>Kevin wrote > >Not about list e-mail, but general work e-mail. I got chastised by a boss >because I was contacting a user using e-mail instead of calling directly. >The text of the e-mail was about, drumroll, setting up a face to face >meeting. I really felt like telling the boss to take a hike. His way >mattered 20 years ago when you had to use a phone, but 70% of the time >e-mail is appropriate. > >How do others feel? I know not all situations warrant it but if you have >established that the receiver regularly checks e-mail and will respond, >isn't e-mail okay?
Outside of the thought that some people consider phone to "just be quicker sometimes", I thought this info might give some help to the potential differences in perspective. Note I am not advocating stereotypes, or that there are clean lines of generations. Got this info during a recent meeting from a facilitator on how to motivate people in volunteer organizations. Matures (Born 1909-1945) Most driven by sense of duty and obligation "Your experience is respected here" "Tell us how you dealt with the problem Baby Boomers (1946-1963) Need to understand how they contribute to the team (greatest team focus) Volunteer out of a sense of duty Most interested in developing leadership skills "You are important to our success, we need you" "Your contribution is unique and important" Gen X-ers (1964-1983) Demand personal connection with leaders Want well developed and informative orientation Desire opportunity to use entrepreneurial skills "Try it our way" "We're open to all ideas" "We'll take whatever time you can give us" Gen Y-ers (1984-) It has to be FUN Want mentoring from leadership Most focused on immediate rewards and incentives "You'll be working with other bright, fun people" "You can make a difference" We talked at length about how our organization has people that are techno-savvy (X and Y) and technophobes (matures, who we generally really do revere). We recently wanted meeting notices to go electronic and the diversity of opinions was phenomenal. Made us structure our thinking a bit differently if we wanted to truly pull together a diverse group. Finally caught back up, Dee _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
