Focus The Fire

021 - Phone vs. Email: Real business still require real connections   Article 1: "Emails Only, Please: 10 Reasons Phone Calls Are A Waste of Time” by Jason DeMers (Forbes.com Contributor) http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/27/emails-only-please-10-reasons-phone-calls-are-a-waste-of-time/2/#1eb90abb77d0    Article 2: "Why a Phone Call Is Better Than an Email (Usually)” by Ross Mccammon (Entrepreneur.com Contributor) https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238385   Consider whether this warrants a call.  Is this your first crucial interaction? Yes, call.  Do you need a quick yes/no, or do you need to understand how they feel about an issue? Yes, call.  Send an agenda before the call just like a live meeting. This focuses everyone's mind on the specific issues or outcomes you want to achieve.  Set a time expectation. "This should take us about 30 minutes. I value your time so we will do our honor that with an efficient conversation." This says (politely) let's keep small talk to a m