If I could change just *one* thing about the world, then people who need to read their email to stay in touch with what is going on, be it at home or at work, would ACTUALLY READ THEIR EMAIL! And save them if they contained important information! And there wouldn’t be any people like a former boss of mine who would automatically print out the email, read it on paper, and then thrown it in the recycle bin. What a waste, huh? Think about how many trees had to die for that cause.
I wonder if when the telephone first started to make its way into the business world, if CEOs and company presidents had to be convinced that they needed to pick up the phone when it rang for them.
Boss: “Miss Smith! I was supposed to talk with the head of the sales department department today! Why isn’t he here in my office to talk to me?”
Miss Smith: “Sir, the head of sales is out of town today visiting a client, and he was going to call you.”
Boss: “Call me? What in heaven’s name do you mean by that?”
Miss Smith: “Did you hear a bell ringing in your office a few minutes ago?”
Boss: “Yes. It came from that black device someone put on my desk a few days ago.”
Miss Smith: “That is a telephone, sir. It allows you to talk with people even when they are not in the same room as you. When it rings, you’re supposed to pick up the receiver, and that allows you to hear and speak to someone.”
Boss: “That’s incredible! But it’s so much work… I want people to show up in my office if they wish to speak with me. These phone things are just a bit too new-fangled for my tastes.”
Miss Smith: “But sir, all the executives at the other companies use these to communicate. You won’t be able to communicate with them unless you learn to use a phone.”
Boss: “Bah! Phone-shmone! If they want to talk to me, they just have to do things the old fashioned way – in person!”