Did You Get My Email?

Odds are, the answer is yes.

Your interruption isn’t going to allow anyone to respond any faster.

But what if you’re really not that important? What if you never were going to get a response? Will an interruption put you to the top of the list?

The short answer is: No

Interrupting will never put you at the top of the list.

At one time, it did. Television advertising was the king of interruption. Email started as a faster way to interrupt people’s work days. A memo required effort. Someone had to write it, print it, and deliver it. The message inside the memo had better be worth it.

But email is a race to the bottom. It’s the fastest way to break trust. Just because you have somebody’s email address, doesn’t mean you should push send.

And this applies to everyone. Even bosses.

Instant messaging apps are making the problem worse. “Did you get my email?” becomes “I sent you an email but I thought an instant message would be faster.”

“Did you get my email?” is another way of asking for permission to proceed. It’s another way to hide.

No response is approval.

Move forward.

And let the results speak for themselves.

People will stop and pay attention once they see you doing your best work.