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Mark Grilli
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Homepage: http://www.lifehack.org
Posts by Mark Grilli
Tech Tools and Software: What Motivates Change
Jan 19th
Technology has clearly changed how we work. Mobile devices, for example, have allowed for a more flexible work environment, making it easier to work from anywhere on almost any device.
Whatever changes we adopt, the bottom line remains the same; we want to get our jobs done and done well. And when the technology we’re accustomed to using works, we don’t want to take the time to learn something new. Email is the perfect example. The tech community continues to argue whether email is a dying form of online communication. While tools such as IM have helped us communicate faster, we still use email as our core content management system because we have not yet found another platform that’s better.
My previous post asked whether our digital work habits were helping or hindering productivity. Today, the question is what if something could make doing our jobs significantly better than the status quo? Would we change?
What merits technological change?
I may be going out on a limb, but I think a new solution needs to be at least 10 times better than the current solution if a company or individual is going to make the switch. But what makes something at least 10 times better? Think of it this way. How much time have I spent on learning? How much does it change my work habits? Are there are tangible benefits? Going back to the email example and how IM has replaced email in places; IM is simple to use, easy to understand, and it provides an immediate response where email could take days for a reply. This is what makes IM at least 10 times better than email in certain instances.
The experience vs. features phenomenon
One of the best examples of this phenomenon I’ve seen is one software company’s testing of the next version of its flagship software. The company invested heavily in a simplified user experience, designed to enable users to more easily discover the features they needed as well as expose them to other tools that might be helpful. The company’s development teams took the existing features from the previous product and put them into this new user interface. They then got a wide variety of users – from new to very experienced – to use the new product. The most remarkable comments came from experienced users, who could not believe how much had been added to the new version, even though the only difference was a new user experience.
Tipping point?
Every company or individual can tell you exactly when they decided to switch their processes to something better. For an individual, it might be the realization of how much time is being wasted in a particular effort. For companies, it tends to be something that impacts the bottom line. These decisions often have additional, unforeseen benefits as well.
One of my favorite examples comes from a major accounting firm. Their “tipping point” was in their financials. They realized they were spending 25 percent more in software costs than needed. A change was in order, and for them it was standardizing their tools.
The results? They not only were able to reduce costs, but they also reduced software management time by 98 percent, improved productivity and collaboration among their employees, and kept ahead of the competition.
Today’s expectations
With new tools and software, it used to be that “powerful” meant complicated. If you were prepared to take a class, read a book and invest significant time in learning, then that software or tool was more credible and capable of getting the job done. However, in the past few years, the web, mobile apps and the consumerization of software have all contributed to creating a new paradigm; the easier and more intuitive the tool, the better and more likely it is adopted.
Yet we all suffer from some level of risk aversion and fall to “the old way of working.” I am guilty of this sometimes, and I suspect most people are as well. We know what it takes to get things done today, however old-fashioned. If we sit back and critically evaluate from a technological perspective how we work as individuals, teams and as a company, the red flags will emerge and change will follow.
Conclusion
Has your company experienced a technological “tipping point” recently? Or have you personally switched to something you consider at least 10 times better? Please share in the comments.
(Photo credit: hand holding the world and email via Shutterstock)
Best Practices: Get the Most Out of Working in a Digital World
Nov 2nd
Digital workflow
As director of product marketing at Adobe, I speak with customers everyday about how they can better maximize their productivity in the workplace. They often tell me they spend more time figuring out how to do their jobs than actually doing them.
Regularly faced with the staggering volume of information, they have difficulties keeping everyone on the same page, keeping track of lost data, information and IP. And today, professionals across industries use a variety of devices such as smartphones and tablets to get work done. We rely on technology to make our days more productive, but with so many different tools and platforms available to us these days, one wonders if we might be over-complicating things. Shouldn’t the digital world make our lives easier and reduce complexity?
Working professionals, especially those in an office setting, should take a hard look at their digital work habits and recognize whether these habits are helping or hurting productivity. IT departments can arm employees with the right tools and training, but individuals ultimately have control over how they put the training and the tools into use.
The first step to get the most out of working in a digital world is to get a handle on your digital workflow. What is a “digital workflow”? We all have one. A digital workflow relies on electronic processes that eliminate the need for traditional paper materials.
At the heart of a digital workflow are documents. Companies run on documents. They hold company history, financials, strategic plans, personnel data, etc. For this post, I’ll focus on the digital document because of the critical role it plays in our everyday work.
Put Content into Context
Thanks to social media, there’s been a dramatic shift in how we interact with content. The concept of a document used to be a piece of paper, made digital. But now, every worker has the power of a multimedia studio on their phone or laptop.
Now the question becomes how do they use this and be more productive at the same time? An insurance agent, for example, needs to process video, images and forms to expedite a claim. It would make more sense to combine that information in a digestible way that is intuitive and easy to navigate through. Putting content into context not only adds clarity; it improves productivity as well because the information is more actionable.
Don’t Break the Chain
We’ve all been there – we come to a point when working on a project or assignment where we have to pick up the phone, or send an email to get something done. Then, we wait. Surprisingly, e-mail is still the most often used mechanism to exchange files and comments in a typical workflow.
A law firm, for example is constantly preparing case documents, which include lengthy witness statements, expert reports, and exhibits, etc. These types of documents can be many hundreds of pages long and they sometimes require changes at the last minute before being sent to the court. You can imagine the man power that goes into compiling, editing, reviewing, and sending this vast amount of information and the potential negative impact on productivity. Projects like these require tools that go beyond creating a PDF form, editing it, and e-mailing it around – they require an end-to-end solution to successfully complete the job quickly, from start to finish.
Protect Yourself
Finally, if your information isn’t secure and protected, it won’t matter how efficient your workflow is. In today’s collaborative online world, it’s more important than ever that software is updated and anti-virus software is installed – no matter which platform or device you’re using. An unprotected environment is a sure threat to productivity and intellectual property.
What tools and techniques are you applying to your digital workflow to maximize productivity?