Email misjudgments can land people in jail. Just ask James A. Brown, the ex-Merrill Lynch executive who wrote in an email that Enron had "promised" that Merrill would get its money back in a suspicious deal.
The Wall Street Journal (10/23/10) reports that Mr. Brown, speaking from prison, says he wrote the email hastily and never meant to suggest an illegal guarantee.
Merrill Lynch and Enron are not alone in suffering from email errors. Goldman Sachs, Toyota, and many others have been blindsided by the reality that every email can be subpoenaed and published on the front page.
Elizabeth Danziger, author of Get to the Point! Painless Advice for Writing Letters, Emails and Memos Clients Will Understand, 2nd edition (Mesa 2010) notes that emails written quickly in the presumed privacy of one's office can cause terrible repercussions.
"As the proverb goes, 'Act in haste; repent at leisure.' People often forget that emails last forever," says Danziger.
Danziger's book offers ten tools for using email effectively. In addition to helping readers overcome the risks of email, Danziger shows how to use this vital business tool to maximum benefit. The email principles are reminders that courtesy is as important as brevity, so every email should contain a greeting and a salutation.
She also notes that readers judge writers' professionalism and intelligence by the grammar and punctuation of even a brief email. Danziger urges writers to clarify their purpose before they write and to state the main point in the subject line of every email. The author also shows how to avoid the brusque tone that often makes email recipients think the writer is angry.
Find out more about Elizabeth Danzinger at http://www.profnetconnect.com/Elizabeth.Danziger
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