Getting Organized Digital Style

Too much to do and not enough time to do it. A cliché of the '90s perhaps, but like many of our well-worn clichés , it simply reflects reality. In the entrepreneurial environment, there will always be too much on your plate and too few hours in the day. Hence, it's easy to understand the lure of any tools that promise to make us more productive.

The personal computer has become the ultimate business tool--automating tasks that required paper and pencil, manual calculations, many more people or very expensive mid-range computers just a decade ago. We could not run our organizations without the software that fills up our PCs. And many of us could not run our lives without information management tools that keep us on schedule and on target.

Individual information management tools have traditionally been broken into two overlapping categories: PIMs (personal information managers) and contact managers. The latter category targeted users with a need to manage lots of contacts, typically in a sales environment.

Today, many information management tools have expanded their capabilities. Within networked organizations, many of these tools become a shared resource. In addition, numerous information management products are email- and Internet-enabled. Finally, many PC-based products can synchronize with handheld computers like the PalmPilot or the Rolodex REX, so that you can stay organized while on the road.

The best products out there can simplify your life--and that of your colleagues. The lesser products may waste more time than they save. Some products are so complex that they may have value only for an organization with in-house experts who can customize the product for the ultimate users.

In this issue we will explore the elements you should look for in an information manager. Even if you are already using an older PIM or contact manager, you may not have all the functionality that best-of-breed products offer.

What Should You Expect in an Information Manager?

Must haves for everyone:

General:

¨ Simplicity of operation: Minimal keystrokes, mouse clicks and not too many levels of menus

¨ An intuitive interface that enables you to get right to work with little or no training.

Contact Information:

¨ An electronic address book that includes business and home addresses, phone numbers, email and Web site info, and the ability to add any kind of structured data that might become important in the future.

¨ The ability to sort and filter data in multiple ways. To select a certain group of prospects for a targeted mailing, for example.

¨ The ability to search for a contact by various logical parameters, such as name, company, city, etc.

¨ A contact history for each individual in the database so that you or anyone accessing the contact data can track what has happened with every important client, prospect or vendor.

¨ The ability to attach documents and other files to contact records

Calendar Functions:

¨ The ability to schedule appointments, phone calls, and tasks, both one-time and recurring events

¨ Linking of all activities to an individual in the contact database

¨ The ability to prioritize activities and to change those priorities

¨ Drag-and-drop scheduling and rescheduling

¨ Alarms for important events

¨ Automatic rollover of uncompleted tasks, calls, etc. to the next day

Communications:

¨ The ability to write a letter or send a fax to one or many contacts. This can be accomplished with a self-contained word processor or by linking to an outside word processor. In either case, it must be easy to do.

¨ Autodialing to contact phone numbers

¨ Email integrated with the contact database so that email can be sent directly from the information manager or by linking to an outside email program

Tools and Utilities:

¨ Report generation for contacts, activities, etc.--e.g., how many phone calls have been made to prospects this month?

¨ Simple import and export of data files to and from other software programs

¨ Easy back up of data

Great to Have, but not Always Essential

¨ The ability to move data to and from a handheld device

¨ The ability to share data across a network.

¨ The ability to post information to the Internet

¨ Direct linking to the Internet via hyperlinks

¨ The ability to relate sales goals/projections/closings to contacts

¨ The ability to automate activities via macros or other process scripts

¨ A journal/diary function to keep track of ideas, thoughts, goals, etc

¨ A central information database to track such things as price lists and product info

Evaluating the Products

Next month, we will take a look at a number of information managers that span a continuum from the simplest to the most complex. Among the products to be evaluated are Act 3.0, Daytimer 98, Goldmine 4.0, Lotus Organizer 97, Outlook 97, and Sidekick 98. Each of these products does a good job on the basics. Your own choice may depend on the particular needs of your organization.