I have been accused of being ‘organised’ as if it were a disease! I will confess to a degree of this, along with a preference for structure and planning. Indeed, despite the laughter of my kids, I even admit to putting things into the dishwasher in a certain way too.

However, many years ago I heard a story about a simple idea that I believe is very effective. Like many people, I keep a ‘to do’ list of tasks and actions etc. I had been doing this with reasonable affect for some time and was generally good at getting through them. One day, I heard of a senior American executive being advised to put a priority number against each item each day. And that the tasks are then tackled in the priority order. Surely the act of numbering was only what we do subconsciously anyway!? What I found, was that it was more difficult than I thought to stick to the priority of doing the important things first, largely because they were usually the most difficult and most challenging. That having been said, it really does work. I have a 1 – 3 grading [1 being highest], that IF I follow it, it does make me more effective. As a consequence, it does mean that I close most weeks with a bunch of priority 3 tasks unresolved and I occasionally make a point of turning them into priority 1’s just to clear them, or drop them off the list.

I have heard of other people who have far more sophisticated methods, but as Sir John Harvey Jones once said about strategy, the most effect are the ones that you can use! So this is a simple idea and though not always the easy, it is an effective and useful tool.

There a couple product launches from technology providers over the next couple of weeks, starting with the Focus launch of their 360 system.  At these launches I always try and take away just 2 or 3 key messages to help me position the solution for future reference.  Usually this is hard as companies dilute messages with minor features and functions rather than focusing on their big differentiators but in Focus’ case 3 key areas leapt out:

First they are clearly positioning 360 as a ‘Whole of Office’ solution – covering back, middle and front.  While this is not unique with companies such as 1st, Distribution Technology and IntelliFlo aiming in this space as well, true competitors are few.  It should be noted however, this is a vision and not currently a reality, with significant functionality needing to be added to reach the end goal.  Nevertheless it remains a valid aspiration, and with development underway as well as no back-office legacy, it is one they are well placed to achieve in the medium term.

The second message was their delivery track record with a claim of 75 individual bespoke sales solutions delivered since inception with some big names including Openwork, HSBC and Barclays. Although having successful reference sites is again not a unique claim, this is a big number with some sizable market leaders.  Reference calls with suppliers are an important validation of the technology and the attitude of the company when working together.  It is important to look for references that are close to your own organisation type and solution requirements that you are looking for.

The third message was the need for ‘Agile’ computing – systems that can change rapidly as the market changes.  Never before has this need been more apparent than in today’s market, but yet again this claim is not unique.  Distributors procuring solutions from those claiming such ‘Agility’ must probe hard.  Focus’ claim is supported by a culture and legacy of building solutions from toolkits that leads to fast changing solutions and having a whole of office solution rather than a series of disparate solutions loosely tied together also adds credibility to the claim but the proof of the pudding still remains in the eating.  These days it is not unreasonable for distributors to ask potential suppliers for a proof of concept to be built; illustrating some set challenges to change the systems to see how agile the various companies’ solutions are.  I would recommend such an approach before any major investment in systems in today’s market.

I will watch with interest as 360 develops.  It promises much, but the vision needs converting to reality and the race is on to do this while the systems market is still buoyant.

I love gadgets! In one of my previous lives, working for a major institution, I was given the nickname ‘the see it, want it, got it man’ – that might be a clue to my interests.

From there on, I have always been interested and followed the practical use of technology to empower either the consumer or business user. I have tried to avoid the flippant or ‘technology for technology’s sake’ solutions, but have to admit to buying a BSB Squarial! However, there have been a number of significant advances over the last two decades that have created some fascinating opportunities going forward.

The first revolves around digital convergence – a rather over-used and tired concept, but it fundamentally changes the way in which devices can handle any type of media – voice, audio, video etc. – what was depicted in sci-fi shows in the eighties on the bridge of a starship is now sitting in the palm of my hand, with an advanced haptic interface allowing me to watch my favourite movie or listen to my favourite track, whilst surfing the internet – my iPod Touch – these devices will develop to become the universal device, I’m sure – covering multi-media, telephony, internet and global positioning in one device – with solid state memory and no moving parts.

The second technological advance will make a vast impact on daily life – it is a technology that for a good number of years has been talked about, but hasn’t quite got there until now – wireless data.

A number of key OEMs are staking their corporate future on wireless – either in the guise of WiMAX or the 3G data standard HSPA, currently available in the UK using a derivative, HSDPA. Both these technology offer high-speed, mobile broadband type services – it will enable what I’ve heard described and mentioned in previous blogs as ‘Martini’ services – any time, any place, anywhere – industries that have remained office-bound can now roam the countryside taking their solutions with them – it will revolutionise the selling and purchasing of certain products, eg Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals and alike.

I’ll never tire of innovation – I am convinced it is the company that captures and drives the need for change coupled with smart technology that will prevail.