First Thing Monday #18

This week: taking control over how you experience burnout, Tom Ford's GQ exit interview, and my five tips for better email habits ❤️‍🔥🕺🏻📧

Nov 13, 2023

person's hand on MacBook near iPhone flat lay photography — Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash

🍁 It’s Monday morning, do you know where your laptop cord is? Hope FTM finds your week off to a slow start and your cords in places where you can find them. My brain doesn’t fully function until 10:00 am, so holler at me in a couple of hours.

☑️ FTM is a weekly newsletter that includes a recap of all the news Millennial and Gen Z leaders need to know to help make better decisions about their careers. Each issue also includes four tips for developing better relationships in your workplace. Weekly issues come out on Monday mornings!

❓ Have a work question or topics you’d like us to discuss? Drop me a line 📱 misterfantastiksubstack@gmail.com or leave us a comment below!

I’m Jon Cochran, a consumer goods executive with 15 years of experience leading sales, marketing, and product development teams and working with brands like J.Crew, Hilton, and Mattel. I want to provide resources to help you take control of your career and maximize your satisfaction in the workplace.

⏰ What to read before your first meeting:

How I've Changed My Thinking About Burnout (
Culture Study
): Anne Helen Petersen first rose to fame by defining what burnout meant for Millennials. Now she writes about what comes next after understanding the sociological forces at play when it comes to burnout—you have to do some actual work on yourself, and your perspective of the world, to take control of your agency in burnout.
Three Ways to Grow Your Influence in a New Job (Harvard Business Review): My favorite tip? Be open to being influenced. You can’t move through the world thinking your way is the right and/or only way. Listen more than you talk. You don’t have to have the last word on everything.
Why Millennials and Gen-Z workers are choosing not to become managers (The Independent): Many would-be managers don’t want the job because there isn’t a valuable difference in the benefits of a higher-level position over non-management. A fancy title doesn’t mean much to younger employees unless it comes with a sizeable salary bump. Pay the people for the work they’re doing!
The importance of taking short breaks at work, as 80% admit to taking 'secret breaks' (Yahoo! Life): Stop being dramatic about your “secret breaks”—we’re all doing it. And we’ve always done it; remember the “smoke breaks” your boss in the 00s would take? Without a break, productivity slips, and it takes longer and longer to complete tasks. You don’t have to justify breaks to me!
Adjust negative attitudes with employee coaching (Business Management Daily): Paul Falcone shares a tried-and-tested template for your next tough coaching conversation. He explains how building trust through your actions and words goes a long way in terms of easing the tension associated with delivering critical feedback. He also includes a script you can use to prep for these conversations.

🚰 The Water Cooler

I’ve always been a Tom Ford guy. And by that I mean I lust for a life of wood-grain walls, marble floors, and lots of velvet. I’m excited to see what he does next.
Do you still care about the Grammys? Here is what Pitchfork had to say about the 2024 nominations.
First, it was Bad Bunny. Now it’s Harry Styles with the buzz cut. Should I be next!? Three is a trend!
What do the bands and brands whose merchandise we buy say about who we are and what we value? That I am a gay millennial man who loves sweatshirts, jackets, and divas. RIP Ivy Park!

📖 Reflections for this week:

For yourself: Identify one area of your work life where you need to set better boundaries. For example, maybe you're checking work emails late at night or on weekends, or maybe you're taking on too much work and not delegating enough. Once you've identified an area, come up with a plan for setting boundaries. Maybe you'll decide to stop checking work emails after a certain time each night, or maybe you'll start declining extra work unless you have the bandwidth to take it on. Start small and practice often.
For your boss: Feeling like you need to share some critical feedback with your boss? Consider the impact of your boss's behavior on you or your team. Is it affecting your work performance or creating a negative work environment? Think about the best way to frame your feedback. Be respectful and constructive, and focus on the specific behavior that is causing your concern. If you're worried about damaging your relationship with your boss, you may want to consider whether the feedback is worth the risk. Talk to a trusted colleague or friend before you make any moves!
For your direct report(s): Sometimes it can feel like your team may like you, but not respect you. Gaining respect can be done! Show your direct reports that you value their opinions and expertise by seeking their input on important decisions and projects. Be consistent and fair in your treatment of your team. Be available when they need you, and be willing to provide them with support and guidance. This will show them that you care about their well-being and success.
For your co-workers: Make an effort to connect with your co-workers outside of work. For example, you could invite them to lunch, go for a walk, or grab coffee after work. The value of a casual conversation outside of the office walls can go a long way.

⚡️ And one last thing…

While there may be different opinions on what will come after email, we can all agree that some of the most common problems with email are related to tone, conciseness, and clarity. Regardless of our age or experience, there is always room for improvement when it comes to communicating effectively via email. Here are my top five tips to help you enhance your email communication skills:

Use Grammarly. Grammarly is a great tool for catching grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in your emails. It can also help you to improve the tone of your emails with its AI assistant. I like to use “make it friendly” in most messages.
Read it out loud before you send it. Reading your email out loud can help you to identify any awkward sentences or phrases. It can also help you to ensure that your email is easy to understand.
Never write or send an email when you're mad. It's important to take a step back and calm down before responding to an email, especially if you're feeling angry or upset.
Don't use email with folks who prefer other modes of communication. Be respectful of other people's communication preferences and ask them how they would like to receive information from you.
Pick a block of time in the day, one to two hours, and do your emailing then. This will help you to stay focused and productive, and it will also prevent you from spending too much time on email.