Managing in the E‐mail Office

Citation

Mann, S. (2003), "Managing in the E‐mail Office", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 24 No. 8, pp. 472-473. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730310505939

Over the past ten years e‐mail has become a vital element of business and few of us could operate without it. Indeed, for most organisations it is the primary method of communication because of its speed and worldwide accessibility. However, the authors of Managing in the E‐mail Office argue that e‐mail needs to be properly managed to avoid “devaluating the medium either through overuse or by generating resistance to its use”.

My first thought on picking up this book was “this sounds interesting”. However, I couldn’t help but wonder whether such a book is really necessary; are companies really impaired by misuse or overuse of e‐mail? Do managers really need advice on how to managing their in‐boxes? Although the authors do try hard to present a compelling case for the need for such input (although the section on “what your inbox says about you”, with its italicised assertion that “your inbox is a fingerprint of you as a manager and of your organization’s culture”, left me a little incredulous), I am slightly put off by the use of unsourced statistics such as “e‐mail is now one of the top ten causes of work‐related stress” (not a very worrying piece of evidence even it could be backed up) or “improving your own personal e‐mail management techniques will result in at least a 25 per cent efficiency gain”. There is a feeling of struggling a little too much (and thus having to draw upon unproven statistics) to convince the (potential) reader that they need help with managing their e‐mails.

These misgivings are, however, slight, and I must admit that this was a very readable text, not just because it is easy reading, but because there were many points that I could very much relate to. The book is split into three parts with the overall aims of helping the reader save time dealing with their inbox, reduce the information overload stress factor, decrease the number of e‐mails they handle, develop quicker ways to share and manage information using e‐mail, be more productive using e‐mail, stop e‐mail disrupting their work‐life balance and set the role model for being a good e‐mail citizen. Part one, “Managing your e‐mail before it manages you” covers techniques for managing inboxes and managing “yourself as an e‐mail user”. Part two, “You and your team in the e‐mail office”, is about how to work with e‐mail and the inbox as a management tool for working more effectively as a team. Part three, “The corporate perspective” focuses on what to do to establish best practice across a complete organization – including an e‐mail citizens charter. In addition to the core content, most chapters contain case histories and some self‐assessment exercises and instruments.

Despite the occasional gripe I have, there are many aspects of this book that are very good. For example, the e‐mail IT fitness checklist is excellent and I was easily able to use this to diagnose myself on the fitness scale. For a silver medallist like me, the “ten ways to let the software handle your e‐mail more smartly” is also especially useful. There is also a very informative section later on in the book about the cost of e‐mail misuse to real companies (which, had it been placed in earlier sections, would probably have been very useful in helping convince many to buy this book)

Overall, this is a very informative and useful book and I think it is worth putting up with any weaker sections to reach the stronger parts. It is easy to dip in and out of, offers practical tips and guides and is especially valuable on the IT and technological aspects for people who may not be so IT literate. Anyone who often feels overwhelmed by their inboxes, or who knows that they could manage their e‐mail better should certainly consider Managing in the E‐mail Office essential reading.