Managing Sticky Situations at Work

Sticky E-situations 181To: ZackFrom: TommySubject: MeetingCan’t we handle this by e-mail? It’s faster, and I’ve got a lot on myplate right now.To: TommyFrom: ZackSubject: MeetingDear Tommy,I’ll see you on Thursday at 2 P.M. It won’t take longer than 30minutes.Thanks, ZackZack did not get another e-mail from Tommy related to theirThursday meeting. This time Zack chose not to go into detail aboutwhat he wanted to discuss. His persistence led to Tommy’s agreementto a meeting, which in and of itself was a victory for Zack.On Thursday at 2 P.M. Zack finds Tommy at his desk, sendinge-mails. He knocks on the door frame.Tommy looks up. ‘‘What is it you wanted that required a meeting?’’Zack sits across from him. ‘‘I’m concerned that my performance ratingsare lower than I had hoped. I wanted to find out directly from youwhat your expectations are so I can aim for them and improve myself.’’Tommy pushes back from the desk. ‘‘I could’ve told you that bye-mail. You just need to get more accounts. You got three new onesthis year and that’s not exactly outstanding.’’‘‘I was reestablishing old accounts and managed to keep all of them,even some we’ve let slide for years. When I came on board this year,my main goal was to keep existing accounts. I’ve done that and addedthree new ones. That seems to me beyond an ‘adequate’ rating.’’Tommy begins scanning through his e-mails. ‘‘When did I send youthat e-mail about keeping existing accounts? I don’t remember that.’’‘‘That was what you said to me on my first day of work. We actuallyhad a conversation.’’‘‘No wonder,’’ Tommy mutters. ‘‘I need a record of everything.Otherwise I can’t keep up with what’s going on.’’‘‘Tommy, I know how much you value e-mail communication. Ialso value its efficiency. There are some times, however, when e-mailcan get confusing or even inefficient. I have to tell you I was surprised