Chapter 88.
Pump Up Your E-mails

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.

—Helen Keller

Every e-mail communication you send to your team is an opportunity. It’s a fresh chance to energize that team and spread the optimism you want to fuel the contagious enthusiasm your next project needs.

But nine managers out of 10 ignore this opportunity. Instead, they often send neutral e-mails; short, terse e-mails; or sometimes even angry e-mails.

Those are all mistakes. Because your first job, even before your job of informing others, is to motivate others.

So let’s begin here: realize that e-mail is a cold medium anyway. There is no voice tone in it. There is no twinkle in the eye, or warmth of expression. It’s just cold electronic type.

Therefore, even a neutral e-mail feels chilly to the recipient. Even a simple transfer of information feels icy and negative, unless you seize the opportunity to pump it up. Always pump it up.

Every communication from a manager to an employee is an opportunity to instill optimism. Don’t waste that opportunity. A true leader never does.

Look at your e-mail before you send it. Is it uplifting? Does it contain an acknowledgment or an appreciation of the recipient? Does it praise the recipient? Does it inspire? Is it going to make someone happy?

If not, take the extra minute to go back over it. Change the negative tone to a positive one. Brighten it up. Ask yourself: Would you be happy to get this e-mail? Would you feel honored and appreciated if you received it?

Behavioral studies continue to show that positive reinforcement works more than seven times better than negative criticism to change behavior.

Negative criticism causes resentment, depression, anger, and sabotage. People will sabotage your leadership if they feel alienated and underappreciated.

Pump things up and watch what happens. Don’t take this on faith; use trial and error. Send half of your people a neutral e-mail and half a positive one, and see which gets the best results.

You will be able to test this concept by doing it. You will be delighted with the results you get.