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A successful business requires, among other things, innovation and the development of new services.  However, ideas, particularly ones that lead to new and better services, can often get lost in a quagmire of emails and other less-critical communication.

The Downside of Email

Here’s a look at some data on email communications:

• A typical worker spends 28% of his work time time managing email, receives roughly 304 emails a week, and checks his email 36 times an hour.  

• Once sidelined from a task, it takes about 15-20 minutes to regain focus.

• We lose as many as 10 IQ points when distracted by email and other seemingly harmless interruptions.

In his recent article on Harvard Business Review, Cal Newport argues that email has become a “disastrous development for the knowledge work sector” that should be eliminated from an organization’s workflow. Frequent use of email throughout the day requires workers to stop focusing on a specific task in order to respond to impromptu, but pressing, messages.  As a result, new and potentially profitable ideas fall by the wayside because nobody has time to focus on their development.

These email exchanges are frequently beyond the recipient’s role and add extra responsibility to someone’s day-to-day activities.  This type of distraction not only lessens employee productivity, it also adds unnecessary stress by creating additional work and diminishing the amount of time employees have to spend on other tasks.

How Outside Help Can Speed Product Development

One way to remedy this problem is to bring in outside help.  An outside individual or team has the advantage of being being unbiased toward an idea, unprejudiced by criticism of a new idea, and unencumbered by the volume of communication regarding the idea.  Outside help can move the product development process out of endless email exchanges into the creation stage.

You can put your current team to work overcoming obstacles instead of using email to carry on micro conversations.  Some outside facilitation and project assistance can boost productivity so an idea can escape the conceptual phase and become a revenue producing asset.

Using outside resources has other benefits as well.  Somebody external to your organization can view an idea with fresh eyes and serve as a sounding board, coach, or extra pair of hands to get the ball rolling on development. Someone brought in to help also has access to different resources and network, allowing him or her to gain unbiased feedback regarding a concept and its viability.

If your latest idea is stuck in an email black hole, Pharma Acumen can help. We have experience working with clients to develop new products and services without wasting time and effort wading through hundreds of useless emails. For more information, contact Brian Bamberger at 215-885-1029.