The Inbox Treasure Hunt: How Not to be a Jerk

I get lots of emails with business plans, PowerPoints, executive summaries each week. I try to give them all a fair read. After all, you never know where you're going to learn about the next Microsoft. But you'd be surprised how often I will get a mass email address to "Dear Sir" or, worse yet, addressed to the wrong person.

The other day I got just such an email. It was addressed "Dear Mr. Thorp" and then went on to pitch a new SaaS business. Rather than read through the plan, I emailed the sender back a curt reply:

"I will pass it on to Mr. Thorp."

Now I could pretend that I was trying to do the sender a favor. After all, it doesn't do him any good to get off on such a wrong foot. But I wasn't trying to be helpful. I was being snide and, frankly, rude. Sure, it is important to be careful and focused and detail oriented to be a successful entrepreneur. So I could fairly draw some conclusions about the plan from the mis-addressed email. But I would be hard pressed to make the case that such a mistake, in and of itself, is determinative of the future success of a company.

This weekend I received back an email from the entrepreneur who had referred to me as Mr. Thorp. He wrote "what can I say ... I messed up" and he apologized for what he called his "human terrible mistake." As I read his apology it struck me that I am a jerk. He had made a mistake. But it wasn't so terrible and it was certainly human. How often have I misdirected an email or forgot to copy my assistant when I said I would or misspelled someone's name or simply forgotten to reply? These things happen all the time. Is it any more indicative of my ultimate success as a VC, as it is indicative of this individual's likely success as an entrepreneur?

I owe this founder an apology for being a jerk (which I have sent). I can't say that I will necessarily fund his company -- I am certainly more likely to do so having seen his humble approach to making mistakes and fixing them -- but I can say that I will give his plan a careful read. Too often I treat the task of getting through my inbox as if it is a dreary chore through which I must suffer. But I would be better served to treat it more like a treasure hunt. You never know what great things await you and you never know where they'll be hiding. Who knows? Maybe I'll fund this business. It would certainly make for a great story at the IPO closing dinner.

Comments

[https://me.yahoo.com/a/rqlo3t1yxtnucFbUS1R1rkwnRWb4Bz6l#fa466]

Similar analogy: to the VC, a meeting or an email is just one more task or event to get through during the day. But to the entrepreneur sitting across the table or sending you an email, it could be the most important day of his life.

I read this in a comment on Fred Wilson's blog, and it has stuck in my head. It's nice to see that you replied to the guy and will give him a chance.

[https://me.yahoo.com/a/V.J0R0B.x.ra2O4FcKrHMTpR_8yOp1s-#deb9e]

Extreme analogy: I sent a polite proposal to Accel (James Breyer at jbreyer@accel.com)...I got a return email with only the word "REMOVE" in the subject heading in return. Very classy outfit, Accel.

[https://me.yahoo.com/a/PEa_q.4Z0tjQd9o0vQZWWeXjdwqgGA6Aqw0-#92236]

David -- thanks. Just thanks. Thanks for being a VC who's a big enough man to admit that he made a simple human mistake. Needless to say, I wouldn't be saying this if such circumstances weren't so rare.

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I see a at least 5 tweets every day with people proclaiming they either reached "Inbox Zero" or simply gave up trying. It sounds like a painful chore they endure on a daily basis. Maybe because I worked at Microsoft for 8 years and received upwards of 1000 emails/day I never even attempted this ridiculous pursuit. Even if it takes me a week, I do try and reply to all the emails I receive that require a reply, or if someone sent me something that requires a thank you. One thing we discovered at Microsoft was that typically someone will email you again if they require a reply so not to sweat it too much.

I like this blog post that talks about the myth of Inbox Zero and why it's interesting but not attainable: http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2010/03/19/inbox-zero-myth/

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