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- I get 300 Emails an Hour!
I get 300 Emails an Hour!
Jon Matzner
December 26, 2024
I also get fun DMs like this all the time:
Something interesting happened at Sagan a few weeks ago...
A member came to us with what seemed like a simple problem:
"I get 300 emails an hour."
(Jon comment: DAYUMMMMM)
300 emails an hour.
Think about that for a second.
That's 2,400 emails in an 8-hour day.
12,000 in a week.
Over half a million emails a year.
His first thought?
"I need to hire someone to help manage this."
Nope.
Here's why:
It's like bailing out a leaking boat.
The solution isn't more buckets - it's fixing the holes.
You can hire the best bucket brigade in the world.
They can work in perfect harmony.
They can bail 24/7.
But at the end of the day, you're still just managing water instead of preventing it from getting in.
The real problem isn't email management.
It's email generation.
The military gets this right.
They have this thing called "decentralized command." Fancy term for a simple idea: let the person closest to the problem make the decision.
They don't radio back to base for every little thing.
They just need two things:
Know what success looks like
Know their boundaries
That's it.
Most businesses do the opposite.
Every decision flows up.
Every question needs an answer from the top.
Every action needs approval.
It's like having a boat where only the captain can patch holes.
Insane, right?
Here's what actually works:
Find the holes
Where's the water coming in? (What's creating emails?)
Which holes are worst? (What creates the most volume?)
Why aren't they fixed? (What processes are broken?)
Set standards Everyone should know:
What they can fix on their own
When they need help
What "fixed" looks like
How we measure success
Trust your crew
Give them tools
Set boundaries
Let them make mistakes while they learn
Let them patch holes
(Yes, really!)
Here's the counterintuitive part:
When people know they can fix problems without asking permission, they make BETTER decisions.
Think about it: When someone needs approval for everything, they stop thinking.
They just pass decisions up.
But when they know they're trusted within boundaries?
They step up.
Is this easy?
No.
Is it harder than hiring someone to manage email?
Yes.
Is it the real work of building a sustainable business?
Absolutely.
Start here: Pick ONE type of recurring problem.
Map out a clear process for handling it without you.
Test it.
Learn from it.
Move to the next one.
Small fixes, consistently applied, keep the boat afloat.
The goal isn't to bail water faster. The goal is to build a boat that doesn't leak in the first place!
Yallah Habibi,
Jon
Passage of the Week:
Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire.
The reality of your own nature should determine the speed.
If you become restless, speed up.
If you become winded, slow down.
You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion.
Then, when you’re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn’t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself.
This leaf has jagged edges.
This rock looks loose.
From this place, the snow is less visible, even though closer.
These are things you should notice anyway.
To live only for some future goal is shallow.
It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.
Here’s where things grow.
Robert M. Pirsig