'Per My Last Email': A Manager's Guide to Saying Nothing in 200 Words

Team — wanted to put some thoughts down (in article form! love this for us) on the phrases that have personally taken my career to the next level. People underestimate the power of language. I do not. Let's circle up.

Circling back: a love story

'Circling back' is the workhorse of modern leadership. It says: I have not done the thing, you have not done the thing, but we are both, somehow, in motion. It implies follow-through without the burden of any. I circle back on items so often that, viewed from above, my calendar is just concentric rings. A bullseye of alignment.

Let's take this offline

When a meeting produces an actual question — a sharp one, with a real answer someone is accountable for — I deploy 'let's take this offline.' Beautiful phrase. It ends the discussion without resolving it and makes me look respectful of everyone's time, when in fact the issue will now live offline forever, in a peaceful pasture, where issues go to never be spoken of again.

Per my last email (the crown jewel)

Ah. The classic. 'Per my last email' is how a professional says 'I already told you this' while wearing a tie. It's passive-aggression with a manila folder. I open with it, I close with it, I have considered having it embroidered. Does it move the project forward? No. Does it establish that I, historically, sent an email? Profoundly.

Aligning on a path forward

I like to end every communication by 'aligning on a path forward,' which is leadership for 'we are going to have another meeting about this.' The path forward is, reliably, more path. You can walk it for quarters. I have.

Anyway — really proud of this think-piece. Going to circle back on it next week, take any feedback offline, and align as a team on a path forward. Let me know if this resonates, and if it doesn't: per my last email. 🤵