Workflow Tactics Reminder - Ep: 1/5
"Close the loop" is a particularly important communication tactic I learned early in my professional career. This approach minimises follow-up tasks and excessive back-and-forth communication.
An easy example of this would be when you are trying to set up a meeting that needs to find the right time among multiple participants. And this is the first message you shoot:
//
Hi A. I am setting up a meeting between you and B. Can you tell me of a time that works for you next week? - R
//
If only one person is asked for a time slot before consulting others, a mismatch is highly likely. Resulting in additional tasks. (This CAN work when that one person is the most important person in the hierarchy, and everyone else is willing to accommodate for them.)
Consider the following instead:
//
Hi A and B,
Can you indicate which of the following three time slots work best for you? 2pm Dhaka time, 5, 6 or 7 April. We will set the meeting in the one that is most convenient, and I will send out the meeting invite with link.
- R
//
We take out all the guesswork. Whoever replies first between A and B, can choose their convenient slot. And they know who is supposed to send out the meeting invite. In a rarer situation where none of the three slots work for someone, they can now suggest other alternatives.
It ensures that all outcomes are addressed, effectively closing the loop.
This approach consolidates multiple scenarios into a single communication, reducing unnecessary exchanges. It helps in everyday work too, allowing teams to be nimble and reducing interruptions on a coordinator.
Contrast that with what we often see with our informal contacts: "we should meet someday" ... "yes"... "soon"... with no concrete dates suggested. The burden keeps falling back to one side, and the inconvenience very quickly can kill off all plans.
P.S. I am posting this despite a voice in the back of my head saying "This is too simple of a concept... should be common sense... No point in writing all this text in trying to explain it." So if you ACTUALLY found this reminder helpful, letting me know would be wonderful!
image made by grok ai
Radi
Dhaka
March 2025
"Close the loop" is a particularly important communication tactic I learned early in my professional career. This approach minimises follow-up tasks and excessive back-and-forth communication.
An easy example of this would be when you are trying to set up a meeting that needs to find the right time among multiple participants. And this is the first message you shoot:
//
Hi A. I am setting up a meeting between you and B. Can you tell me of a time that works for you next week? - R
//
If only one person is asked for a time slot before consulting others, a mismatch is highly likely. Resulting in additional tasks. (This CAN work when that one person is the most important person in the hierarchy, and everyone else is willing to accommodate for them.)
Consider the following instead:
//
Hi A and B,
Can you indicate which of the following three time slots work best for you? 2pm Dhaka time, 5, 6 or 7 April. We will set the meeting in the one that is most convenient, and I will send out the meeting invite with link.
- R
//
We take out all the guesswork. Whoever replies first between A and B, can choose their convenient slot. And they know who is supposed to send out the meeting invite. In a rarer situation where none of the three slots work for someone, they can now suggest other alternatives.
It ensures that all outcomes are addressed, effectively closing the loop.
This approach consolidates multiple scenarios into a single communication, reducing unnecessary exchanges. It helps in everyday work too, allowing teams to be nimble and reducing interruptions on a coordinator.
Contrast that with what we often see with our informal contacts: "we should meet someday" ... "yes"... "soon"... with no concrete dates suggested. The burden keeps falling back to one side, and the inconvenience very quickly can kill off all plans.
P.S. I am posting this despite a voice in the back of my head saying "This is too simple of a concept... should be common sense... No point in writing all this text in trying to explain it." So if you ACTUALLY found this reminder helpful, letting me know would be wonderful!
image made by grok ai
Radi
Dhaka
March 2025
