To “Cc” or not “Cc”? That is the question…

I once had a co-worker say to me “if I’m Cc’d on an email, I just delete it, if the info is important for me to know, they would have sent it to me directly”. I would not recommend this frame of thinking and as you can imagine, he wasn’t a co-worker for long. However, the point is partially valid. How many Cc’s have you received with comments that don’t apply directly to you or don’t need your input?

Although Cc’ing has it’s place as a potential time-saver, it’s like being pulled into several mini-meetings and your focus is divided. Picture yourself sitting at your desk focused on your work, then you’re pulled into a mini-meeting, followed by another, then another. Is this multi-tasking or multi-interrupting? Sometimes being Cc’d feels like being a fly on the wall as I see all the communication going back and forth and I’m just reading the thread. Fun stuff.

Now, I’m guilty of the excessive “Cc” also. To help with this problem, I’m entering “Cc’ing Anonymous” and will try not to include you in an email if you’re not directly involved. There may be others wishing to join my cause and the beauty of it is, you don’t need to tell me. That’s the first step to recovery. Now, if you’re someone wishing to explain how wrong I am, please just Cc me on the point - I’ll be sure to delete it.