A Picture Tells a Thousand Words
As the saying goes, “A picture tells a thousand words”, Have you ever tried to insert one into your Word document and it just didn’t do what you wanted it to? Pictures are a vital part of reports and proposals today. They tell us so much more than words can say and often enable a moment, an idea or a concept to be captured and shared in a more meaningful way. When communicating, a picture cuts through the words and presents and image that when snapshotted in our minds eye we never forget. This month we explore what you must …
Technology for Effective Meetings
Have you ever been in a meeting that feels like a crowd of people in a public place, moving in all directions? This week, I came across an excellent blog post from North American based Kristin Arnold. The technology she highlights is accessible for little to no cost. Used strategically, rather than just because it’s the “in” thing, many offer the ability to make your meetings and collaboration more productive. If you are a regular meeting participant, take 5 minutes to read Kristin’s whole post here. My Tip for Productive Meetings Scheduling meetings, where possible, for 30 to 45 minutes instead …
Prime Productivity Pointer – Inserting Today’s Date
When I ask people how they find the answer to a challenge in Excel or Word, I commonly hear the response “I Google it.” Whilst Google is great it has its challenges. Firstly you need to KNOW what you are looking for – sometimes you know the outcome you want but not the technical term and secondly, when you find the answer, your problem is solved, but reality is there are probably 2 or more colleagues looking for the same answer who will potentially go through the same process. So what’s the answer….share the knowledge with your colleagues. So if …
Walking Meetings….
With so much of the average office worker’s time sitting, at a desk, in meetings, on a train or bus, in a car, is it any wonder we have seen a rise in back complaints. The last few years have seen an increase in standing desks in the workplace as sitting (well too much of it) is now being viewed as the bad for your health. According to a Huffington Post article this week, the next step is walking meetings. Probably not a replacement for larger meetings, but great for one on one conversations. Researchers at Stanford University say walking leads …
Customer Service isn’t just external….
Technology was designed to increase our productivity. Those who know me know how passionate I am about working with organisations to build expertise with everyday technology to empower staff to be more productive, engaged and happy in their work. However there are many other ways to keep staff engaged, happy and productive which all adds to the bottom line. A fantastic colleague of mine Shep Hyken is a specialist in exceptional customer service. I was fortunate enough to be a guest blogger sharing my experience about both internal and external customer service following a visit to Zappos.com in Las Vegas. Read …
Prime Productivity Pointer – Fitting an Excel Spreadsheet to a Single Page
Each month I send out an email with a quick video tip or shortcut to increase productivity with Microsoft Office. Often there are little frustrating things that happen in Word and Excel that, whilst small, if you have to do them regularly that 5-10 minutes adds up over time. Did you know that if you fast tracked a task in Microsoft Office and saved 5 minutes a day, across the course of a year that equates to over 1000 minutes or 16hrs! One of the common things we hear from clients is they simply don’t have enough time to get …
Donald Trump’s Take on Technology
What a great short interview on CNN Money where Piers Morgan interviews Donald Trump on a range of topics including his take on email and cell phones. Watch the clip here …
Banning Email After Business Hours
Great article in the Harvard Business Review on whether employers should ban email after hours. Having technology at our fingertips to access email 24/7 means many people find it tempting to check emails in their down, family or recharge time in an effort to remain “in control”. Reality is, as soon as you deal with what’s there, more comes in. This article explores the importance of understanding why we use mobile technology. Harvard Business Review My thoughts? For too long technology designed to increase productivity has been used without any guidance. The result, rather than save time, more work is …
Should Businesses Plan to hire More in Next Three Months?
Credit Reporting body Dun & Bradstreet recently released Q2 2014 Business Expectations Survey Results indicating more businesses plan to hire staff in the next three months. I wonder if this is a reactionary approach businesses take in response to increased workloads and pressure from government, unions and the like to create more jobs?? I believe before organisations simply recruit for more staff, they need to take a good long look at internal process improvement. Common technology such as Microsoft Office and Open Office, offer organisations the ability to automate and streamline documentation within the business, thereby reducing risk and unlocking …
Have You Bought Into the Technology Myth?
What is The Technology Myth? The Technology Myth is simply a belief that adding new technology such as software or hardware to an organisation on its own holds the magic key to unlocking productivity in the business and opens the floodgates to increased profits. Reality is this is far from the truth. Although a majority of society would view the latest diet or weight loss supplement with an air of skepticism, the same doesn’t apply to technology. On a consulting assignment with an organisation we were asked to “train staff” in how to use new video conferencing technology. To determine …