To prevent email from feeling like a burden, teams should develop shared practices to enable it to help -not harm -employee productivity. This begins by developing an understanding of the relative effects of congruent vs. incongruent messages.

The case takes place in early 2008. It illustrates the remarkable use that Cirque du Soleil makes of information technology. The case is based, in part, on the keynote speech that Danielle Savoie - who was then Vice-President of Information Technology and Knowledge Management at Cirque du Soleil - gave at the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in Montreal in December 2007. The case is structured around the touring show life cycle and describes how information technology supports the complete process involved in designing, producing, staffing and diffusing shows at Cirque du Soleil. The case presents key infrastructure and applications and offers insights into how IT can support the key operational processes in an artistic, creative and innovative organization.