Now This Isn’t Very Professional…

May 10, 2010 - 0 Comments
Categories: Business Advice

business wrestlerAh, email. What a wonderful medium with which to do some stupid things…

My friend forwarded me an email he received from someone who did some work for him and his team. The guy, (let’s just call him “Gil” for fun), did IT work as a contractor on a project basis for a small project my friend was working on with a few partners. This was to be the first in a series of many projects, so if it went well, Gil could get a lot more work.

The project got finished, but I guess things didn’t go so well “workflow-wise” in Gil’s mind. In his post-project follow-up email, Gil offered some “constructive criticism”

Take a read:

(Note #1: It’s pretty long. I highlighted the interesting parts if you want to skim.)
(Note #2: Pardon the language, but I chose not to censor or edit his email)
(Note #3: I did edit it slightly to remove names and identifying comments)

I don’t know about you guys but I was pretty frustrated on Wednesday. In fact, frustrating can’t describe how pissed off I was.
And it was a week before Wednesday because I knew shit was going to hit the fan. Although I’m inclined to point fingers
I want to take a proactive approach to what we can do as a team to improve some of the issues that I feel were the main
culprit – or caused other problems.

I was planning on cutting right to the point but I ended up typing more than I thought I would. I’m usually pretty quiet about these things but I see some glaring issues that need to be addressed. Not just for myself but you guys as well.

Feel free to just read the main points if you don’t have the interest to read their explanations.
Feel free to add to this.
I’m pretty much going to reiterate this in the meeting and how we can fix these problems.

1. We need to have internal milestones. Unfortunately we didn’t have one until this past Wednesday.
Without them we have no idea of where we should be, how many features we should have, how many levels,
how many different zones in the game with different art palettes etc. If we have these milestones we can get and idea of
what needs to happen and what is taking too long (which might mean we need to fix a process). Once a week might be too often
so maybe we should strive for bi-weekly.
We can probably use that Google doc thing for this. All we need is what people are working on for each milestone. We’ll talk about
we’re we are at so we can adjust for the next milestone (maybe we’re too ambitious and we scheduled too much, or maybe we have a lot of extra time, or
maybe we’ve got something polished enough that something else needs much more attention).

One other thing I think this will help on.
I thought someone else was responsible for _X_ getting done. However no-one was getting it done and no-one knew! If we have this stuff
in one location with very short brief on it we should be good.

Example Milestone for me for this weekend/week:
– solve workflow issues so artists + audio guys can get stuff into the game without depending on XXXX, XXXX or myself.
– get level editor fixed and ready for everyone to use – make tutorials
– get automated build online so anyone can grab the newest and greatest *.zip file with everything in it.

Now personally I’ll have more information somewhere else but you guys won’t need to know about them, you’ll just
need to know what I’m doing that affects your work and the game.

2. Everyone needs to be able to play the game. We need feedback on what works, what doesn’t, and what is broken.
Getting 100 feature requests within 48 hours of the deadline is just NOT GOING TO WORK.
– I’m heading to XXXX to get XXXX’s computer up and running tonight.
– Need to get XXXX’s computer up and running.
– not sure who else is not able to run it, deploy it
If you signed up for the dream build play, you can DEPLOY TO YOUR XBOX!!!

3. Improve workflow and reduce overhead and repetitive tasks. I think a HUGE problem was we had the artists off in
isolation without being able to put their shit in the game immediately. They would have to put it on the FTP,
which one of 3 people would grab and put it into the game for them. This is a huge fucking waste of time.
The more content that the artist made, THE MORE WORK IT WOULD CREATE FOR SOMEONE TO INTEGRATE IT. If that isn’t EPIC FAIL I don’t know what is.
I cannot stress this enough.
I’m not sure what XXXX’s process for getting sound effects + music involved but I’m going to assume it was a similar process.
We need to iron this out and get it so people can make assets and get them into the game without depending on someone else to put them in.
I’ve got some ideas in place for how to do this. I need to work them out before we get everyone to do the same.

An important thing to note – if your doing something repetitive, and it sucks the life out of you, let it be known,
we might be able to make something do it automatically. I’m sure all of you have better things to do that resize images all day, tinker in xml, or
run *.wavs through razorlame!
Summary: we need to remove the dependencies of other people to get your shit in the game, and if your doing the same shit over and over again
we have a huge problem – talk to me or talk to someone who might be able to come up with a solution (doing the process for someone else
is not a solution – it’s a workaround).

4. Everyone needs to be able to make levels. This game is ALL about level design. If we have everyone able to make levels
then if they are bored with something they are working on, they can tweak existing levels or try stuff out. Who knows
they might stumble upon something or think of new gameplay mechanics that could significantly add to the game.
Before this happens step 2. must happen. I have the level editor setup, I just need to show you guys how to use it, and
also the naming convention for levels so we have a good idea of who puts what where.

We’ve got the art, audio, and ability to get shit done. We just need to get all this organized and make the process better. Hell this is the first time I’ve done something of this scale and a lot of these problems don’t exist when you only have 2 people working on stuff.

I want this to work for all of us. I enjoy working with you guys and your various talents. I can’t tell you how much it motivates me to check out the newest build to find some new art, new music, or new game logic. I want and hope everyone else can get that kind of satisfaction. Hell we released the game and some of you haven’t even played it X_X. If we get this shit lined up, I’d say we’d be able to make some pretty impressive stuff.

My, this sounds like a pleasant chap who you’d want to work with again, right…?

Overall, it’s not a terrible email and Gil raises some good points. But he has a few moments that simply ruin the entire thing, and, as a result, hurt his cause. In fact, when my buddy sent this to me, his email said, “This was an email that XXXX got from one of our contractors. I think this is sooo inappropriate.” Clearly, Gil crossed the line.

Let’s take a look at what Gil did wrong:

Forgetting the Relationship

Be sure to understand the relationship you have with the person you are speaking to

Be sure to understand the relationship you have with the person you are speaking to


This guy was hired to work on a project. One project.

And he was a contractor.
Not a partner, a contractor.
Not an employee, a contractor.
Not a friend, a contractor.

Contractor’s have a certain relationship to their employers. Not that they can’t be friends, and not they can’t be considered valuable parts of the team. But basically, a contractor is a “hired gun.”

I once did some IT work for a company as a contractor. It turns out almost their entire IT department was made up of contractors. One of the guys wasn’t working out well, and when I showed up one day he was gone. I asked my boss if he fired the guy. He said, “no, he was here under a contract, and that ran out Friday. We just didn’t renew. That’s one of the nice things about using contractors – you don’t have to fire them.”

This guy didn’t get that. A friend or partner could get away with being more rude, obnoxious, or profane. Employees can be hard to fire. not contractors…

By assuming the relationship was something it was not (or by not thinking about it at all), Gill shot himself in the foot when it came to working with the tram again.

Forgetting His Goals

Don't forget your goal!

Don't forget your goal!


He clearly states in the email that he would like to keep working with the team and that he thinks they can do some impressive stuff together. And yet, the tone and language of his email is not going to help him reach his goal.

Rationally and constructively addressing your concerns and challenges is a good thing, but if you vent anger just to “get it off your chest,” chances are all your other goals will get waylaid.

Forgetting Professionalism

As a rule of thumb: cursing - not professional

As a rule of thumb: cursing - not professional


I found out that Gil is young (early twenties, I believe), but really, would you have dropped profanity all over an email to your employers, even at at our first job? Especially when said profanity is used to express displeasure at the way those employers worked? I would hope not.

It’s obvious that this is in the video game industry which may have a more casual attitude toward that sort of thing. But seriously, when sending a business/professional email you’re better off not cursing like a sailor…

Forgetting that “Being Right” Isn’t Always Enough

If you want people to listen to you, remember, it's not just what you say, it's also how you say it

If you want people to listen to you, remember, it's not just what you say, it's also how you say it


Gil actually makes some good points. Setting milestones, getting feedback, improving workflow, reducing overhead, etc. All valid points of constructive criticism, but Gil forgot (or more likely, never knew) that it’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.

Too often people worry only about whether they are “right.” But if you are giving feedback, then your true goal is to have that feedback taken and applied in a way that moves things forward in the best way possible. There’s a lot more to that than just being “right.”

This is one of those skills that is very rarely (if ever) taught in high schools or colleges but is incredibly valuable: how to communicate effectively, especially when you disagree or want to offer feedback.

Forgetting the Power of Impression

First impressions matter. Be careful what you lead with.

First impressions matter. Be careful what you lead with.


As I have said, his email isn’t terrible overall; he makes some good points. One of the big challenges is that he starts right out of the gate with “I don’t know about you guys but I was pretty frustrated on Wednesday. In fact, frustrating can’t describe how pissed off I was.” That sets the tone right off the bat as being petulant and negative, and the reader is going to immediately feel defensive.

He would have been much better served to have led with some of the positive things he says at the end of the email, and then transitioned into, “and here are some things I think we can do next time to make it more successful and a better experience for all.”

Would that have been so hard?

Forgetting that ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING

ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING!

ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING!


I WROTE A BLOG POST ABOUT THIS BEFORE (YOU CAN READ IT HERE: ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING). YOU WOULDN’T SHOUT AT YOUR EMPLOYERS IN PERSON, SO WHY DO YOU FEEL IT’S OK TO SHOUT AT THEM OVER EMAIL?

Forgetting that Email Isn’t Speaking

Pasisonate or psychotic? Hard to tell, and it can be just as hard to tell over email

Pasisonate or psychotic? Hard to tell, and it can be just as hard to tell over email


This same level of profanity and fervor, delivered in person, may very well come across as passion and familiarity. In an email, it comes across as dumbass un-professionalism. A mistake I see far too many people make is treating written emails the same as verbal delivery. They are two different mediums, and need to be handled in two very different ways.

Looking back over the email, there aren’t that many highlighted portions. It’s a long email, and only a bit of it was negative and a bit offensive. But it’s enough. A little damage goes a looooooong way…

I can say that the team did not re-hire Gil. To use Gil’s own words, “if that’s not an EPIC FAIL, I don’t know what is.”

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By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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