Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Advice to a recently selected IWO Limited Duty Officer (644X)

I don't know if they teach it any more but it (the advice below) may help keep you out of trouble and keep you in good graces with your seniors in the chain of command:
1) answer every phone call with a phone call
2) answer every message (action) with a message
3) answer every e-mail with an e-mail
4) answer every letter with a letter
5) respond to every command with 'aye aye' or indicate that you don't understand and ask for clarification

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

For number 3:
sometimes a phone call is the best response to an email...followed by an email reply that says "Further to our phone discussion..."

This can help break the cycle of over-reliance on email...which is a communication tool, NOT a leadership tool:-)

As for the letter response...uh oh...I'm dink!

Rotorhead said...

I'll add: make a personal visit when you can, particularly with inter-staff e-mails. It gets one out of the office, and often saves time by avoiding the "back and forth" e-mail chain. It's better to look someone in the eye than to read between the lines (in my opinion).
V/r
RH

Mike Lambert said...

Thanks for the additions. Appreciate them both.