Kicking Ass @Work: 3 Strikes And I Call Your Manager
You’re in luck, friend. Because here’s my sure-fire, never-fail system: three strikes and I call your manager. But before I get into what you should do, I’ll cover what you shouldn’t. Because, hey, that’s more interesting.
DON’T:
Write a long email that has what you want buried three paragraphs in
Write a long email, period
Forget to have a clear deadline up-front and HIGHLIGHTED
Use a whiny, emotional tone and ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME
Send one email and then, a month later, send another one that freaks out that they didn’t respond
Send a short email that outlines your ask…But without the history of whatever you need them to do (and how many times you asked them to do it)
Copy their manager on everything
DO:
Send a short email with what you want—and when you want it—right up front. Example: “Please review the attached by Thursday, May 21st, close of business.” Highlight deadlines in yellow. If you must have a long email, separate out what you want them to do up-top. Call it something easy to understand, like “Call to Action” or “Action Item”
Try to keep emails short in general and put things into attachments. People look at long emails, groan, and set them aside for later
Use deadlines on everything until you know someone is reliable. Make them clear, up-front, and highlighted.
Use a professional, upbeat tone. I’m a big fan of humor.
Save caps for when you need it, like ACTION ITEM: or DEADLINE:
Right before the deadline (assuming the project is important) send an email that starts off: ‘as a gentle reminder, the deadline for folks to send feedback on this project is tom’w, May 21st, close of business.’
If the deadline passes without response, send another email. Start off with the words: second request, up-top and on its own line. Put in a new deadline that’s anywhere from 1 day to 1 week out (assuming you can. If the project is critical, you can go right to copying their manager.)
If THAT doesn’t work, send a third email, forwarding the entire string every time. Make sure the attachment of whatever you wanted reviewed is in there. Start off saying ‘third request.’ This is terrifying for some reason. Give them a day at this point to get back to you.
If they STILL don’t get back to you, they’ve hit three strikes…And they are OUT!!! Forward the email again, say forth request, and copy your manager and theirs. If their manager doesn’t respond, you can keep escalating.
Like most things in business, having the appearance of being very well organized shuts things down before they start. It’s rare that I have to escalate to someone’s manager after I send my ‘third request email.’ But it does happen. Mostly, it happens with people outside my company who don’t think I can track down their manager.
But they would be wrong. MWAH HAH HAH.
Here is my secret weapon: Data.com. You can go to this site, enter in the company name and get the email of every VP and C-level exec you want. It’s a buck a name, but I’m guessing if you’re going to Data.com, you’re pissed and don’t mind spending a dollar. If you don’t have a dollar, you can add a new name to their database and then you get one back, free.
Once you have your exec list in hand, forward your whole email string to them, saying:
That you’ve been waiting for bleeding ever (reference the email string you included)
WHAT you need and WHEN
How to contact you
Make sure the history of your failed exchanges in the email thread or attached. This never fails and often ends up with you getting a freebie. Woo hoo!
ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
Rule of the 3 Ps
Get anyone to back to fuck off
Work means never having to say ‘I’m sorry’
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