Thanks.

At the end of every email I write, “Thank you!” or “Thanks!” and then sometimes ask myself, “What the hell am I thanking YOU for?”  You wrote me an email (or five).  I answered it.  Thank you?  No, thank ME!  I’m left feeling puzzled about who did what for whom and like I’ve used up one too many thank you’s in life. 

That’s one side of the scenario…

At the end of every email I DON’T write, “Thank you!” or “Thanks!” and then you read it and think I’m a stone cold bastard because my emails are short and impersonal. 

There’s the other side. 

I’ve been watching Mad Men recently (seven years fashionably late).  A depiction of what work was like before computers, email or internet existed…before work was actually being done at work basically.  When you wanted something from someone you walked across to their office, ‘asked’ their secretary if they were available and then went in whether they were or weren’t.  Then you had a conversation and got what you wanted which led to a whiskey and a cigarette.  OR…you had a conversation and didn’t get what you wanted which still led to a whiskey and a cigarette. 

I originally used this as an example to support my thoughts that those were the good old days when in-person communication was all there was and thus, there was little room for misinterpretation.  You were either a bastard or not but it was clear right off the bat because people could observe facial expressions and tone.  But now, after realizing that most of this rambling masterpiece makes no sense at all, I think I’ll just use it as an example to support that we should reintroduce drinking to the work place.  But not smoking.  Smoking kills and we don’t want that.  You can thank me later…