FROM ESCARGOTS TO NEW E-FANGLEDNESSES

As we said before, everyone’s got a solution for the trials and tribulations of email.

Personal assistants (robot-icized).  Internal social media divided by work groups.  Automatic softwares that sort email by sender, topic, urgency, and other categories.  New rules, from meeting protocol (turn off those $!%@!# laptops and smartphones) to days away from the app.   And new behaviors about cc’ing or replying to all and eschewing large attachments, like photos.

It’s clear that something needs to be done about our 122+ individual daily emails – and 100+ billion sent every 24 hours.

Or does it? 

How much, really, would each of us accomplish in a day without our e-crutches?  [You have to admit that the e-newbies like Yammer and HipChat, Convo and Slack are just organized, social forms of our online work communications.  They’re the latest forms of Sharepoint, where groups review and comment on documents and requirements and project management to-dos.]

Proponents of these group-wares cite transparency, the ease of exchange, the convenience of knowing that everyone who needs to be in the know is.  Then again, detractors point to the silo-ing of corporate America and the tendency to ‘say anything’ in small collaborations, regardless of whether the boss is watching.

So in addition to resorting to snail mail from time to time (our most recent remedy), it’s entirely possible that we call on the change gurus to, well, talk about new behaviors.  Such as leaders who’ve figured out how to work/not with email the best ways.  Role models demonstrating collaboration in non e-ways.  And a rewards system (in words or dollars) to motivate all.

Technology isn’t always our friend.

WHAT THE ESCARGOT KNOWS

There’s much chatter these days about doing away with email clutter (more on that in the next installment).

Company after company proclaims weekly moratoria on inbox traffic, seeks solutions like Slack and Yammer, even banishes the e-letter outright.

Somehow, the bane of billions @ work re-appears. 

Those of us who complain about e-overload need look no further than right outside the United States, where Internet access (and email) is prized.  India, with only 15 percent of its population connected, plans to hook everyone into fiber-optic cable by 2019.  Indonesia is only one percentage point better.  Even China, with its massive population, has only linked 46 percent to the Internet.

What’s more, it often takes about 15 or more minutes to actually receive the missive, even in New Delhi, the heart of the Indian government.

In contrast, simply remember our e-luck (and connectivity).  Besides, as a nation that expects immediate gratification, the delivery of email here waits for nothing, except an offline or damaged server or viruses or … .

Our solution to the clutter:  A long-time newspaper columnist designated August 7 as National Write That Note Day.  No excuses.  No delays.  As she points out, Paper Source stores are alive and well and expanding.  So someone must be writing.

What’s perfect for pen and paper, despite the ‘snail mail’ designation?   Condolences.  Congratulations.  Catching up with old friends.  The holiday family letter. 

It’s doing the right thing, no matter what you say.

CONVERSATIONS, UNLIMITED

Much of today’s pop non-fiction is obsessed with conversations.  That is, the lack of them.   The face-to-face type.

Blame quickly shifts to the Millennials who grew up with technology in hand.  And then extends to everyone and anyone who works for a living, over-relying on social media and smartphones, on apps and e-widgets.

Yet it ain’t all the fault of IT.  Nor can we point fingers to specific cohorts, because, truth! everyone indulges.  It’s just easier to communicate with things other than our mouths, our voices, our hearts.

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, a Yale professor of computer science, half tongue in cheek and half not, proposes a Talknet for seniors.  That is, a 365/24/7 system that allows elderfolks the ability to tune into any dialogue going on around the world.  His plan is simple:  Five choices on screen, each with no more than ten participants.  Start your own conversation.  Or wait for others to leave.  Or, quite simply, listen in with computer speakers.

It’s an imaginary concept that could work, quite well, in corporate settings.  And not just for seniors.  It would train employees in the art and craft of talking.  It might be a good substitute for some learning and development courses (with apologies to those professionals).  And it could replace the communities of practice, the Yammers of the world, and corporate jam sessions (among others), helping workers realize that there’s much to be gained in connecting and relating live.

The fault, dear Brutus …