Sleep over on Important Decisions for 24 hours - Wait before pressing the "Send" Button

मई 31, 2021

That day at Nagpur, one afternoon in the year, 2014, I was discussing with Shri Khishty, on a cup of tea, his feedback post his lecture session with officers of a leading Corporate in energy sector. Mr Khishty, a sought after external faculty, with rich experience arising out of Board level assignments at the large Public Sector Corporate in India, articulated his thoughts in simple terms for the aspiring executives.

As in charge of corporate HR I used to engage with faculties, as they came out from the sessions. At that time, they were at their best of eloquent self.

Shri Khisty shared the gist of the day's discussion with participants through the prophetic lines - "I wish, Officers should exercise restraint and hold files at least, for 24 Hours at their table before onward transmission."

The Backdrop for comment was a footnote story popped during his lecture, on the managerial decisions gone wrong, as seen in retrospect. Obviously, the story ended with the consequences and collateral damage in the careers. Anybody with experience in Bureaucracy, Public Institutions or Corporate Sector will vouch, that Rolling of Heads are not uncommon on this account - when hasty decisions went hayward. Many Case Studies / Business Books are available on the topic.

Elaborating further, our discussion proceeded:

Executives in upper half of managerial pyramid deal plus 100 correspondences per day. It provides immense satisfaction to go home in the evening with all files cleared and all mails replied. There has been marked tendency to put one's signature with perfunctory reading and let the file move forward. This tendency should be avoided, as the noting on the files are referred back in retrospect, for scrutiny of decisions at different stages.

80% of the correspondence is mundane and routine. 10% files are to be marked to one's reporting officers for examination and report. Balance 10% are the files ready for signature- which will turn into the stated position on the issue. These 10% files require deep personal reading. Go for it. Make draft notes, keep them for one day at your table. Let your mind immerse in the nuances of the decision. Sleep over it. If there emerges no new thought on the issue. Put the draft as Final note, sign it and despatch it.

With advent of time, the era of physical files has gone. Now the files are available in electronic form ( e- files). One should avoid the disposal of files while travelling. The e files can be studied. They can be contemplated upon. But, not disposed.

Wait for 24 hours before clicking "Send" in case of important mails. Once you press Send button, nothing can reverse the e communication. Take time in making the response. Be careful to study the draft response. Press Send Button, next day, if your feel so.

Basically, the trick is that, our minds have huge repository of information in their subconscious section. During the usual day of work, the mind is in frenetic activity of processing information and dealing with daily chores. As it cools down in the evening and that, at sleep time, it processes the information once again through intuitive bent. How many times, the best ideas have flashed, while in bathroom or during the morning walk. It was not a chance that Archimedes got Eureka moment in the bath tub.