Read What You Write Before Sending It

The person who sent this email deserves a dunce cap.

“My Boss Is An Idiot” is the title of a blog post I wrote more than a year ago. It stated that people must understand that every email created on company computers is company property and the company can take action if any message is offensive to it.

I just received an email that is a prime example of the sequel: “Read What You Write Before Sending It.” This is a prudent process all firms should practice.

Normally my policy is to not mention names in any derogatory sense. I'm not going to stoop to that level yet, though this email cries out for an exception.

At 2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, a representative of an organization sent out an email under the signature of its executive director. The email went to all job applicants who failed to make the interview round. The message content is very bland and worthy of instant deletion.

When you receive similar messages, delete them and move on … normally. But not here.

Here’s where learning comes into play and the mistake. This is ironic because the group is an academic one.

The fact that the same message went to more than one person is normal, given the message’s boilerplate content. What is abnormal is that all the messages—and the names of every applicant—were included in one message that was sent to every applicant. The result: every unsuccessful applicant, including me, now knows who else applied for the same position.

Am I offended? Hell yes. Will I ever apply for another position with this organization? No. Did I send the writer (not the administrator) a note saying that? Yes.

There was also a follow-up message containing only an ecard followed by a third message apologizing for the mistake.

Too late. Once a word is said or a deed done, it cannot be unsaid or undone.

No business wants one supplier to know that a named competitor is getting a contract. No firm can afford to have one client get a sensitive document sent to someone else. All of these mistakes can be avoided by having someone other than the writer read every document before it is distributed.

The lesson everyone can learn from this experience is simply: always have someone else look at your documents before sending them out. Your documents may be perfect or they may have a minor flaw,, such as the extra comma here. Or they may have a major mistake that reflects badly on both the sender and the organization. Ladies and gentlemen, Exhibit A: the A---A.