You have over 100 unread emails in your inbox, don’t you? It’s OK, you probably think you are the only person drowning in email. See the guy in the next cubicle, yeah, the stinky one. He’s got over 200 unread emails. He doesn’t have a clue either.
Company culture is all the buzz right now. Research shows any investment in culture is going to pay back. One thought to consider is, there are cultures within cultures. Small habits where the company cancer first sprouts. If companies don’t take time to step back and analyze these company moles then you will wake up with good people having contempt for your workplace.
In this environment of constant connectivity, it’s easy to feel isolated in our struggles with email. Many employees find themselves trapped in a cycle of responding to an ever-growing list of unread messages, which only adds to their stress and detracts from their overall productivity. This overwhelming email culture can lead to a sense of helplessness, where individuals believe that simply staying busy with emails equates to being productive. Moreover, the lack of effective communication practices can create silos within teams, stifling collaboration and fostering resentment. It’s essential for organizations to recognize the detrimental effects of unchecked email habits and to proactively cultivate a healthier workplace culture that values clarity, efficiency, and genuine connection.
Email is a culture within a culture
Before I started consulting companies on email and office efficiency, I worked for a medium size company with roughly 350 employees. My department had about 15 employees. We spent our day in our respective cubicles typing away, creating emails that seemed really important. Long email chains grew longer and every once in awhile we ended up in a conference room in a boring meeting (speaking of company cancer). We felt like we were getting a lot done but we created more work than success. Nobody seemed to care because email seemed to be the only way to work.
This experience highlighted how email can become a culture within a culture—one that often prioritizes the volume of communication over its effectiveness. In many cases, employees fall into the trap of equating busyness with productivity, leading to a cycle of endless back-and-forth messages instead of meaningful collaboration. Instead of fostering genuine engagement and driving projects forward, our inboxes became cluttered with unnecessary updates and replies that distracted us from our core tasks. This misalignment not only wasted precious time but also contributed to frustration and burnout among team members. Recognizing this issue was a turning point for me, prompting a shift toward more efficient communication methods that emphasize clarity and purpose over sheer quantity.
How I fix company email
I get the chance to visit companies along the Wasatch Front and teach their employees about email best practices. Many employees groan when they are told they will be attending an hour training about email, but once the party starts they realize I have the key to workplace nirvana. mployees quickly discover that by implementing simple yet effective strategies, they can reclaim their time and boost their productivity.
Together, we explore techniques for crafting clearer emails, reducing unnecessary replies, and leveraging tools that can streamline communication. The transformation is often immediate, leaving participants excited about the newfound clarity and efficiency they can bring to their daily workflows. We schedule your company conference room (or use the broom closet if we must) and I take them on an hour long journey that covers the following:
- 3 Keys to Email Nirvana
- (1) Define Email Purpose
- (2) Train the Noise
- (3) Build the System
- Destructive Email Addictions
- Establishing Company Email Culture (that works)
- The Secret to Project Management
Our goal is inbox zero. No more lingering tasks that don’t get done. It’s quite simple and I can show you how.
0 Comments