For anyone who wants to improve effectiveness and productivity, I have a suggestion that is stunningly simple. But first a question:
What does it cost you if you miss an important email from a donor? Or a board member? Or a potential volunteer? Or a local foundation with a question about your grant proposal?
Answer: Could be a lot!!! A WHOLE lot!
E-mail is how stuff gets done. But many organizations and individuals are still using spam filters.
Please, STOP THE MADNESS!!
At least once a day somebody says they didn't get an e-mail from me. Then they check their spam filter. There it is! Meantime, we have lost valuable cycle time in the workflow.
And I don't know what I don't know! What I mean is, how many of my e-mails get trapped and never read?
I put nothing in my subjects that should trigger a spam filter. My usual format for the subject line is:
"For John Doe from Steve Cebalt regarding ACME nonprofit."
Your spam filter sometimes costs me money! Delays in production are an expense borne by your vendors. And if my invoice gets filtered, I don't get paid, and then I have to deal with an irate Mrs. Cebalt who doesn't have the money to pay our kids' tuition or our mortgage !!!!! She doesn't want to hear that the invoice got trapped in a spam filter and thus the invoice is two weeks overdue, and I don't blame her! Because the bank or the school won't care!!!
Yesterday I took 5 or 10 minutes to send a man a very nice note about an ad that he submitted for a newspaper that I publish. I really thought his team did a fantastic job, producing a creative ad. So I wanted to share this with him, and have him pass it along to the people who did the work. Please note, there was nothing in it for me, it was just me being a nice guy.
I got a bounceback, saying it was suspended in their spam filter. So he'll never see it, and his staff will never get the "kudos," because I am not messing with it anymore, it annoys me!
The solution: Stop using a spam filter!!!! Now, I know some of you have IT departments that would spit up on themselves at this suggestion. Nonetheless, it pays to take a look once in a while at "what works" and "what gets in the way."
I have no spam filter. I get very little spam, maybe 1 or 2 a day, MAX. Viagra ads, Nigerians wanting me to send them a million dollars, etc.
Solution: delete, delete. Two seconds. Done. How hard is that!!!!
I have a good virus program, so I have never gotten a virus from an e-mail.
I would rather spend 2 seconds a day deleting a couple spams, then miss an important work assignment from a client, or an inquiry from a prospective client!
It takes less time to delete spam than it does to retrieve legitimate emails from a spam filter -- after you have discovered that it's buried in there and lost valuable cycle time.
So, consider eliminating your spam filter, and you can thank me later!
BONUS TIP:
This tip only works for very small workgroups, but as my audience for this blog is small nonprofits and foundations, that may mean a lot of you!
Rather than having a separate e-mail for each person on a 5-person staff, just use one; all of you use the same one. Something like info@acmenonprofit.org.
Why? Because if Susie is sick and someone sends her an important email, you'll all see it and someone can respond and help the person in Susie's absence. Or during her vacation or business trip. This helps the person on the other end, and it helps Susie when she returns from her illness.
And everyone in the office will know what's going on throughout the office, just by being privy to all the email traffic. My staff will know that I am super-busy today by seeing that I've received a load of work requests today; that is valuable for them to know! Today may not be the time for a lot of chit-chat, as much as we love to yak when we do have time!!!!!
If you use part-time staff, job-sharers, etc., this tip is even more useful.
Of course no one sends anything personal through the business account. So e-mails to your accountant or criminal defense attorney are sent privately through your g-mail, hotmail, or AOL account.
This tip works like a charm, in the right circumstances. I do realize there are some instances where confidentiality of information could preclude this suggestion, but as long as your work team has no secrets to hide from each other, this is a MAJOR productivity booster.
For example, I don't need to tell my staff that we got a new job request from ACME nonprofit --they see the e-mail, and they mentally prepare for their role in the task, without me having to say a word!
In our shop we manage without ever having staff meetings to coordinate tasks, mostly because of the charms of this e-mail tactic.
If it suits your circumstances, give it a try!
Have a great and productive day,
Steve Cebalt, Author,
The Communications Handbook for Nonprofits and Foundations
--
What does it cost you if you miss an important email from a donor? Or a board member? Or a potential volunteer? Or a local foundation with a question about your grant proposal?
Answer: Could be a lot!!! A WHOLE lot!
E-mail is how stuff gets done. But many organizations and individuals are still using spam filters.
Please, STOP THE MADNESS!!
At least once a day somebody says they didn't get an e-mail from me. Then they check their spam filter. There it is! Meantime, we have lost valuable cycle time in the workflow.
And I don't know what I don't know! What I mean is, how many of my e-mails get trapped and never read?
I put nothing in my subjects that should trigger a spam filter. My usual format for the subject line is:
"For John Doe from Steve Cebalt regarding ACME nonprofit."
Your spam filter sometimes costs me money! Delays in production are an expense borne by your vendors. And if my invoice gets filtered, I don't get paid, and then I have to deal with an irate Mrs. Cebalt who doesn't have the money to pay our kids' tuition or our mortgage !!!!! She doesn't want to hear that the invoice got trapped in a spam filter and thus the invoice is two weeks overdue, and I don't blame her! Because the bank or the school won't care!!!
Yesterday I took 5 or 10 minutes to send a man a very nice note about an ad that he submitted for a newspaper that I publish. I really thought his team did a fantastic job, producing a creative ad. So I wanted to share this with him, and have him pass it along to the people who did the work. Please note, there was nothing in it for me, it was just me being a nice guy.
I got a bounceback, saying it was suspended in their spam filter. So he'll never see it, and his staff will never get the "kudos," because I am not messing with it anymore, it annoys me!
The solution: Stop using a spam filter!!!! Now, I know some of you have IT departments that would spit up on themselves at this suggestion. Nonetheless, it pays to take a look once in a while at "what works" and "what gets in the way."
I have no spam filter. I get very little spam, maybe 1 or 2 a day, MAX. Viagra ads, Nigerians wanting me to send them a million dollars, etc.
Solution: delete, delete. Two seconds. Done. How hard is that!!!!
I have a good virus program, so I have never gotten a virus from an e-mail.
I would rather spend 2 seconds a day deleting a couple spams, then miss an important work assignment from a client, or an inquiry from a prospective client!
It takes less time to delete spam than it does to retrieve legitimate emails from a spam filter -- after you have discovered that it's buried in there and lost valuable cycle time.
So, consider eliminating your spam filter, and you can thank me later!
BONUS TIP:
This tip only works for very small workgroups, but as my audience for this blog is small nonprofits and foundations, that may mean a lot of you!
Rather than having a separate e-mail for each person on a 5-person staff, just use one; all of you use the same one. Something like info@acmenonprofit.org.
Why? Because if Susie is sick and someone sends her an important email, you'll all see it and someone can respond and help the person in Susie's absence. Or during her vacation or business trip. This helps the person on the other end, and it helps Susie when she returns from her illness.
And everyone in the office will know what's going on throughout the office, just by being privy to all the email traffic. My staff will know that I am super-busy today by seeing that I've received a load of work requests today; that is valuable for them to know! Today may not be the time for a lot of chit-chat, as much as we love to yak when we do have time!!!!!
If you use part-time staff, job-sharers, etc., this tip is even more useful.
Of course no one sends anything personal through the business account. So e-mails to your accountant or criminal defense attorney are sent privately through your g-mail, hotmail, or AOL account.
This tip works like a charm, in the right circumstances. I do realize there are some instances where confidentiality of information could preclude this suggestion, but as long as your work team has no secrets to hide from each other, this is a MAJOR productivity booster.
For example, I don't need to tell my staff that we got a new job request from ACME nonprofit --they see the e-mail, and they mentally prepare for their role in the task, without me having to say a word!
In our shop we manage without ever having staff meetings to coordinate tasks, mostly because of the charms of this e-mail tactic.
If it suits your circumstances, give it a try!
Have a great and productive day,
Steve Cebalt, Author,
The Communications Handbook for Nonprofits and Foundations
--
