A world Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload

The Specialization Principle
In the knowledge sector, working on fewer things, but doing each thing with more
quality and accountability, can be the foundation for significantly more productivity.
The notion that less can somehow lead to more might be
uncomfortable at first, especially in the context of a competitive
workplace. Some might fear that if they reduce the obligations they
accept, or push back on tasks that fall outside their specialty, they’ll
seem like less of a team player, or perhaps even lose their job. But as
Greg McKeown argues in his 2014 bestseller, Essentialism, the
opposite dynamic might be more likely. He tells the story of an
executive he calls Sam, who, in an effort to be a “good citizen” in the
Silicon Valley company where he worked, said yes to everything,
leading to a severe case of chronic overload. Eventually, the company
offered him an early retirement package. Sam considered accepting
the package and opening his own consulting practice, but on the
advice of a mentor, he decided he would try staying at the firm—
except he would stop saying yes to everything and instead accept
only work that he thought was essential. He figured he had nothing

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to lose: if this frustrated his employer, he still had the option of
taking the retirement package and moving on.
As McKeown recalls, Sam stopped volunteering for last-minute
presentations and ended his habit of being the first to jump in on
email threads. He stopped attending conference calls that weren’t
relevant and learned that just because someone sent him a meeting
invitation didn’t mean he had to accept. He also started saying no
more often. If he didn’t think he had the time to do something well,
or if it was not a top priority, he would just explain this frankly and
decline. Sam worried this was all a little “self-indulgent,” but his
worries were misplaced. No one got mad at him; they instead
admired his clarity. The quality of his work improved to the point
where his managers awarded him the biggest bonus of his career.
5
Sam’s story highlights a truism we easily forget: there are few
things more valuable than someone who consistently produces
valuable output, and few approaches to work more satisfying than
being given the room to focus on things that really matter. The
strategies that follow in this chapter will help both individuals and
organizations shift toward the type of specialization enjoyed by Sam:
a state in which you work on less, but do this work much better; a
state in which it’s possible to move past the hyperactive hive mind to
embrace slower and more effective ways of organizing work.