Don’t over complicate things
A client reached out to me wanting to discuss a formula to feed information from one worksheet to another. It should be “easy” (for me) they said, but they had struggled for two years to find an answer before reaching out. Once I understood what they needed, they really didn’t need a complicated formula, in fact they just needed to combine some copying and pasting techniques to cross check data, something most users of Excel could do if they knew the process. Sometimes we make things harder than they need to be. Next time you think a complicated formula is …
What’s next?
I was recently asked where I think technology is going in the future as it relates to productivity. What’s the next BIG thing? For many, the buzz is around AI (artificial intelligence), my thoughts, however, are closer to home. Rather than adding MORE stuff, in my opinion, the greatest gains are to be made in increasing productivity and efficiency with the things we use every day. When we focus on adding more stuff, all we do is add another layer of complexity. With more to learn, interpret and integrate into our already stretched activities and workload. Adding more without strategy …
Hunger for Connection
On a Monday morning a few months ago (pre COVID-10) whilst sitting in a coffee shop writing, a man came in to get a coffee. What he said made me lift my head up from my writing. He said today he was working from home and whilst he had a coffee machine at home, he said he came in for a ‘coffee and a chat’. Business today is more ‘connected’ than ever. We can work from home, on an airplane, almost anywhere if we have an internet connection! Whilst technology provides the ability to create documentation, analyse information and process …
Reputation and productivity
The choices organisations make to manage their business and human capital in these uncertain times will not only impact on their productivity now but will have an even bigger impact on the future of their business in general. Whilst human nature is to go into protection mode in crisis and seek security, now is not the time for lots of knee-jerk reactions and decisions. The decisions organizations make, and the interpretation of those decisions by staff are going to have far-reaching consequences. The need to be careful, considered and communicate effectively to staff to ensure support and commitment both now, …
We’re not wired to be constantly connected.
I recently read the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport who’s a Computer Science Professor at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Professor Newport is a specialist in computer science. One of the things he said in his book that resonated with me was the fact that as human beings we’re not actually wired to be wired. You’re probably thinking, what does that mean? As human beings, over the last fifteen or so years we’ve started to see technology become more ingrained in our day to day operations whilst technology delivers many benefits to streamline our processes and documentation, it has …
What’s next??
It’s a challenging time in business with stand downs, layoffs and furloughing of employees as well as understanding what can and can’t be done during this period. Understandably employers and executives are worried about business expenses and viability. Some organisations are experiencing growth – online conferencing platform Zoom, food delivery services and the like. But the question is, how long can they/we last in the current situation? When will this end? What will it look like when we come out the other side, which we will? Government and businesses are doing the best they can to keep things going. Employees …
I’m looking for help…
That’s what the message said. In my presentations and in-house workshops, I regularly ask people where they go when they have a technology question. Aside from the one internal “go-to” person every organisation has, the answer I normally get is Google. Whilst that is great, they often tell me they tried what Google said but they ‘couldn’t get it to work’, were unclear about the how, or it they couldn’t apply it to their situation. So why do so many people go to Google for help when they often don’t get the answers they need? 1. It’s easy 2. It’s …
Unusual Times
We are in unusual times at the moment globally. A number of my clients are doing things differently in response to the changes and cancellations of face to face conferences and training. Rather than risking bringing staff together for face to face training, many are choosing virtual presentations. We’re experiencing increased demand for our virtual training offering. These types of solutions are a great way of meeting client needs, especially when they are geographically spread out. Limited access to the recording encourages teams to revisit the presentation and the training “lasts” longer than the live event, resulting in a greater …
What works for you may not work for everybody else
Whilst I love the physical touch and feel of a book, there are occasional books by authors, whose work I’ve followed for a long time, that I purchase physically, but a few years ago I started purchasing my books online. I was recently speaking with a friend about reading books electronically versus listening to books via a service such as Audible. Whilst I can listen to the replay of a presentation, music or a video I find it hard to concentrate on listening to an audiobook. My friend also has trouble listening to audio books and preferred reading a book …
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” (Lewis Carroll)
In 2007, Apple launched the iPod. A device designed to containerise music into one place allowing us to metaphorically have our entire music collection in our pocket to listen to whenever and wherever we wanted. It delivered convenience. It’s sole purpose was to eliminate the need to have to carry a music player and music (CD’s or cassettes). It simplified things. In 2010 when the first iPhone was released it was designed to containerise into one device our music plus our mobile phone into a single device. It’s purpose, to simplify things. Alice in Wonderland author, Lewis Carroll’s quote “if …
