Let's Talk About Discretion

Discretion:

1. Freedom to act or judge on one's own
2. Knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress
3. Refined taste; tact
4. The power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies
5. The trait of judging wisely and objectively

O.K., so based on the above, one can easily surmise how much discretion comes into play when it comes to your e-mail activities. Just a few examples off the top of my head of not using discretion properly:

• Forwarding a private e-mail sent to you by someone who trusts you to others without the sender's knowledge.
• Forwarding "warm and fuzzy" e-mails that state to "Send to Everyone You Know" with their e-mail addresses all exposed in the To: field.
• Sending attachments without the courtesy of asking first.
• Using company e-mail lists to ask who stole your lunch out of the break room.
• Using company e-mail to visit personal sites and send non-business related e-mails.

I can go on and on. Today, I received several e-mails through NetManners.com asking for my advice and assistance in matters that are purely up to the discretion of others. If there is one thing I've learned over the past decade it is you cannot control other's behavior. Nor can you control whether they have or will use their discretion in their online activities.

When it comes to discretion, I do belive that those who fail to use their discretionary powers, are viewed as doing just that. Folks who don't think before they do, by using discretion, more times than not are perceived as lacking tech or business savvy, courtesy and in some cases education.

Let other's discretion or lack there of speak for themselves. The only one you can control is you!