve my listing out my to do list. He has just as much to do, if not at work then in other places, and I should never let my “busy life” be more important.

I got a phone call last week and the client exclaimed, “I’m so lucky I got you on the phone…I know how busy you are.” Maybe he meant it as a compliment, but it sort of irked me. Here I am trying to feel on top of my life/schedule…and I’m making an important client feel like I don’t have time for him. No, that’s not quite what he said, but it bugged me. It’s not that I’m not busy, but I want it to be clear to people (especially friends and, well, prospects/clients) that I have time for them.

It’s all about the approach: (more…)

Filed under: 4-Hour Workweek, Business, Productivity, Professionalism
Article Tags: 4hourworkweek, busy, busyness, fourhourworkweek, getting things done, gtd, Productivity, psychology
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In this post I’ll offer advice both on how to cancel an appointment and how to show that you respect your own time when people cancel on you. In this world of instant electronic gratification and RSVP’s with “Maybe” categories, etiquette sometimes slips by the wayside. This advice is designed to facilitate better use of your time and demonstrate that you care about the person you’re meeting with.

Caveat

First of all, don’t cancel an appointment unless you really have to. Do you think of yourself as someone who sticks to their word…as someone who people can count on? Then don’t cancel on people unless you’re sick or out of town. And if you’re out of town, let them know the minute you find out about the trip. If you must cancel because you’ve got some “big client meeting,” then it had better be a week in advance or more.

If you must cancel, here’s how to do it:

1. Apologize and make a comment about how you respect their time
2. If you have a DAMN GOOD REASON (a funeral, you’re deathly ill, etc) mention it. Otherwise, don’t mention any reason at all. Don’t ever say that you have to do something more important like a big client meeting–that’s adding insult to injury
3. If at all possible, suggest that you meet at their office or some place closer to them than the original appointment
4. Offer possible dates for rescheduling in the same email; don’t let time go by before expressing that you want to get together

Here’s a skeleton message that’s both apologetic and to the point. It also will serve to minimize the amount of back and forth by being very clear about available dates: (more…)

Filed under: 4-Hour Workweek, AwayFind, Business, Productivity, Professionalism
Article Tags: 4-Hour Workweek, 4HWW, cancelling appointments, how to, Productivity, time
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The only thing less productive than reading an email three separate times and not responding is misreading the message and responding right away. Some people come off either illiterate or disrespectful with their correspondence. Worse yet, I think it’s because they’re attempting to be productive and responsive–but both of those aims are best achieved when doing something right the first time–which both saves you time and is more professional. Working faster is not the only goal.

I ran into an old acquaintance at a business function who suggested getting together. In each email correspondence he missed something I said earlier in the message thread, forcing me to repeat myself and him to respond to many more emails. The worst part: though we both restated the date numerous times in the message, he showed up on the wrong day. When I notified him on the day-of our meeting (which was a week later) he had to cancel because he never realized that he was at fault all along and at that point didn’t have the date available. It was both a laughable taste of his own medicine and doubly frustrating for me.

This is not the first time something like this has occurred (I have so many more stories, and I’m sure you do, too). So here’s my advice, with a smattering of both productivity tips and etiquette: (more…)

Filed under: 4-Hour Workweek, AwayFind, Email, Outlook, Productivity, Professionalism, Technology
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If you’re unsure whether you should let someone know, you probably should:

• If someone requests something of you (that takes more than a few minutes), confirm it. Let them know when to expect its completion or what will happen next
• If you’re working hard on a project for someone and run into snags, let them know your situation
• If you can’t meet a deadline, speak up

Everyone’s busy, and we all have too many emails. But working with people shouldn’t be a mysterious process–if people are waiting for you, let them know what’s up. If you think that things are taking longer than you expected, chances are that those depending on you are wondering what’s going on, too.

I’m no rocket scientist here, and you may think that this is patently obvious. But why is it that clients get frustrated, projects delayed, and heck, relationships of all sorts fail–it’s from a lack of communication. Not just quality of communication, but its quantity–people often just don’t think an update is necessary. But when it comes to business, it is almost always helpful. Let me offer you a common situation and explain how communication would have helped.

Situation: on a development project, there were things that hadn’t been accounted for (maybe it was the client’s fault, maybe the developer’s, etc.) and the project would thus take a contractor many days of a few hours’ work instead of one day of a few hours’ work

Some reasons for communication: (more…)

Filed under: Business, Professionalism
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In the last day I have seen a couple of emotional reactions to business-related decisions–one by me and one by a peer. I hope learned a lesson, and if this lesson is not true then I may have difficulty accepting the alternative, much less positive outlook. Essentially the lesson is twofold:

1. People you regularly work with (partners, co-workers, clients) generally want something that will work for you as well as them, but often they’re not particularly adept at expressing their case
2. When dealing with these people, in almost all cases it’s better to proceed under the assumption that their intentions are good rather than react strongly when their expressions come off negative or threatening

In relationship psychology, John Gottman talks about the concept of positive sentiment override, or PSO. It basically states that the success of a relationship is directly related to how a couple interprets neutral events. The more likely a couple is to assume a positive interpretation of something that their loved one does and the less likely they are to react negatively, the more healthy the relationship is. The greater the likeliness to interpret an event as positive, the greater the PSO. The less likely, the less PSO.

Sometimes in our businesses we forget about PSO. We don’t assume the best because we’re allowed not to. Let me explain.

In a relationship, at least in our contemporary Western society, equality is idealized and there is a perceived obligation for the relationship to continue. In the workplace, while there is ideally balance and exchange, there is neither equality nor an obligation for the relationship to continue. We need business relationships to function this way because we need to be able to perform and effectively grow our businesses–with the right employees, partners, and clients. And at any time we’re allowed to dump one of them for another. While the stakes may be high, we’re allowed and expected to casually or directly end some business relationships.

But in the process, at least in the last day, I’ve seen where a little PSO would’ve helped us to see more clearly. In one case it was interpreting an email hastily and negatively. In another case it was questioning the motives of a business partner. In both situations the people involved reacted strongly and somewhat harshly to the other parties.

It would be naive and perhaps a little too forgiving to say that the other parties had been professional or appropriate in the way they’d gotten themselves into their positions. However, looking back, there’s no doubt in my mind that both parties had the all right intentions but just didn’t know how to express it. Neither party had done anything particularly egregious–they just approached business opportunities in a way that completely turned us off.

It didn’t become clear of the “lack of PSO” to either myself or my peer until discussing it with folks outside of the situations. But it did become clear. And I don’t think either of us were proud of our getting upset with the other party involved.

So I’m offering up the concept of PSO to you businesspeople out there, and I’m hoping that you’ll let it into your dealings with those who you work with… Good night.

Filed under: Business, Professionalism
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