Solving a complex challenge the old fashioned way (no email!)

I was just in a meeting with a very senior executive from a large technology company.  He told me a brief story about email which I thought I would share.

Last Wednesday, he inherited a complex problem in another region that required a number of different people to come together, establish what the challenge was, and then move forward with a solution.

On Wednesday evening, as people learned that he was the new owner of the problem, the emails started to flow in.  190 of them overnight, to be exact.

So, he did something remarkable.  Rather than face the daunting task of going through them all, he said there were no more emails to be sent, and if they were, they wouldn’t be read.  Instead, he set a daily 20 minute call, at the same time every day until the challenge is solved.

It’s only 3 days in, but  he has said he has achieved real traction from that daily call – far more than emails would have done over the same period.  It cuts out a lot of bloat, and because every person who dials in only has a couple of minutes, it keeps the messaging really tight.

Food for thought if your inbox has taken on a life of its own and you are no closer to solving the problems that confront you!