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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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To bcc or not to bcc, that is the question

by Rick Baker
On Nov 23, 2010
Recently, the topic of “email bcc” cropped up.
 
That got me thinking…When & why do people use the email bcc option?
 
So, to get the facts, I sent out the following LinkedIn question to many of my LinkedIn friends.
 
When we send email – when should we use the BCC option?
 
I am curious to know when and why other folks use the BCC option when they send e-mail.
 
I know some folks use the BCC option to send 'mass' emails...ie, so the recipients do not see the names of other recipients.
 
I am interested in knowing - how else is “BCC” used?
 
To date, 30 of those friends have written to provide their views.
 
Here is a summary of what friends have told me:
  1. Many people use the bcc option to protect the privacy of the email addresses of all participants. They are sending a mass email to a group of people and nobody gets to see any email address other than that of the sender. Everyone is treated the same.
  2. Few people use the bcc option to entrap the poor devil who does not know anyone else is bcc’d…to make sure that person is in the dark, to embarrass that person, or to catch that person in a lie. However, there are some people who use bcc that way.
  3. Some people use the bcc option to create a soft-paper trail…i.e., to protect themselves.
  4. A few people use the bcc option to keep ‘important’ people such as their boss or their partner in the communication loop, without ‘complicating things’ for the email recipient.
  5. A few people use the bcc option to bcc themselves. Some people have multiple email addresses because they are affiliated with more than one organization. Others have set up multiple email addresses – like, Rick1@, Rick2@, Rick3@, etc. – so they can automatically sort their outgoing email, much like one would use the Outlook folders to sort one’s email.
  6. One person uses the bcc to educate another person…i.e., a mentor/mentee relationship.
  7. Some people never use bcc when they email.
2 final thoughts…
  • covert and negatively-directed uses of bcc should be discouraged…they violate the integrity of most business Values & Cultures [we encourage Open Communication and such bcc’s would not pass our tests]
  • considering 6 Degrees of Separation – or is it less – it is unrealistic to assume one’s bcc’s will remain “b”

Tags:

Communication: Improving Communication

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Sales Tweet #92

by Rick Baker
On Nov 23, 2010
Sales Tweet #92 Are you still trying to close that sale? Is your Persistence based on accurate thinking or denial?
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
When does persistence become the wrong thing to do?

There are differing views: we discussed this at the Thought Post called ‘The Eighth Step Toward Riches or The First Mental Trap’

 When should the sales person draw the line…pull the plug?

Ideally, this should happen when two things align:

1. Your gut feel tells you ‘It is over.’
2. Your accurate thinking tells you ‘It is over.’

That’s much easier said than done.

But, like all other aspects of sales…it is a talent that can be learned & honed.

Tags:

Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Sales | Thought Tweets

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Sales Tweet #91

by Rick Baker
On Nov 22, 2010
Sales Tweet #91 Ernest Seller is wondering what Probable Clients admire most about their favourite co-workers
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
You guessed it. Ernest just had another near collision with greatness. But, it's Monday and there's little time for all that sales-strategy mumbo jumbo. Ernest has to lick his Fantasy Football wounds. How about those Dolphins...

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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Sales Tweet #90

by Rick Baker
On Nov 19, 2010
Sales Tweet #90 When Gitomer said 'People hate to be sold but love to buy" Ernest asked to be transferred to Purchasing.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
When he asked for a transfer to Purchasing Department, Ernest Seller was only joking. Ernest Seller has no interest in Purchasing. He doesn’t understand that business function and he has little time or respect for people in the Purchasing roles. If you don’t believe me then just ask his Clients.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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Defining Integrity

by Rick Baker
On Nov 18, 2010
On many fronts, Integrity is important to me.
 
Many who know me have heard about the Integrity Experiment we conducted in 2005.
 
Prior to 2005, I had this concern about business people and businesses using the word ‘integrity’.  My concern focused on the fact many people could not provide a definition of the word and even when others could define it the definitions were weak and different.
 
So, it seemed to me business people were confused about the meaning of Integrity.
 
So, the next time the topic of Integrity came up…I created a real-business-life Integrity experiment.
 
***
 
Five years later, this year, I wrote the Thought Post titled ‘A Definition of Integrity’, where I provided just that.
 
My definition was and still is…
 
Definition of Integrity
  1. When you know your Personal Values and
  2. When you can express your Personal Values in writing [showing how you think the think] and
  3. When you can talk with others about your Personal Values [talk the talk] and
  4. When your actions are consistent with your Personal Values [walk the walk] and
  5. When you acknowledge your think-talk-walk errors and strive to not repeat them
…then you have Integrity.
 
***
 
Still very interested in Integrity and what it means to other people…recently I found a CD.
 
Here’s an introduction to that CD on Integrity…
 
In 1983, at the age of 87, R. Buckminster Fuller began to share the details of his thoughts about the need for Integrity at “Integrity Days” sessions. His first session was held in Los Angeles, February 26th, 1983. I listened to a recording of that ‘classic’ session. Buckminster Fuller died 4 months after that first session.
 
At the February 26th, 1983 session, when asked to define Integrity “Bucky” paused for about 15 seconds then said:
 
“I find I have to use the word courage due to the circumstances of humanity …the courage to cooperate or initiate based entirely on the truth, all the truth, and nothing but the truth as the divine mind within you tells you the truth is…it does require a courage and a self-disciplining.”
 
Now, isn’t that quite a definition!

Tags:

Definitions - Spirited Words Defined | Values: Personal Values

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Sales Tweet #89

by Rick Baker
On Nov 18, 2010
Sales Tweet #89 Who congratulates you when you achieve something noteworthy? There's a true friend and ally.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
The thought behind this Sales Tweet goes without saying.

Tags:

Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Sales | Thought Tweets

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