Taking Notes during Phone Calls 6

[CorBlimeyLimey]

The work related emails you send/receive when at work are company property!!!
They should not be deleted when you leave & probably not even copied & removed from the premises.


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[TheTick]

another take on taking notes...

Take notes during @$$-chewings.
Taking notes when getting chewed out does a couple things:
[ul][li]It shows the chewer that the chewee is listening.[/li]
[li]It causes the chewer to slow down a bit, breathe, and sometimes, to calm down a little.[/li][/ul]

I could be the world's greatest underachiever, if I could just learn to apply myself.

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

-SolidWorks API VB programming help

 

[typhonic]

"The work related emails you send/receive when at work are company property!!! They should not be deleted when you leave & probably not even copied & removed from the premises."

CorBlimeyLimey, that is not universally true, only if there is an agreement in place beforehand. I am a business owner and I know the difference between employment and ownership.

If your company is dealing with sensitive information, you should have an policy in place to properly respect the information. However, there is also a place for proper respect of the individual.

 

[planedr]

As far as e-mails go I have virtually every e-mail I sent at a company. One person there, read boss, had a habit of selective e-mail and phone reference use. He would forward, reply, whatever e-mails when to his advantage. Having the follow up is practical. My favourite is "that is what I said but not what I meant(?)". How can you counter that without having what he said, especially were it litigated?

Keep it! Record it! Document it! If you do not you might not like your new room mate.

By the way I am in a happy place now. But the same rules apply.

Al CET, EIT

 

[karlbamforth]

Re Emails,

A past employer had a habit of sending me Emails in block capitals reminding me of "my responsibilities to the company".
I spoke to him explaining that block capitals was widely considered to be shouting and that reminding me of my responsibilities was threatening, I then went on to say that if that was how he felt then he should tell me to my face. His response was that I was "overeacting".
I then informed him that a copy of all such emails, with my personal comments annotated on the bottom were copied and stored at home. Since that conversation I never had to copy another Email.

Karl.

 

[jmw]

On the other hand, any of you guys and gals remember Nixon?

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[TheTick]

re: Nixon...

That's when it pays to act ethically. It's usually safe to forget or be recorded when one is acting ethically.

 

[TPNY]

I tried the "phone log" approach thanks to the suggestions on this thread. I have to admit, I don't have to store extraneous information in my head anymore! (more time to think about... hmmm... )
Anyways, I have it categorized into projects, so that when my boss says, "have you asked so-and-so for the revised drawing?" I can look on the phone log for that project and say, "why, yes of course. He will email it to me by next Tuesday." It's useful, AND it makes me look like I'm on-the-ball!

 

[MTPipeliner]

I've got a notebook that I use to keep track of things I do during the day, including phone calls, personal conversations, meetings, things I need to do, etc. If it is something important for a project I will transfer it to the project file.

I take this notebook with me when ever I go somewhere. I can't count the number of times that it has come in handy.

 

[planedr]

Ethical or not it is never safe. When the other person is not ethical you are not safe! Manipulation and mis representation is the order of the day. If he says "you said this" and he is the only person with a record you ARE HOSED. If you have the entire record then you can PROVE context. If you get called to court and you do not have ANY records, even scribble notes you ARE HOSED. This is the basis for any Project Management or Project Leadership.

Remember when there is a smoking hole. It's not just what you say (if that even matters)it's what you can document.

Sounds paranoid. But as a PE and as a professional you are responsible for your actions, both now and in the future. How good is your memory? Where were you august 24 1996?

 

[RDK]

I keep a lab notebook handy.

Write down everything simply in chronological order.

If I am on a big full time project I start new notebooks specifically for that project, if on a number of smaller ones then it all goes into one chronologically.

Doesn’t matter what method you use to record, just as long as it is dons and done in such a manner that logs the time and doesn’t allow for pages to go missing or to be added later.



24 August 1996 I was on a project at the paper mill in Fort Frances Ontario. We were installing the main conveyor along the east side of the wood room. The pipe fitters were installing the air conditioner drains from the control room.

I had 10 billable hours that day as it was the Saturday of a 10 on shift. There were a total of 24 contractor personnel on site (I also have trade breakdowns). I made 15 phone calls and received 10 incoming calls. Want to know who called, when and what we talked about?

My notes for that day cover 6 pages in my lab book.

Sorry, did not note what I had for lunch. (Most likely the special at the Fort Hotel)


Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com