Note: Re-posted from 2013
Your inbox is a perfect delivery mechanism for other people’s priorities. — @chrisbrogan
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. What makes this behavior even worse is that many times it is done to postpone his or hers own work and “toss it over the wall” and wait…. Sitting in a silo is safe. Sitting in a silo is like having a firewall around you. Protect the box you are in and the boss of your box will be happy — she will even put a bow around the box! Throw an assignment into somebody else’s box and you cannot get blamed for not finishing the work: “I sent her that email last night and I still did not get any updates”.
CYA (cover your a$$) and TOWS (toss over wall syndrome) kill enterprise efficiency (SG&A impact) but more so completely stifle innovation (top line revenue).
Next time you want to deploy an overnight assignment into somebody else’s inbox, think twice and just walk over in the morning for a little brainstorming session. Get it done together, as a team. Maybe even invite people from few other boxes, they might enjoy coming up for some air!