Ever been banned from attending a celebration?

With Sunday’s Oscars looming around the corner, Nicholas Chartier reached out to his fellow academy award members by writing a simple but provocative email, imploring them to vote for his small independent film, The Hurt Locker – and not that big behemoth $500 million dollar blockbuster, Avatar.

His efforts backfired.

Not only did the Academy rebuke Chartier for violating Oscar rules that prohibit mailings promoting a film and disparaging another, but they’ve banned him from the ceremony itself.

So even if The Hurt Locker wins big time, Chartier will not be hopping on stage with his fellow producers to accept the academy award for best picture.

Imagine a chance of a lifetime to be in front of 40 million people, and instead, poor Chartier must stay home with the kids, eating a Hungry Man TV dinner, and watching the ceremony on his ten-year-old Toshiba.

Can one email really end a career?

Certainly, it might be rare to lose one’s job or in this case be banned from a celebration, but it’s not unusual to hear management complain about arrogant, attitude-ridden emails that violate ethical, moral, or professional etiquette.

To be fair, Chartier immediately bounced an email back apologizing. “”My naïveté, ignorance of the rules and plain stupidity as a first-time nominee is not an excuse for this behavior and I strongly regret it,”

But it came too late. Damage was done. The film may not win because of this email. And Chartier will go down in history as the only producer ever banned from the Academy Awards.

So what could Chartier have done differently that would have changed not only his fate, but the success of his film? What can we learn from his mistakes?

Here are three rules to consider before sending the email that could ruin your career:

1. Never put anything in writing that you might regret afterwards. Don’t do it. In fact, don’t even write it on the computer. If you need to express your feelings in writing, use a pen. Write on paper. And then burn it afterwards.

2. Always get feedback before sending an email that might spark controversy. In this case, Chartier should have picked up the phone, called an academy board member, and asked, “How would you feel if I sent an email out asking voters to support my little film?”

Do your research first before writing the email.

3. Never overreach your boundaries via email.

Chartier basically overstepped his bounds. He criticized a competitor and begged voters to support his film.

Be careful of interspersing your hidden values or moral preferences.

The competitor –the director or Avatar— was once married to the director of The Hurt Locker, so embedded in this contest is a whole other level of social/political even sexual intrigue voters may have gleaned from this email.

Why are emails so easily misunderstand?

This misinterpretation – or “reading within the lines” – happens all the time in business.

Recently the President of a large electronic firm innocently moralized to his staff, asking
everyone to join him in a physical fitness program instead of sitting at home watching American Idol.

Big mistake. He not only implied that his staff was fat and lazy, but he insulted his group by
labeling their favorite show, American Idol, as a complete and utter waste of time.

Who are you to judge me – Mr. Play-Golf-At-The-Country-Club-Every-Weekend?

Want to write an awesome email – free of baggage?

Now it could very well be that voters will ignore Chartier’s stupidity and vote for the film they feel deserves “Best Picture.” But we live in an age where we are generously influenced by social media and television commentary. No one lives in a cave anymore, and that is true in business as well. Gossip spreads fast. An innocent but disparaging email could sink your reputation or be grounds for your dismissal.

For information on how to write an awesome email – free of baggage – check out my chapter on Email Road Rage in The Mouth Trap: Strategies Tips and Secrets to Keep Your Foot Out of Your Mouth. You can also receive a copy of that chapter free by simply emailing me a request: gary@theemailwizard.com

And for information on seminars and workshops, visit www.theemailwizard.com or call me directly at 1-866-974-8333.