LEARNING TO MANAGE E-MAIL by Steve Anderson Communicating with someone used to be easy. You could just pick up the phone and give them a call, or sit down and write a note. Fast forward a...

In the 19th century, businesses had three communication options: The Pony Express, Western Union, and (rarely) the telephone. With the Pony Express, at best you had to wait days or weeks for a response — a lot like a producer trying to cold-call senior executives today.

With Western Union, telegrams had to convey their message in a limited number of words. Today a marketing letter might get through, but the executive has little time to read it and it doesn’t display your verbal communication skills.