Sick of being bombarded with endless emails? Try declaring one day in the week an email-free day. That was the plan of action for Thierry Andretta, chief executive of fashion brand Lanvin, who gives himself one day a week to concentrate without being interrupted.
"Generally, I think we have become too accessible. We all lose too much time reading and writing emails and they prevent you from thinking clearly," Andretta said.
Could it catch on?
Andretta said he was trying to get other people at Lanvin to follow his move but there was not much enthusiasm internally.
"I think they are not really interested but it might be also because they get fewer emails than me," Andretta said.
Most business today is done via emails and many companies require that information is systematically shared with colleagues for legal, practical or career-building purposes.
Andretta's idea might not be on its way to being adopted at Lanvin but it was well received by some other fashion executives.
"Personally, I think people share too many little details using emails. But often it is company policy," Vladimir Martynenko, vice-president for business development at Polo Ralph Lauren.
"I have found out that there are many emails you don't need to answer and within a few days, the matter gets handled without you," he added.
Unfeasible
But other luxury executives, such as Jean-Claude Biver, chief executive of Hublot, thought Andretta's idea was nice but unrealistic and impractical.
"The one who can allow himself not to read or answer emails during an entire day in a working week indulges in real luxury," Biver said.
"For me it is not realistic, communication is the very foundation of our existence, you cannot leave your clients, partners, journalists for 24 hours without a reply."