By Cherimie Crane Weatherford
I have been blessed to be able to find morsels of personal success in the nooks and crannies of even the most cluttered circumstance. Untangling problematic situations is a skill I have acquired throughout my career. Quick wit, slow judgment and prompt apology are all objectives I have perfected masterfully through painful trial and error. Having no formal business degree, the school of live and learn has offered me an equivalent experience.
Coming from the Deep South natural disasters are not only common occurrence, but expected once the seas of life become calm. Between tornadoes, floods and striking storms, Southerners grow strong in resilience and heroic in recovery; however, there is one disaster Mother Nature bears no responsibility nor offers any reprieve. It shatters windows, cracks foundation and leaves a wake of destruction unrelenting in reach. It discriminates not against position, purpose or pride. In the business world it is referred simply as the Reply All button.
Often I wonder if it was a cruel joke created to tempt turmoil in the hallways and boardrooms or if it was thought to offer convenience. There is simply no escaping its wrath. Either you find yourself in an endless saga of irrelevant inclusion or even worse, you rattle off your best venomous rebuttal only to realize all is not your intended audience. The stroke of a seemingly innocent key leads to an unmistakable cringe followed by ineffective wail directed towards the device guilty of obeying the command then ultimate acceptance that you may or may not need to seek new employment and/or an alternate address. Similar to rising waters, falling trees and howling winds, the Reply All takes no prisoners, leaves an unmistakable mark and requires extensive clean up.
No doubt titles have been changed, drinks have been made and mea culpas eloquently created all to the credit of the enigmatic Reply All. All, in fact, doesn’t always need to know. I too have suffered this feat. Self-inflicted pain has a tinge all of its own. My name is Cherimie and I too, replied all. I suppose it is our yin to the yang of convenience. With good comes bad, with ease comes difficulty and with humans come unimaginable faux pas. Lessons learned are often scars earned. The smoke will settle, the winds will calm and I will never hit send without triple checking again.
Cherimie Crane Weatherford, owner of SugarBelle boutique, Real Estate Broker and observer of all things momentous and mundane lives on Lady’s Island with her golfing husband, dancing toddler and lounging dogs.
