Good Rules for Communication
Sent to Quality Digest, February 1997------------------
"Your communication laws are excellent ["First Word," December 1996]. I will add these details when I use them:
Any communication must have an explicit action item. That is, a simple, declarative sentence saying what the sender wants me to start doing, stop doing or keep doing. FYI (for your information) is acceptable as an action item because I know I'm not expected to do anything after receiving the message.
The only people expected to read the communication are those to whom the message is sent. People who are cc'd or bcc'd should never be expected to read it. That means that no action item can be assigned to a person who is just cc'd or bcc'd.
Written communication should be in this format: a) Summary of the message, b) Action requested/expected, and c) Background detail not able to fit in the half-page summary.
Hope you find these additions helpful."
--J. Fechter