Sandy Weill, the recently retired chief of Citigroup, didn’t even use email, but somehow managed to run a financial empire. (For good or bad is another issue.) Yes, he had minions catering to his needs, but by opting out of email, he was tacitly saying that the inbox was not the sum total of his work existence. And yes, as the big cheese, he could call anyone in the organization and get an immediate response, but nevertheless, he allowed himself the luxury of THINKING, rather than simply responding.

80%? 90%? 99%? of the time, people don’t need an immediate response. They need a predictable response — say, within 30 minutes or an hour. Organizations (or groups within organizations) need to begin this conversation, and recognize that just because we can send a message instantaneously doesn’t mean that we have to respond instantaneously.