What order should we empty the inbox?

The conventional wisdom for a customer-facing individual is something like the following:

1. Customers

2. Superiors within your company

3. Team members and other colleagues

4. Family and friends

The “customer is king” so they get first priority.

Jim Stengel, long-time marketing executive and former CMO of Proctor & Gamble flips that on his head.

He responds to family and friends first.

Then he supports his team members, followed by the rest of his company.

And then he responds to customers.

His rationale is that his order of operations should match his priorities, in which the people close to him are more important than someone who happens to be sending him money.

It’s an interesting shift in mindset that deserves some consideration.

-Brandon