A manager told me my emails were too long and it finally made sense
My old boss said, 'If it takes more than three lines, pick up the phone.' I was sending these huge emails trying to explain everything. After that, I started writing just the key point and action needed in emails. It cut my reply time in half. What's one piece of feedback that changed how you work?
Disagree with that three line rule honestly. Some things need a paper trail. If I'm explaining a complex process change to a team, a quick call leaves room for confusion later. I write a clear, detailed email so everyone has the same reference document. A phone call for that just creates more work when people forget the details.
You make a good point about needing a record for complex stuff, @jones.andrew. My take is that the three line rule is more for quick back-and-forth chats that get stuck in endless email chains. For your example, a detailed email is totally the right move. The rule is just about cutting out the noise so the important docs, like your process change, actually get read instead of buried.