Concept
One ask per message
A message with three requests often gets one answered, usually the easiest, and the other two vanish. One ask per message, or a numbered list with a name and a date on each item, is the rule that stops you chasing.
The rule follows from how many people read at work: they skim for what they must do, handle the first or easiest request, and move on. Three asks in prose become one reply and two orphans. If you genuinely need three things, send three messages, each with its own subject line, or put the three in a numbered list with a name and a deadline against each, and expect to follow up on the ones without a reply. The same discipline governs documents: one decision per page, stated at the top with the recommendation before the analysis. It is the written counterpart of the core message in Made to Stick: choose what matters most and let the rest wait.
A real-life example
A finance analyst's month-end email asks the regional managers for three things: updated forecasts, a headcount check and comments on a new template. Most send the forecasts and nothing else. The next month she sends three short emails, each with its own subject line and deadline, and has all three back by Friday.
How to use it
- 1Before sending, count the asks. If more than one, split the message or number them with names and dates.
- 2Put the single ask in the first line.
- 3For documents, one decision per page, recommendation first.