workplace efficiency consultant, coach, trainer

Tech Ed Sydney 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:12:00 +0000

Microsoft TechEd 2008 was a mass of geeks with backpacks on rushing from session to session to fill their brains with more geeky knowledge. It sure wasn't a fashion parade! T-shirts with cryptic and witty technical terms housing light-deprived slightly hunched uber geeks.

The coffee stands did a roaring trade, the labs were chock full most of the time, the Microsoft staff were run off their feet but happy. The MVPs had another excuse to congregate, educate, be quizzed and go drinking together. All in all, a great few days!

There were sessions on zillions of topics - developer tools, server virtualisation and others I can't pronounce.

We had a theatre dedicated to presentations by MVPs and it was a hub of activity!

workplace efficiency consultant, coach, trainer: Document your processes#comments

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:03:00 +0000

workplace efficiency consultant, coach, trainer: Document your processes#comments

Community Clips

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:28:00 +0000

Microsoft have made a new service (it's still in BETA it's so new) called Communtiy Clips.

You can record video and audio showing a how to tip. There are tips about most Microsoft software on the site now. You can comment on tips and there's a feedback link as well so you can tell the development team of any problems ( I DID say it was in Beta didn't I?).

The tool to record your tip is very basic (compared to Camtasia Studio for example), and you cannot edit it. So have a few tries until you're happy with it before you upload it. It's very easy to use as there are no options apart from delete or post (no editing whatsoever).

To get rid of ums and ahs, write a script of what you want to say and say it and stop. try to keep your mouse still, except when you have a purposeful movement to make as it's very distracting to have it jumping about on screen.

Beware of puffing and P sounds in your microphone - I had to move mine up above my head to make it sounds half-decent. Of and of course - everyone apart from us Aussies down under have these horrid accents you'll have to live with. Arggghhh.

workplace efficiency consultant, coach, trainer: Have a play with another productivity tool - OneNote

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:27:00 +0000

workplace efficiency consultant, coach, trainer: Have a play with another productivity tool - OneNote
http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/onenote/default.aspx

Have a play with another productivity tool - OneNote

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:22:00 +0000

Ever seen OneNote? It's a productivity tool form Microsoft. In version 2007 it has come of age and is an excellent piece of software that's difficult to describe.

Regardless of which version of Office you have, download the trial of OneNote 2007 from the Microsoft web site and have a play. Make sure you read some of the Case Studies and think about their relevance to you as well. I often find it's challenging to see how OneNote could improve your productivity and the Case Studies do a fantastic job of putting you on the right track.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/onenote/default.aspx

NOTE:
As an MVP I don't work for Microsoft and I do regularly bag out what they've done with their software. I get no comissions, no payments from MS. I do get a little present each year I am an MVP - but it is little! Really.

Document your processes

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:53:00 +0000

How often do you perform a complex task only to find that the next time you need to do it is weeks away and you have forgotten how. So you scratch your head, pester some colleagues for their memory of how it's supposed to be done, use a bit of trial and error and rationalise that hey, that will do and get on to the next challenge.

If you and your team are working like that there are many likely pitfalls. You are obviously wasting time and effort - both yours and your colleagues. You may have changed the methodology without improving it.

By documenting "how we do what we do around here" you provide your whole organisation with a how to guide. This guide can save big time and money when training new people, handing over responsibilities on promotion and is a valuable asset if you chose to sell your business.

So next time you start a complex process, document the steps. Stop banging your head against the wall trying to dredge out old memories of how you did it last time! You'll probably feel much more in control of your work, achieve improved outcomes and shorten the time to do each process. If the work you document is boring, there's even more benefit as you'll need to apply less effort to it and be rid of it sooner. And we all want to avoid the pain of boring work don't we?

I have been working with a recruitment company to document some of their key work flow processes. We have a series of screenshots of MS Outlook Tasks being Assigned to their team and then tracked to completion. We also worked on a standard Categories listing so the whole team is working from the same "page". They're excited about the potential efficiency dividends as the existing processes were not documented, contained duplications and lacked interoperability. So though there's a learning curve that chews u[p some time, the benefits far outweigh all investments in improving these processes for this business.

Newsgroups and MVPs

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:45:00 +0000

I give away a few hours a week helping people use Outlook more effectively by answering questions on the Microsoft Public Newsgroups. These are free resources that anybody can access.

Answering user and IT support people's questions can be challenging - mostly due to their inability to clearly explain what they are doing and what's not happening that they want to have happen. It's frustrating as well at times! But there's a sense of achievement and of community that's very powerful. And that's what brings the MVPs back to the newsgroups week after week.

Not sure what an MVP is? Read this www.microsoft.com/mvp Basically, they are awarded expert status by Microsoft and thanked for their community support efforts.

Never been to a newsgroup? Try it right now. www.groups.google.com Searching on Word, Excel or Outlook will give you a feel for how many groups there are! Open one and have a read. Before you ask a question make sure to read the articles about how to post a question so you can follow correct etiquette.

Today's project

noreply@blogger.com (Judy) — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:03:00 +0000

This afternoon I went to a local recruitment firm and showed the management team of 7 people what they could be doing with Outlook and Exchange. They have Office 2007.

I started by asking them what they think Outlook is/can do.

We also discussed the tools they use. What came out was that they have 11 separate unconnected systems doing a little something. A little something that was important at the time, but their approach of getting another system and another system and another system each time there was a new need has led them to a HUGE mess.

Now they have an accounting package, a CRM system, a wall planner, numerous Excel spreadsheets doing anything from storing who got a Christmas card from them last year to their staff's birthdays, post it notes, to do lists on paper, a paper diary, corporate calendars in Outlook, Tasks in Outlook, Contacts in Outlook. I'm sure you get the picture by now. It's a mess.

It's a mess because the same data is often in more than one place. One set of data is up to date or partially up to date and another set has the rest of the data up to date. In some cases no one knows which data is up to date if any.

I like helping organisations fix this type of mess! Does that make me a glutton for punishment? No. But I tell you, I am soooooo enthusiastically welcomed when we uncover the potential risks and time wastages and then work to solutions for clients like this.

Next week I start working on solutions with them. Now that will be rewarding - and I even get paid to do it!