Posted by John Bledsoe on Mon, Nov 16, 2009
Watch this 2 minute 25 second video blog for an interesting testimonial as to the speed and power of the UnForm Electronic Document Management System from MASI.
Rebecca says that UnForm saved her life. Watch the video to learn how...
Posted by Joe Taylor on Tue, Sep 08, 2009
Early in my career, I was given the opportunity to attend a weekend seminar conducted by the Pacific Institute in Seattle called "Achieving Your Potential" that focused on goal-setting. I was sent to the seminar by the company I worked for - my division chief believed the concepts of the seminar were influential in the success of the company. It was my first introduction to what I have come to believe is one of the most important concepts in human life - the concept that our lives and our successes are the result of our thinking. This concept is central not just to our individual success, but to the success of our businesses, too.
We've all heard the basic concept expressed in many different ways -
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill 
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is" - Proverbs 23:7
The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale
The Strangest Secret, by Earl Nightingale
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right," by Henry Ford
You Are What You Think, by Brian Tracy
And recently, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne
The Pacific Institute seminar taught (among other things) that humans are "goal-seeking" in all of their actions. To accomplish something you must first visualize what you want to do. To first plan an action is not just a suggestion or a recommendation, but rather it is a requirement in order to do virtually anything, whether it's tying your shoes, finding your car in a parking lot, or buying a loaf of bread. You must have a clear picture in your mind before you can do it.
Planning is obviously a common business process. Each year most businesses create a plan for the coming year - a plan and a budget. Sometimes a Strategic Plan or a Long Term Plan is created. Business planning is based on the same human requirement - before we can accomplish something, we must first think about it. And the more clearly, thoroughly, and accurately we think about it, the sooner and more likely we will be to accomplish it. It's also true that the clearer and more detailed the plan, the more motivated we will be. It fires us up!
What has surprised me again and again is how important this concept is in everything we do and believe as human beings. It's key to every part of our lives. It is certainly one of the most important concepts in our lives - and yet, it is not taught in any public school program that I know of. Why not?
If kids studied this life-guiding concept in each grade of their schooling through high school, just think how much more successful they would be in their lives - regardless of their chosen profession or vocation. Just think how many more people would grow up happy and productive. And just think how much more productive our country might be if it were heavily populated with people with this education and the resulting motivation that would come from it.
As Sharon Ramey said in her article "Easy Riding: Put Your Attention on the Destination," when riding motorcycles you need to keep your eyes on the path you want to take and not on the obstacle in the road. If you focus on the obstacle - the piece of lumber, the pothole, or whatever, rather than on the safe path around the obstacle - you'll likely hit the obstacle. This law applies in every facet of our lives, not just motorcycle riding. If you focus on the problem, you'll be thinking about the problem - and that's what you'll likely get - more of the problem. If a business creates and focuses on a path toward smooth success, it's more likely to achieve smooth success.
When you see people who are obviously very unhappy with their lives and you can tell it's a lifelong problem for them, do you wonder why they are doing that to themselves? Have you known people who seem not to be driven by, or even excited by much of anything? If they only knew that a shift in their thinking could make a huge positive difference in their life experience. They need a new way of thinking - a new thought - to get them motivated and moving. I have found that the establishment of a goal - a well thought-out goal - one they can make a commitment to - can often be the spark of a new thinking process.
These concepts are not new. In fact, they are as old as written history.
Thousands of years ago, Buddha said, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought." And "He is able who thinks he is able."
Written about 2000 years ago, Matthew 13:12 says: "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." This passage simply states this same concept. What it says is that when we think we have abundance, we attract more abundance to ourselves, and when we think in terms of lack and limitation, that is the experience we have, and with that kind of thinking, even what little we have we will lose.
It's all in our thinking - thinking that has the power to shape our lives, our businesses, and our experiences. Whether we think we can or we think we can't.
Posted by Joe Taylor on Tue, Aug 04, 2009
There are many reasons for electronically archiving a company's documents rather than printing them on paper, in some cases making additional copies, and then storing them all for seven years. And with today's technology, there are fewer and fewer reasons not to make the change to paperless archiving in your business. Here are three really good reasons many business owners want to begin today: (Download a PDF brochure that explains how the UnForm Document Management Solution works in greater detail.)
Reason 1: Increased Security
You can set up electronic "file cabinets" for various types of documents, and each can be made accessible to only those individuals with permission to see the documents. In fact, each person won't even know there are other file cabinets in the library other than those that s/he has permission to see. So you can store sensitive documents alongside public documents and know that all of them are secure - much more secure than in traditional filing cabinets.
Reason 2: Cost Savings
This is a big category. There are cost savings of several types - in the printing of documents, in their delivery methods, storage, and retrieval of information from the documents. First, rather than continuing to buy multipart forms, each part of which can end up in your storage for seven years, just print the minimum needed. Sometimes that's zero! Just think of the paper you'll save! And if you're continuing to use multipart forms instead of copy paper and laser forms, it can add up to quite a sum of savings.
Then - consider the delivery of the documents. Mailing a document consists of paper, ink, envelopes, and postage, not to mention the time delay to deliver the document. Emailing a PDF copy of the document eliminates it all. And it can be an attractive printed document at the other end.
The difference in storage can represent the biggest cost savings. And not only the documents you print and mail, but all the documents you attach to the stored copy! (See Compliance below) Every business has box after box of stored records - and many businesses have rented storage units that seem to grow and grow over time. That monthly rental cost might not seem very significant until you multiply it by 12 months and then by 7 years!!
Finally, there is the significant efficiency savings of labor when trying to find information from a filing cabinet stuffed to the gills with old documents. It's not only a waste of time, it can also be a huge frustration for office workers. Information can be retrieved from archived documents with a "Search" capability from your employee's desk! Documents can be "tagged" with keywords to make data retrieval fast and easy.
Cost savings can pay for the document archiving system, and in many cases in a short time, depending on the company and the industry. If you want additional information, download the PDF brochure that explains how the UnForm Document Archiving Solution works in greater detail.
Reason 3: Compliance
Finally, many companies have compliance issues that require government-mandated forms to be stored along with the documents generated in house. Agricultural, food-related, transportation industries, and many other industries can be required to store all kinds of tests and certifications with every customer invoice! These documents can take up enormous storage space and be almost impossible to research once they're stored.
Well, not with document archiving. The outside documents can be scanned and in most cases automatically linked to the appropriate order, job, or invoice, and all stored electronically. Data retrieval is easy, paper storage is eliminated, documents can be emailed right from the archive, and you, your customer, and the regulators will all be happy.
You'll be surprised at how affordable it is, you'll be glad to know it requires no programming to your existing software, and you'll be amazed at the savings and the efficiency.
UnForm Document Management works with many software systems including Great Plains, MAS90, MAS200, Open Systems Accounting Software (OSAS), FACTS, AddonSoftware, Oracle, and more - essentially any system that outputs formatted text.
Posted by Joe Taylor on Fri, Jul 10, 2009
Easy Riding: Put Your Attention on the Destination - not on the Obstacle
By Sharon Ramey
Several years ago, my husband convinced me to take the Motorcycle Training Course with him. He's been riding motorcycles since he was 13 and is very skilled. But due to a few incidents like the one in Cancun involving a motor scooter and a hedge, I am what one would call "motorcycle-challenged."
In this course, however, great life teachings emerged, the most memorable being the advice to look where you want to go and not at the obstacle in the road. Although logical enough, the instructor spent a great deal of time on this concept. Apparently, when novice riders see an obstacle that they understandably want to avoid, such as a sharp drop-off between the road's edge and the shoulder, or a pothole, or a piece of lumber that just fell off a truck, the rider becomes almost mesmerized by this obstacle, thinking, "I must avoid this, I can't hit this, please don't let me collide..." and, you guessed it, there is a high incidence of catastrophe!
The instructor repeated time and time again "Take your eyes off the obstacle, and look where you want to go instead." I experienced the wisdom of this first hand as I took my motorcycle through an opening between two rubber cones. In my earnestness to avoid hitting one of the cones, I couldn't think about anything else. Yup, I hit the cone! (And fell down!) Instead of extending sympathy for my disgrace and pain, my instructor repeated "Focus on where you want to go and you will go there, naturally, avoiding the pitfall easily and automatically."
I'm convinced that motorcycle training is the same as "Life Training!" Ernest Holmes, who was a great life trainer, captured the concept in these words: "The quick and effectual way to eliminate anything you do not want is to disregard it and turn your attention and interest to what is directly opposite."
Sounds easy, yet how often do we get mesmerized by our fears, and consequently lose sight of our intentions? We see "potholes" threatening to destroy our chance for prosperity, or joy, or love. Yet, our focused attention on those potholes produces a "pothole experience." Ouch!
Today, take a Life Lesson from that life teacher-extraordinaire, the motorcycle instructor! If you see an obstacle on your path, acknowledge it, and consciously turn your attention away from it, seeing again where you intend to go. Often, with little or no extra effort, life gets easier as you go where you intend with ease.
Sharon Ramey is a staff minister at the Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle, Washington, with a focus on business and prosperity.
Posted by Joe Taylor on Tue, Jun 30, 2009
Today's the end of June, 2009. I have a scientific theory that as humans age, time actually speeds up. Of course, we've all heard the theory that time actually does not exist at all - it only appears to exist to help us through our human experiences. But my theory is that between (approximately) the ages of 0 and 10, a year actually takes about 1 1/2 to 2 years to pass. Then between 11 and about 25, a year is basically a year's time.
From about 25 to about 40, a year passes every 10 months or so. From 41 to about 55, it speeds up to about 6 months. After 55, a year passes every 3 months! Christmas comes every three months! Almost as soon as we take down the tree and put away the ornaments, it's time to get them out again!
So it's the end of June, 2009. It's been 1 1/2 months since the beginning of 2009, and it's about 1 1/2 months 'till Christmas.
Have a great Summer!
ny6a9ek9bu
Posted by John Bledsoe on Mon, Jun 15, 2009
What can Dizzy Dean, the legendary 1930's St. Louis Cardinals baseball pitcher, teach us about document management in the 21st century?
"The doctors x-rayed my head and found nothing," Dizzy once said. Does your organization rely on spotty individual memories (such as that of Dizzy) and scattered PC data files rather than having an easily accessible database of information available to all employees? Wouldn't the members of your team be more productive if they could all rely on a centralized database rather than on memory and hard to locate documents jammed into filing cabinets?
"I never keep a scorecard or the batting averages," Dizzy once said. "What I got to know, I keep in my head." This may have worked well for an extremely talented Hall of Fame pitcher living in a simpler world, but wouldn't your team members be happier and more productive with an archiving and document management system where most of the information they need is readily available from a PC, web browser or smart phone?
And shouldn't everyone on your team have access to the information required to provide outstanding service for customers, prospects and vendors. Even Dizzy, a member of the famous 1934 Cardinal "Gashouse Gang" team, encountered a few questions he couldn't answer. "It puzzles me how they know what corners are good for filling stations," Dizzy once said. "Just how did they know gas and oil was under there?"
With a powerful document archiving and management system your team members may be able to avoid some the puzzlement Dizzy experienced in his life.
Posted by Ron Fox on Fri, Apr 24, 2009
One definition of the word Posh is that it referred to the practice by British steamship companies of placing their wealthy customers to India on "Port Outward, Starboard Home" berths on the ship. This allowed the passenger to always be on the shady side of the ship in a pre-air-conditioning era. I'm not sure if this resulted in the best views but certainly would have been the most comfortable rooms. The word is now generally accepted to refer to something that is reserved for the very rich.
Often during implementations I get the impression, either by questions that are asked or through feeling I receive from principals that they would like a "Posh" view of their business. Often this means different things to different people, but in general it means that they want a simple overview of the status of their business. It often feels as if this is expected in any modern software package. When their expected view is not present you can almost hear the POP of the air leaving their bubble. When the view exists the excitement almost causes them to glow!
What do you expect in your system that would make you feel you had the "Posh" view of your world? Is it a simple financial status, a number of orders shipped in a day, statistics like number of day's sales outstanding or possibly that EBITDA number? Let me know what would make you feel rich!
<a href="http://technorati.com/claim/ny6a9ek9bu" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>
Posted by John Bledsoe on Thu, Apr 23, 2009
Does Yogi Berra, the quotable former New York Yankee baseball catcher, have any words of wisdom for information technology professionals working in a today's dismal economy?
"Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel," said Yogi. New hardware and software definitely aren't in most budgets today, so maybe we should start thinking like Yogi and work on getting more out of our old "luggage." Wouldn't this be an excellent time to work on integration projects with existing email, word processing, spreadsheet, database and ERP software rather than evaluating new technology that is not in the budget?
"I knew exactly where it was, I just couldn't find it," said Yogi. Doesn't this sound like a few network environments you know of where there is a massive amount of valuable data hidden from users in numerous data files and applications? Why not leverage the software and data your organization already owns with integration projects that put information in the hands of those who need it.
It doesn't matter whether you call it a mashup, portal or just a hybrid integration project. What's important is to get the most productivity and cost savings possible by using existing software and hardware when there is not money in the budget for "new luggage."
And there is no better time than now to move forward with existing technology to improve productivity in your organization. As Yogi was fond of saying, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
Posted by Joe Taylor on Tue, Apr 21, 2009
In my last post I discussed the difference between successful ERP system implementations and those not so successful, and the impact the client's project manager (who I call the "System Administrator" in my Seven Elements in a Successful System).
Here's a definition of the various characteristics I've seen in people who were assigned this position and the typical results achieved in the projects. I've graded them from A (the best) to F (the total failures).
A - Amazing Achiever
This is the best kind of project manager. This person loves to achieve and can't wait to sink her teeth in the project. A client with an Amazing Achiever will save thousands of dollars in consulting fees because the project will be done - and amazingly successful - in record time.
B - Bullish Believer
This optimist bull-in-a-china-shop will get it done, even if it kills him and the others on the project. It might not be pretty, and some of it might need to be re-done, but at the end, the job is done, and the system works.
C - Challenging Compromiser
This person challenges every suggestion, from the sequence of the tasks to the make-up of the team, from the implementation time line to the selection of the software itself. These projects get done, but only after blowing up the budget due to delays and mistakes, and this person will blame everybody but herself.
D - Demanding Do-Nothing
This guy is a project killer. He totally avoids personal responsibility for the project - loves to point out "that's the reason I hired you." He has never been involved with this type of project before, but he was born with the talent and knowledge to do it better than anyone else ever did. These projects usually don't get finished at all - at least not until the Demanding Do-Nothing is replaced.
F - Fact-less Fabricator
This character is the worst of all. This guy loudly and forcefully tells everybody what to do during the project, blames others when something doesn't work, and files a lawsuit when everybody finally quits. Always an owner, otherwise he'd be fired early on. These projects are total failures.
Now wasn't that fun? You've met these people, haven't you? Help me come up with more alliterative characters you've met during software implementation projects. Which are you? Or if you're not in that position, which character is your company's system administrator?
Posted by Joe Taylor on Wed, Apr 15, 2009
I have been doing ERP system implementations for 35 years, and I'm still discovering new variations that can significantly affect a project's success. Early in my career, I wrote a paper called the "Seven Elements in a Successful Computer System." It is still a relevant paper today, but with all kinds of variations.
The most important element in the system is still what I call the "System Administrator" or the person who is responsible for and committed to the success of the project. Without a dedicated and competent project manager working for the client, the project has virtually no possibility of success.
Over the years I've taken a different approach to the element of "Training and Implementation Support." I've changed the word "Training" to "Learning" to emphasize where the bulk of the responsibility resides. It's like a college class - out of a class of 30 will be 5 or 6 kids that will earn an "A," 4 or 5 who will earn an "F" and some in between. But the "trainer" is the same person for all of them. So I like to focus on providing an environment in which client personnel can readily learn and make it clear that it's their responsibility to do so.
A third element is the dramatic difference between a "fixed price" implementation project and one priced by the hour. In a fixed price implementation, the client team often has insufficient motivation to take the necessary responsibility for the success of the project. And the owner, unless s/he is deeply involved in the project, often doesn't care or even want to hear about it. S/he just wants the project done, done right, on time and on budget. No chance. In these situations, the client will never end up happy.
But the hardest part is determining before the project begins whether the "client system administrator" will be effective. It's not enough that the client has a Controller - in the early years that was our primary determining factor. The key is the acceptance of responsibility by a competent client project manager - in the terminology of scrum software development methodology, a "pig" - a person committed to the success of the project and competent to do the work. (As with a bacon-and-egg breakfast, a "chicken" is "involved" in the project, but a pig is committed.) This structure and concept can be made clear before the project begins and everyone can agree on it, but how can his/her level of competence and commitment be pre-determined? It's not easy, that much I've learned.
What's your experience? Have you known pigs and chickens in your company? How can a pig's competence and commitment be measured before the project begins?