atkinson advisor

Next time you want to write an e-mail that gets answered, try these tips from Chris Brogan.

• Include the action requested in the subject line. For example, start the subject line with “For review” or “Decision needed.”
• Be brief. E-mails with a short list of numbered questions are more likely to get answered than ones that hide the questions in a big block of text.
• Make every e-mail definitive. When bringing it to a close, be clear about what you need and include enough information so the other person can give you an answer. If you’re trying to schedule a meeting, include some available dates and times instead of leaving it open ended.

See more of Chris’ tips for writing effective e-mails.

Next time you want to direct people to an exact spot in a YouTube video, try adding the timestamp in the link. To jump to 1:32 in the clip,
add #t=1m32s to the end of the URL.

For example, during the July 28 House press briefing, reporters questioned Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about the meeting among President
Obama, Harvard professor Henry Gates, and police officer James Crowley.

 This link takes you to the start of the YouTube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDtOKodLdhE&feature=PlayList&p=42029F03573BDA18&index=0 
         
By adding #t=17m42s to the end, you direct users to a humorous exchange between Gibbs and reporters that starts at 17:42 of the clip.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDtOKodLdhE&feature=PlayList&p=42029F03573BDA18&index=0#t=17m42s

A sales manager for Siemens AG came into a meeting on client relationships with a folding chair. He proceeded to set up the empty chair next to his own chair. Puzzled colleagues asked, “Who are you expecting to join us?”

The sales manager replied, “This is my client’s chair. I brought it into the meeting so my customer can sit right here and listen to our discussion.” As the manager had predicted, the character of the discussion was quite different from their typical sales meetings.

Try this to get the client’s perspective factored into your key discussions and decisions.

Next time you have to write an important memo or e-mail, try using the inverted funnel approach to writing. In this approach, you provide the important information – conclusions, recommendations, next steps etc. – in the first sentence or two and then use the rest of the memo or e-mail to provide rationale. This approach ensures the first words readers see are the most important.

Next time you want to find an article from a specific website, try using Google’s “site:” option. For example, if you wanted to search “economy” at forbes.com, you would type economy site:forbes.com in the Google search box.

See more Google search tips

Next time you have to communicate difficult news, try using the “Stockdale Paradox” as a model. The term is named for Vice Admiral James Stockdale, who spent seven years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. Stockdale said of that time, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” James Collins coined the term “Stockdale Paradox” to illustrate a primary leadership lesson in his book Good To Great.

Read more about James Stockdale at Wikipedia.