Either reply to all or none, alright?

There are 101 things that wind you up about working life. The fact that it always seems to '101 things' for starters, unless it's an issue with dalamations - in which case, that's just fine.

Today's topic/gripe/reason to go crazy with an axe at work is something I've coined 'The Reply to All Withdrawal Trick'. It's one of those comms things that really needs evangelizing, so please feel free to spread the word if this has ever happened to you:

1.You get an email of complaint along these lines

To:Tim Colman
From: Alan Idiot
cc: The Head of Your Department, The Head of His Department, Some other person in authority, A few others for good measure
Subject: You've messed up,haven't you?

Tim,

Last week I asked you to do some comms stuff for me. You didn't. As a result eight of my team died and I lost £500,000k.

Can you explain what the hell has gone on and why this is over a week late?

Alan


2.You respond like this

To:Alan Idiot
From: Tim Colman
cc: The Head of Your Department, The Head of His Department, Some other person in authority, A few others for good measure
Subject: RE: You've messed up,haven't you?
Attachment: Comms work for Alan email (dated last week)


Alan,

Not sure what you mean. I sent you that stuff about 20 minutes after you asked for it. I've attached the email for reference. Hope that clears that up. Sorry to hear about the deaths/cash.

Tim

3.And here comes the sting, with his reply

To:Tim Colman
From: Alan Idiot

Subject: RE: You've messed up,haven't you?

Tim,

Ah yes, my bad. Must have been something else that cause all those problems. Sorry I missed that.

Alan.


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Spot the issue? It might look like a civil response, but look what he did. HE REMOVED EVERYONE FROM THE CC FIELD. Yes, he was very happy to include everyone he thought might want to know that I was an idiot, but when he turned out to be in the wrong his apology didn't go to them did it? Ooh no. Did they fall off in the wind? I don't think so, unless you're using some sort of 'Carry On' style email program.

As you might guess, this winds me up no end. Why? Because it's just poor manners. It's the equivalent of walking into a restaurant you've never been in, yelling "THE FOOD HERE IS DREADFUL", before being given the best meal of your life and then whispering your appreciation to the waiter. And I've never done that, and I've been to some pretty nice Nando's in my time.

I've taken to adding an extra email to the chain now, I often write back to the chap and stick all those cc'd names back in with a message along the lines of "No problem Alan. FAO everyone else, Alan did apologise." But, really, do I need to be doing that?

So please, help out, I don't need you to sponsor my mid-life crisis desire to do complex sporting events, I'm not asking you to (effectively) pay for me to jump out of a plane in the name of charity, I just ask that the next time you face 'The Reply to All Withdrawal Trick' you let the culprit know that you spotted them and they aren't getting away with it.

And if you want, cc me in too.

Being brave

I’m an awful electrician. Seriously, don’t let me anywhere near your wiring – I know nothing about it. You’ll end up with no power to your TV, a possible electrical fire in the kitchen, and my hair will perm up like I’m Kevin Keegan in the early 1980s.

Of course, I don’t pretend to be an electrician, I’ve not had business cards printed or come up with a memorable name (If I did I would be called I.M.A.Leccyman). But when it comes to my own profession, I often face just that problem – people who think they can do my job, but really can’t.

You know what it’s like. You spend an hour crafting a message, keeping it tight, focused, positive, and appropriate for the audience. It just needs sign off from the appropriate person in your business. So you send it to that person.

The next thing you see is a zombie version of your work heading back. It’s now lurching towards the reader in overlong sentences, slurring and screaming inappropriately hostile language, random apostrophes and commas hanging out like entrails.

For some senior managers, admitting that communications isn’t their thing would be a statement of failure. No-one ever wrote on their high-powered CV “I’m an expert in strategy, delivery and business planning – but I really have no clue about communicating, not one iota. In fact – I don’t even know what an iota is”.

The role of communications is something I’m passionate about, and not just because it pays the mortgage. Recognising that getting communications right, every time, is the key to helping organisations work better, is the mark of a great business. The best companies I’ve worked for have been the ones that understand that and use you as an expert, in the same way they would call in an expert on finance, HR or property if the need arose in those areas.

So, if you’re a communicator, believe in yourself and don’t be railroaded because someone is bigger, older, or claims to know better. With some people you can tell them straight, and they appreciate the feedback. I was in my early twenties when the Chief Executive of our FTSE 100 Company asked if a bit of filming we had done was any good. Frankly it wasn’t, so I told him: “It was alright, but I think we can get you better.” He listened, and we got something much, much better. It was scary, but not as scary as making him look bad on camera.

So be brave. Be better than just 'alright'. You might even surprise yourself.

Oh, and if you know a good electrician too that would be great, as I can’t get the lights back on in my house after trying to change a light bulb last week.