I have noticed that emails have a multiplier effect, whereas voicecalls have a linear effect.
In the premail days we would chat to one another over the phone. Each party would then act on the information, perhaps passing it on to another, and then perhaps another. But always one at a time. There was no desire conversations that included multiple participants, other than the sales or management conference calls. But even then information only went one stop along the line.
Now information multiplies in concentric circles. I tweet to many, who can retweet to many more. I email the team, who pass information to colleagues and clients in one cc’d email. Within seconds the message is disseminated around the world.
Now I am not lamenting technology. I am a great fan of the capability we have today.
I am making the observation that we generate technological activity, which gets a life of its own. Like fighting a tornado we are sucked into a maelstrom of activity.
Before we ask the question about how to manage the storm, we need to ask what we are doing to contribute to the storm in the first place, and change these habits.
A phone call, for example, generates human touch and linearity, limiting the potential for being overwhelmed. I am making many more calls than I did prior to the WhiteSpace Project, and having a lot more very enjoyable conversations. This is reducing the number of emails I send, and therefore the number I receive, and reducing the risk of misinterpreting the one dimensional electronic text, lacking its layers of emotional nuance.
Perhaps ask a question before sending an email. Would a phone call be more effective?
