10 OBSERVATIONS FROM A RECENT PROJECT - #7

7. “There’s a splinter in my Email”

The project seems to be going smoothly and you’re feeling pretty good about it. You kick back for one second, but then notice that you have a new email. The subject line reads: “Need to address newly discovered system vulnerabilities”. Ok. Serious issue. Immediate attention is required. Just one problem: The email was sent to you...and 20 other people! Now it begins. The avalanche of responses. All going off in their separate directions. All with their seemingly own lives. It’s the dreaded forked email. The original 20 recipients start sending it to even more people. More “splinters” are popping up by the minute. You get on top of the situation quickly, corralling the messages and creating one “official thread”. Great. Crisis averted…or so you thought. But then, a few days later, “it” happens. You don’t notice at first, not until it’s too late. An email with the old subject line carries information about a completely new and unrelated problem. Your real nightmare has just begun. It doesn't take long for the confusion to rain down, especially from the program-level management. The “I thought this was taken care of” reign of terror is upon you. No matter how hard you try to explain that the issues are separate and the email chain is to blame, you are only digging yourself deeper. You could be spending weeks untangling the mess and explaining it over and over and over again. Email splintering/forking happens. It’s a fact of life. And the fallout can be toxic. Be ready for it…and, remind everyone on the team that each new subject should be in a new and separate email with a well-thought-out subject line, because today’s tiny splinter is tomorrow’s incredibly painful abscess.

Jeff Lowell

If you missed it, click here for the INTRO.  To easily see all of the current posts in contiguous reverse order (newest to oldest), click on the "10 Observations" link under the Categories heading in the sidebar on the right side of the page. Be sure to catch the next chapter:  8. Be flexible...and stand your ground.

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