The Pedestal Group

I took the high road today.  It was tough but I did it.  I received an unsolicited resume from someone yesterday and I read his opening paragraph (of 7 with bullets, mind you).  I then opened his resume and forwarded it to someone who might have a position for the individual.  Did I go back and read the rest of his extremely long email?  No – I got an UNSOLICITED resume and I have work to do.  In fact, I had three customers with emergencies just after I received his email.  So he was not a priority.  On a whim, I sent him a question.  Turns out, he answered the question in paragraph 5 which he was quick to point out in his response. Seriously?  You send me a hugely long email and a resume and then scold me when I don’t read every word?  When I was looking for work I would have been grateful to get a response! I would have answered the same question 18 times if necessary.

My thought was to send him a note and let him know that as I had read his email on a phone, that much detail was too much to manage on such a small screen and the fact that I care enough to respond should have been a happy event. Not an opportunity to point out where I had made a mistake.  I also mused on what this said about his management style when he was so quick to correct a total stranger from whom he wanted help.  But as I went to hit send, I wondered, what would this accomplish?  Best case he would take my words to heart, not be so quick to judge and take care of people more in the future.  But is that really likely?  I decided that it wasn’t.  So now I have a bad feeling about this individual and he’ll never know.  I did not share the experience with the person who got his resume from me so it will probably never amount to anything, but if I’m ever called on to deal with him, it won’t be something I want to do.

So the point here is, think about your email responses before you make them.  If you send someone an email, be sure that on whatever device they have they can get the salient points.  Be sure it isn’t going to take too much time to get to those points and that the points are what they need right away.  At some level leaving some questions to later means the person will start a dialogue with you to get the answers and isn’t that what you want any way?

Also, if someone misses something or makes a mistake, don’t automatically forward your original message with the information highlighted unless you want the other person to feel bad.  Instead, think of a couple scenarios where they would have missed it to help yourself feel good and answer it again.  Maybe add a little more detail or phrase it differently.   I laughed at Disney when the trainer told us the most common question people ask on Main St. is what time is the 3:30 parade?  While the question itself sounds stupid, we all know of a ton of situations where something is scheduled for a specific time and doesn’t happen then.  Also, if you aren’t where the parade begins, you aren’t really asking when it begins, you are asking when it will go by the space you are standing in.  The trainer went further to say the staff are all trained to answer the intent of the question with when the parade will go by the spot where they are and then also to refer people to great places to be able to see, or where there are seats, or other helpful hints.  No one feels stupid – in fact, it is part of a better experience.

So today I didn’t send the two paragraph response putting this person in his place for being obnoxious.  But it also made me think more about the emails I did send this morning and how they might be taken.  Just re-reading an email before hitting send can make all the difference.

Recently, a friend of mine and I were in a meeting and she asked me to blog about cell phone etiquette.  I was surprised because I thought, “what do I know about cell phone etiquette?” and then I started looking around. People are really rude when it comes to cell phones!  So here’s what I’ve noticed:

First, when going into a meeting, turn off your cell phone.  That’s an easy thing and no one should have to be reminded.  Take out your pen, and put your cell phone on vibrate.

Next, if you are in a public place, put your cell phone on vibrate.  The meeting we were having was in a small coffee shop so when the person at the next table received a phone call.  It rang so loud we all jumped.

When you answer the phone, think about the people around you.  I can’t tell you how many conversations I can recount to you from the last week of paying attention that were people just talking loudly on their cell phones.  I’m tempted to start commenting – wouldn’t the person on the phone be surprised?!

Keep conversations short when you are in public.  In you are in line somewhere or at a restaurant, keep it short. It is frustrating when you are holding up the world so you can finish your conversation.  And exactly how is a company suppose to provide you customer service if you are on the phone the whole time?

Be conscious of when you check your phone during a conversation with someone else.  If you know there’s an important call coming in that you have to take, warn the person up front.  If the phone rings and it might be a school or other issue, let the person know you have to check for that reason.  Otherwise, focus on the person in front of you and let the phone go for awhile.

And just to invoke a little common sense, if it would be reasonable for another person to say, “shhhh” to you in that location, don’t take a phone call. The library, a church, a lobby of an office, a movie theater, a quiet restaurant, etc. are all places we would shush you so do it yourself!

The bottom line here is as the face of your company, your behavior speaks volumes about who you are and what your company is about.  If you are rude with your phone, regardless of your intentions, your company will be judged that way.  If you take my call and are in public, I will wonder who can hear what we’re saying and how conscience you are of confidentiality.  If you infringe on my lunch or meeting with your phone, I will assume you are insensitive and don’t care about other people.  Not the right messages, right?

Fritz pointed out that it has been a long time since he got to blog. And, in reviewing his old posts, he realized he forgot one topic in his, “Fritz’s top 10 management tips” so he would like to make it 11. As you may recall, I walk Fritz every morning and get to watch Fritz manage his business and for the record, in his business I am strictly support staff. See if these apply to your business!

1. If you find something interesting, stick your whole face in to really investigate it. Sometimes you will be unhappy with what gets on your nose, but more often it is something fascinating!

2. Dream big – some day you really might catch the bunny if you just stick to it and believe you can.

3. Leave your mark in many places (I know, this is gross but go with me) –  the more people who know you were there the better!

4.  Move quickly and decisively. Don’t dilly dally around.

5. If you come to a decision point, consult those you need to and make a quick decision. Even if you don’t get to go the way you want, moving forward is better than standing still.

6. Following the same course on a regular basis is fine but periodically, change it up! Going out of your comfort zone may yield new things to experience (see #1).

7. If there is something new on your route, it is important to notice, investigate (again, see #1) and know what it is about. Knowing your market is key.

8. If someone new comes along, greet them as a friend first. Offer to play, be nice, show you are a good guy. You never know what they have to offer.

9. If someone else is walking as well, be sure you keep up. Getting left behind isn’t fun – and you may have to drag your cohorts with you to do it.

10. Always clean up your messes. It isn’t right to leave them and they may end up in someone else’s space which is not being a good neighbor.

11. Just because the big dogs walked there, doesn’t mean you have to as well. Sometimes it is good to know where they went and go somewhere else. Why try to compete with that?