Best is No Better

Communicating well is vital to success in the workplace at all levels of responsibility and influence. We need to skillfully communicate via spoken words, silence, body language and what we write in letters and emails. A skilled communicator conveys meaning and engenders trust while providing information about something important. Skilled communicators avoid platitudes and lingo because they distract the mind from what is most salient.

Lately, I have seen the word best used as a closing in emails. It looks something like, "Let's talk later in the week. Best, Steve." But, what exactly does the word best mean?

Best is a positive word. Its connotation is easy enough to understand. Best is as good as it can be. Maybe Steve is "sending me his best." That idiom has been in our vernacular for a long time. My gripe with Best, though, is that it does not create enough warmth, clarity, and meaning, two things lacking in everyday business communication.

No one who knows me would call me a traditionalist, except in this case. Best is not instantly understood. It is positive; that's true. But it is subjective. Best does not improve upon concise, traditional sign-offs like, warmly and sincerely. Best does not describe how you meant what you wrote. Considering Steve and I do not know each other well, best makes me wonder what he means. What is Steve's best? Is it like Adrienne's best? Is it like mine? Best also sounds clipped-off word like the word yup.

The traditional sincerely is a better email or letter closing for several reasons. It is more formal and so conveys more respect than best. It is clear, concise and unambiguous. It flows better off the tongue and in the mind's ear. Sincerely, Steve is also more fluid and graceful than Best, Steve.

In this age of hurry-up-I-need-to-get-on-to-the-next-thing-licketysplitquick, good communication engenders trust and warmth. It helps people feel more connected and motivated to get back in touch with you when they know you purposely sent your ideas and message sincerely. For business communication, Best is no better.

Loss of Composure Costs Team the Playoffs

Wow! What a difficult game to lose. Last night's 9-8 loss to the Colorado Rockies in the bottom of the thirteenth inning was a heartbreaker for San Diego Padres fans.

The late night highlights and morning papers are talking about Trevor Hoffman's back-to-back blown saves in two really big games. They mention Brady Clark's errors in center field on fairly routine fly balls. But, any focus on only last night's game misses the bigger point.

Back-up center fielder, Brady Clark, would not have been in the game were not regular center fielder, Mike Cameron, injured. Mike Cameron would not have been injured if not for Milton Bradley losing his cool in volcanic fashion at a crucial moment several games earlier. Milton Bradley's explosion led to an injury that ended his season, and helped end the Padres' season, too.

While it is difficult to say that one thing led directly to another, and that if that one thing had not happened everything else would have gone perfectly, there is a strong link between one player's loss of composure and his whole team missing the playoffs.

We all know people who, at crucial, turning-point moments when mature and wise leadership is required, don't make the wisest decision. Too often they do what makes them feel comfortable individually. They rely on their well-practiced habits and behavior preferences instead of doing what is in the best interest of everyone involved, the key word being everyone. Sometimes our individual needs should be put behind the welfare of our whole team (or company or community or family.)

We should not act on every feeling we have. We should remember that sometimes, often at very critical times, no matter how big a star we think we are, no matter how much pain we are in, no matter how much we need to relieve the pressure built up inside us, exploding or lashing out in the moment, no matter who provoked us or what they said, is a bad choice. In fact, it will likely cause a much longer-term series of problems. Unfortunately, now the Padres have extra time to think about that.