Tal Friend in The New Yorker on Gary Vaynerchuk’s responsiveness:
A relationship with Gary V means an ironclad guarantee that he’ll reply to your e-mail within four months, with at least a “thnx” or a “mwaa!” First, however, you’ll get a bounce-back message that directs you to a brief video. In the video, Gary V, looking sporty in a maroon rugby shirt, thanks everyone: “I don’t want anybody to not recognize how appreciative I am of the volume of e-mails I get.” He names assistants and handlers who can help with your biz-dev or media-op needs. Then he thanks everyone again, and again, and again, six times in all. His passion and sincerity make his eyebrows pop like upside-down Vs — V for Gary V! Branding!
On how he chooses to respond to email:
If Oprah’s e-mailing and she wants me on the show, I respond really quickly. After that, it’s about length. If you write, ‘ “Crush It!” is great!,’ I’ll very likely write back. If you write your life thesis, then I don’t care how big you are, it’s hard to get back right away — it’s just the math of it.” But, ultimately, Gary V is about responsiveness; on a recent flight to Australia, he replied to e-mails from October. “People are so pumped that I answer at all. I mean, if I e-mailed Steve Jobs three years ago, and he e-mailed me back today, I’d be happy.”
Einstein, a different prolific correspondent, wrote 14,500 letters in his lifetime and received more than 16,000 of them. According to Albert-László Barabási, this is about one letter written per day, weekends included, over the course of his adult life. Responsiveness, no matter how or who you are, is everything.
