Conversation

There are two ways to ask for something to be done before a break where everyone in the country is pausing work for at least a day and possibly traveling.

One way is to acknowledge that the holiday is coming up and ask for a rush to get it launched prior to the holiday and put some money behind it for the effort.

The other way is to just say “let’s get this done by Wednesday” and that’s it.

Both projects have been going on for quite a while. The first one is already launched. The second will hopefully get done today. But, the second one really perturbs me for a number of reasons.

1. No acknowledgement that the holiday is coming up and the push might not be practical.
2. No knowledge of what’s in the hopper prior the holiday.
3. Not even a whiff of acknowledgement that this is an ask that is a bit forward.
4. Compensation? No where in sight.

Look, it’s all through email. Tone and inflection get lost in email all the time. That’s why writing an email, then taking a step back, then re-reading before sending is sometimes the best.

Often adding a word or a phrase like “Is it possible…” works wonders.

I’m guilty of not doing the best job of this. But I’m striving to get better.

#deadlines #demands #holiday #projects #thanksgiving