--Politics and Religion--
There is a saying that one should not talk about politics or religion at social events. I think the saying has been corrupted over the years from "you should not talk politics because politics are religion."
With yet another US election coming up, and strong feelings (either way) about the current leadership, now would be the time to have open discussions about politics and points of view. However that doesn't seem to be possible any more. "Discussion" consists of people with inflexible points of view, arrived at by some inferential jump that they cannot explain, attempting to convince the other point of view that they are wrong. And stupid. I'm not sure how that started, but lately it seems that many people have the attitude that others should blindly agree with them, otherwise the dissenters are stupid. Years ago I was taught in public speaking that when a party resorts to personal attacks, it is because they realize they have lost the logical argument. Something to consider with the current individual and party mud-slinging.
Political discussion should be a discussion, not an argument, where both sides explain their position, and attempt to understand the other person's point of view. A good discussion should be one where both parties walk away pondering the ideas of the other. Ideally, that would lead to more discussion.
I just tried to find a favorite Thomas Jefferson quote about this, but of course cannot at this time. The gist of it is: "Disagreement leads to discussion, and discussion leads to truth."
At a time when there are such strong emotional and irrational attitudes being taken, we need more discussions about political beliefs and how they were formed or decided. But just as you cannot "argue" that Buddhists are "better" than Methodists, the discussions should strive for understanding more than one's own perspective.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
--Pregnant Pauses and E-mail--
E-mail gives the illusion of immediacy. If the person receiving the message happens to be at the keyboard and happens to read your message and happens to be moved to immediately reply to said message, well, e-mail can appear to be pretty immediate. Sometimes this is not good.
An immediate reply might mean the other person might be clearing out their inbox. Or perhaps they were waiting for your message. Or perhaps they are bored out of their mind and this distraction is just what they needed. Maybe the other person is working on a different assignment or task and this brief e-mail check was a quick mental break before diving back into the work at hand.
So what does a long pause before replying to an e-mail mean? Nothing! There are an unlimited number of reasons someone might not "immediately" reply to an e-mail. Perhaps their Internet provider is having technical difficulties. Perhaps they are busy on a telephone call and (appropriately and politely) are giving that call all of their attention. Perhaps (*gasp*) they walked away from the computer to do something else. There might also be a chance that they are thinking about their reply, so that they communicate correctly and make sure the so-called "tone" (e-mail does not have tone!!!) of the message is as intended.
More than 80% of communication is non-verbal. That means (at best) e-mail communicates 20% of the real message. Because of this, people try to read too much into the choice of words in the e-mail, the "timeliness" of the e-mail reply, and sometimes even the font choice, font color, and font size. Good grief!
Also consider that (especially in business) perhaps the other person is talking or e-mailing with several other people to get their opinions, perspectives, and advice about the current situation. As more people are consulted, the delay before a reply is increased. Usually.
So what is wrong with immediate replies? Immediate replies re-enforce the impression that e-mail is immediate (or "always" immediate). Immediate replies might also give the impression that not a lot of care or thought went into the reply. Immediate replies also can confuse the other person when all of a sudden there is a long delay or pregnant pause before receiving another reply (which - remember - might not mean anything). I'd suggest you consider the implication of an immediate reply before firing it off. There is nothing wrong with focusing on the task at hand, and check e-mail perhaps slightly more frequently than you check your postal mail. (Some senior executives advocate two to three times a day as the maximum number of times they and their reports check e-mail!)
E-mail gives the illusion of immediacy. If the person receiving the message happens to be at the keyboard and happens to read your message and happens to be moved to immediately reply to said message, well, e-mail can appear to be pretty immediate. Sometimes this is not good.
An immediate reply might mean the other person might be clearing out their inbox. Or perhaps they were waiting for your message. Or perhaps they are bored out of their mind and this distraction is just what they needed. Maybe the other person is working on a different assignment or task and this brief e-mail check was a quick mental break before diving back into the work at hand.
So what does a long pause before replying to an e-mail mean? Nothing! There are an unlimited number of reasons someone might not "immediately" reply to an e-mail. Perhaps their Internet provider is having technical difficulties. Perhaps they are busy on a telephone call and (appropriately and politely) are giving that call all of their attention. Perhaps (*gasp*) they walked away from the computer to do something else. There might also be a chance that they are thinking about their reply, so that they communicate correctly and make sure the so-called "tone" (e-mail does not have tone!!!) of the message is as intended.
More than 80% of communication is non-verbal. That means (at best) e-mail communicates 20% of the real message. Because of this, people try to read too much into the choice of words in the e-mail, the "timeliness" of the e-mail reply, and sometimes even the font choice, font color, and font size. Good grief!
Also consider that (especially in business) perhaps the other person is talking or e-mailing with several other people to get their opinions, perspectives, and advice about the current situation. As more people are consulted, the delay before a reply is increased. Usually.
So what is wrong with immediate replies? Immediate replies re-enforce the impression that e-mail is immediate (or "always" immediate). Immediate replies might also give the impression that not a lot of care or thought went into the reply. Immediate replies also can confuse the other person when all of a sudden there is a long delay or pregnant pause before receiving another reply (which - remember - might not mean anything). I'd suggest you consider the implication of an immediate reply before firing it off. There is nothing wrong with focusing on the task at hand, and check e-mail perhaps slightly more frequently than you check your postal mail. (Some senior executives advocate two to three times a day as the maximum number of times they and their reports check e-mail!)
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
--Summer's Here - Looking towards Autumn--
Speaking a business colleague the other day we were commiserating that we were already starting to plan out our September and October. Here it is only the beginning of July! While nobody was complaining about the work, I think we were more distraught that we had not really thought out our own personal time for the rest of the summer.
By personal time, I (personally) was thinking of personal and professional development. I belong to several professional organizations that seem to (wisely) offer professional development opportunities during the summer months. Now to avoid temptation and actually attend! Business professionals, especially consultants, can get set in their ways. It is always good to shake things up a bit and listen to other opinions, ideas, and perspectives. In person. At an all day thing. Not just sitting at the computer reading somebody's blog. Like this one.
What counts as personal or professional development? I'd say reading some hardcover book that has been sitting on the shelf (or worse, the floor) forever. Bonus points if it is work-related! Seriously, even the "ghosts and the paranormal" book I just finished had several work applications. Okay, if that didn't catch your attention - nothing will. The book discussed several authors and their approach to their work (I'm an author - I got several tips out of that). The book also discussed some of the more (ahem) esoteric historical highlights of central and western Canada (one of my companies works a lot in Canada). The book also talked a lot about how belief systems need to be occasionally reviewed and perhaps challenged to make sure the environment has not changed so much that perhaps the belief system is no longer beneficial (ummm, isn't this what I do for a living?).
Just for the record, I am also seriously considering attending a face-to-face one-day professional development day in downtown Chicago this week with what I (personally) consider "lite" topics but there should be many different perspectives and... who knows, I might get something out of it. Heck, for $75 for a full day of potential enlightenment, I'm there...
Speaking a business colleague the other day we were commiserating that we were already starting to plan out our September and October. Here it is only the beginning of July! While nobody was complaining about the work, I think we were more distraught that we had not really thought out our own personal time for the rest of the summer.
By personal time, I (personally) was thinking of personal and professional development. I belong to several professional organizations that seem to (wisely) offer professional development opportunities during the summer months. Now to avoid temptation and actually attend! Business professionals, especially consultants, can get set in their ways. It is always good to shake things up a bit and listen to other opinions, ideas, and perspectives. In person. At an all day thing. Not just sitting at the computer reading somebody's blog. Like this one.
What counts as personal or professional development? I'd say reading some hardcover book that has been sitting on the shelf (or worse, the floor) forever. Bonus points if it is work-related! Seriously, even the "ghosts and the paranormal" book I just finished had several work applications. Okay, if that didn't catch your attention - nothing will. The book discussed several authors and their approach to their work (I'm an author - I got several tips out of that). The book also discussed some of the more (ahem) esoteric historical highlights of central and western Canada (one of my companies works a lot in Canada). The book also talked a lot about how belief systems need to be occasionally reviewed and perhaps challenged to make sure the environment has not changed so much that perhaps the belief system is no longer beneficial (ummm, isn't this what I do for a living?).
Just for the record, I am also seriously considering attending a face-to-face one-day professional development day in downtown Chicago this week with what I (personally) consider "lite" topics but there should be many different perspectives and... who knows, I might get something out of it. Heck, for $75 for a full day of potential enlightenment, I'm there...
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