It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that email can be very dangerous as it pertains to relationships...business or other.  Being an emotional person I tend to want to immediately respond and I’m prone to over-reacting to people’s comments via email.  In business, this presents a critical moment of vulnerability which can lead to opportunity if handled correctly.  Here again, we find a very interesting scenario where we have to choose our actions (or reactions) very carefully. 

The Storm Pilot would never suggest that you sit down, roll over, show your belly and asked to be scratched with the best non-alpha-male persona you can summon up.  Rather, there are soooo many ways to handle a situation like this that to respond instantly with something that will put you in weak stance, or even further inflame the sender is just not advisable.  Furthermore, this goes beyond the question of whether the sender is right or wrong and whether the sender deserves a good swift kick in the ass.

There are many things you should consider before sending out an email - much of which is covered in the the previous link.  The primary defence against the dark arts of rabid email is ‘time’.  You absolutely have to take some time (at least 24 hours) before responding (if a response is even necessary).  Just think.  Don’t be a jerk.  Be a professional.  Acknowledge your own mistakes, fix the situation, pick up the phone, watch your tone of voice and stay cool.

In the end, assuming the sender is reasonable, they’ll feel a little guilty and be open for discussion, but only if you chill. ‘Beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression....Consume you, it will,as it did Obi-Wan’s apprentice’.


SP