Fixing Workplace Communication, Chapter 01
So, I am writing a book with what some would say is an unrealistic goal: fixing workplace communication. With such a goal in mind, I believe ongoing feedback must be an essential part of the …
Communication Chaos
Organizations are strange. Well, organizations are just fictional entities, so one might argue that the people running the organizations are strange. But something in the organizational context makes people think and behave differently. It is …
BCC magic
Workplace communication is full of problems. You know it; I know it. Most of us accept it, and some try to fix it. With so many problems rooted in culture, technology, and psychology, it is …
The Perfect Communication Tool
You cannot write about workplace communication without being asked, “So, is email more effective than meetings or the other way around? Or maybe we should replace everything with lightweight Instant Messaging like Slack?” We all …
Don’t Let AI Take Over Your Interactions
We humans always prefer to clean up the mess we create instead of avoiding it in the first place. Recycling, for example, seems like a more popular solution than consuming sustainable products. As appealing as …
Length Doesn’t Matter — Resolution Does
Your emails must not be longer than 200 words. Meetings should be 20 minutes long tops. Your LinkedIn posts must fit into one mobile screen if you want people to notice them. We are led …
Stop Pushing
If you ever led a professional activity in an organization, you either felt compelled or were asked to share a periodical status. The larger the team involved and the more complex the activity is, the …
The Most Dangerous Button on Your Email Client
This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill. You’ve just received an email together with 50 other recipients. To avoid severe damage to your ability to work on something meaningful, please …
Take Your Time
Effective communication requires time and bandwidth. When we communicate on autopilot, we contribute to the typical fragmented, shallow communication that most of us find frustrating. In this issue, we focus on three activities in which …
Three Signs Your Email Thread is Too Long
“This should have been an email” is one of the most popular rants in workplace communication these days. We are overwhelmed with meetings, and many of them lead nowhere, so we look for less costly …