Adapt to company's interruptive culture ?

So, David talks about the best way to send/delegating 'stuff' is to do it via email. So people on the own times can process it w/o being "all up in your face about it".

At the company i work for there is a lot of in your face people. Alot of people kind of act like chickens with their heads cut off, and others are claim and quiet. Should i break the GTD rule of 'emailing' ( i know David says its the best way, but clearly is not the only way) or do the in your face, over the shoulder attack ? I personally feel emailing works better, cause I know a lot of people i work w/ never ever write anything down. And if i send an email theres a chance that they will take their time to answer the question, instead of going up to them being like "hey can i can your thoughts on XYZ?". I really dont want to be interruptive, i do try to use IM instead of email if i need someones attention on something urgent. I just dont like being the guy having to wave his hands above his monitor to attract someone else's attention...


Maybe its just the industry/ company culture i work in. I work as an Artist, in the video game industry. Its kinda a mix of a startup/software develop culture ( well, thats what it feels like for me)

If anyone can share there exp w/ adapting to non-GTD behaviors to adapt their workplace environment , what would be great.

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Originally Posted by Tado

If anyone can share there exp w/ adapting to non-GTD behaviors to adapt their workplace environment , what would be great.

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What is your problem? People not responding to your emails?

In my experience the answer is "it depends".

The company I work at has a similar 'interruptive' culture. The main reason this happens is that people don't plan and therefore become disorganised, with the result that they frequently need to run around interrupting others to get their urgent requests done.

I use email to make my requests to others and to delegate but have learned that for some individuals, I just have to go interrupt them myself. For example one person does not manage her inbox at all - she has in excess of 2,000 unread emails at any one time so my email won't be seen in a timely manner. I have to go see her or I'd be waiting months. She is senior to me so I can't change her ways, I just have to manage the situation myself.

BTW I also work in a technology company. My theory is that this is still a young industry (comparatively) and therefore it lacks some of the established processes you see in other industries. Many small technology companies have been started by talented entrepreneurs and designers who aren't necessarily good managers or at least good at setting up processes.