load. Tough management requires that managers take steps to control
e-mail in order to remain flexible:
• If any subject or issue involves more than two e-mails, one
party should call the other to resolve the issue by phone.
• No junk e-mail; no jokes.
• Send only relevant information—that is, what the person
needs to know.
• Limit CCs (copies), which might be more appropriately
named CYA.
• Don’t play Ping Pong with e-mail for a conversation; use the
phone.
• Deal with it and delete it.
• Don’t read every e-mail as it comes in; handle messages in
batches.
Top Ways Executives and Managers Deal with E-Mail Overload
(in Order)
1. Delete messages without reading them
2. Read only messages from known sources
3. Use filtering software
4. Send fewer CCs
5. Use multiple accounts
The One-Week E-Mail Challenge
Pick a week, any week, maybe a summer week, and do not use any
e-mail. None. Don’t read any; don’t write any. Do not use instant
messaging (that would be cheating). Your children might think
you’re nuts trying to live a week without e-mail, but challenge
them to try it. Not much would necessarily be missed.
A third of executives and managers rank 51 to 75 percent of
their e-mail as unnecessary, and almost half of them say that up to