The To-Do list is a great time management tool but it cannot drive your day or motivate you.  If you find yourself writing To-Do lists only to have the end of the day roll around with only half the items crossed-off the problem could be unrealistic expectations, lack of control over your time, lack of focus or all three.

If this sounds like you let me suggest the following:

Start small – To review your list at the end of a day or week and try and figure our what went wrong is a daunting task that cries out for a To-Do list of its own! So, first try to Break your “list” in to the smallest possible piece and analyze the results: What I’m suggesting is writing a one-task task list, that’s right, one task.  Pick a small project that you feel could be completed in less than 90 minutes.  While this is pointless as a way to get large multi-layered or multiple projects done it’s an excellent way to drill down to the specifics of what works or more pointedly what doesn’t work in your task-setting process and why.

If you can comfortably complete your task in 90 minutes you may get some insight into how you can better set up your lists in the future but the real reward comes if you don’t complete your task in the allotted time:  It will become remarkably clear what happened; did someone or something interrupt you? Did you underestimate the time required to complete the task or did you simply get distracted by other work or personal things? Being able to see this in the micro will help you when you start your daily or weekly planning.

Once you have these answers you can start to see where your To-Do lists may have turned from a progressive tool into pointless scribbling waiting for action. This could start you on the path to a better plan and finally use To-Do lists to help you actually get things done!

When using the phrase”The Cloud” what exactly are we talking about? After all, when we are on the road or at home and “dial-in” to our office network aren’t we accessing information and/or software that is not local? Is that the “Cloud”?

At the risk of sounding like an idiot I asked our co-owner and technical director James Ontra this question.  After first being mildly scolded for using the expression “dial-in” (apparently with ubiquitous use of broadband for the last fifteen some-odd years no one is “dialing-in”)  I found that while the answer is not completely black and white there is some hope of  clarity.

Simply put, The Cloud is someone else’s server, not your local machine.  So whether it’s Amazon, or Rackspace or PPTshuffle, when you use a Cloud solution, you are accessing that application on someone else’s machine.  You are benefitting from their software-as-a-service and their security, reliability and speed.  You just login with a user name and password, and everything is there ready for you. 

Conversely, enterprise software is installed on your company’s servers.  Your company owns the server, and is responsible for security, reliability and speed.  Therefore, it’s not considered Cloud. (Now you could argue that because the application is not on your local PC, then it is Cloud, because you are accessing it through another server.  And you would be technically correct.)  But for business purposes, we draw the line at who owns the server, and where do you access that server – Internet or In-house

Let us know if you have any questions.  We’re happy to help.

But in many ways aren’t we are all that salesperson? .
I recently read an interesting article that said that in ten years, 50% of all Americans will work  as independent contractors.  And is it any wonder?  The world economy has been condensing the American work place for years now – fewer “company” jobs exist with much more responsibility for those who have them.  More outsourcing and “telecommuting” – the change is both profound and predictable.

So what really is  the difference between you and the traveling salesperson in this scenario?
My guess is, not that much: you’re short on time and long on responsibility – a presentation is coming up, you’d like to change something but the risk that fiddling with the PowerPoint will become a much larger project is real and discouraging. You will probably, like our salesperson, simply go with the tried and true even if it’s not your best.

If this sounds like you , maybe it’s worth taking a look at a slide library that can quickly and accurately assemble your best presentation in minutes and allow you more time to do everything else you need to do.

Of course, there are some work-arounds out there. You might add a version number or a date to the file name (e.g: File_02.pptx, File_03.pptx, File_031413.pptx).  Most of us default to this method because it’s the easiest –  anyone can do it and you don’t need additional software or training.  The problem comes when you open up a network folder and you see 10 versions of the same file and you are forced to siphon through the file names.  It’s messy. And as a manager, you still have no idea who is using what version and when.  There is zero control.

That’s why we integrate centralized version control (CVS) and automatic updating into our PPTshuffle presentation management solution.  It allows you to overwrite a presentation with a new file, regardless of the file name.  It keeps a history, so you can always roll back to an earlier version.  And the slide updates can be pushed out to individual’s presentation files.  So you can rest assured that everyone on your team has quick and easy access to the most up-to-date version of a slide.

Please reach out for more information and we’ll be happy to discuss or demo PPTshuffle PowerPoint library for you.
Thank you.

Cynthia Clapp spoke with us last week on her role at Royal Caribbean International as well as her use of technology and specifically ppt management, their work with PPTshuffle, document management solutions and the role of technology in Travel and Hospitality.

PPTshuffle; launch and experience.  part 3 of 3

How did you first hear about PPTshuffle and how did you come to work with us?
It all began many years before we met you. We surveyed our sales force on how they utilized our training materials and specifically PowerPoint .Our training site was setup as I discussed earlier but with simple links to PowerPoint and separate links to the leader guides, participant guides and job aids. What we found was that the way materials were being used wasn’t conducive to the way they were being put out there.  We needed a document management solution, and started looking for a better way to accomplish PowerPoint management.

 What do you mean?Can you tell me more about PowerPoint management challenges?
In doing the survey, we found that because we had such a wide variety of accounts and therefore a wide variety of training needs, our salespeople wouldn’t just utilize our off the shelf curriculum for their needs; they would take several and mix and match and put the slides together differently to create a custom presentation to fit the particular account they were going to visit. But there was no streamlined method for sharing PowerPoint in this manner.

This created a few major challenges.  First off, we had six or seven different brand templates, so the salesperson would need to spend a lot of time reformatting the slides to get a consistent look across.  Also the speaker notes were in different leader guides so they wouldn’t travel with the slides. As you can imagine, we had built very detailed and creative leader guides that had everything they needed but the guides became useless if people started mixing and matching; basically they weren’t able to  use them effectively.
So we started doing some research. Originally we went to a vendor who we worked with for other solutions but, unfortunately what they offered didn’t work and was also very cost prohibitive.
So I stated searching online for presentation tools, Slide Libraries and PowerPoint help etc. and found PPTshuffle’s website. It looked like it might be exactly what we needed.

Can you expand on “exactly what we needed”?
Basically, we needed a way for our salespeople to jump-in and quickly and efficiently see everything available. We needed a PPT management tool in order to see presentations and slides and have an easy way to simply pick what they wanted and needed to create their own custom presentations. Of course there is the added benefit of embedded video and other features like added PDF job aids etc.
Our sales force is responsible for supporting the needs of many Travel Agents and building those relationships. We needed to make their lives easier. They need to be on the road; we don’t want them to be sitting at home downloading presentation after presentation and reformatting and then searching for speaker notes.
We wanted a one-stop-shop where they could get in and get out quickly but get exactly what they need to customize their training. So we contacted AlexAnndra Ontra – we saw the demo and ultimately did a trial run with our advisory board internally and got excellent feedback.  We finally launched during our National Sales Meeting – in November 2011

What was the mood like amongst the sales force when you first got started with PPTshuffle presentation management solution?
Well in the beginning there will always be some resistance to change. Some people are not as comfortable with technology so prefer to do it the old way . But others saw the potential benefit right away – they were excited and wanted to know more and get involved.

Tell me about the PPTshuffle launch
In the beginning, as with any new roll-out, there was support needed and lots of questions to be fielded. The PPTshuffle support team was amazing with this. They walked us through and took as much time as we needed to understand all the functions and get things right.  This took an enormous amount of pressure off of me, because someone is always available for the one-on-one support with our salespeople and I was freed up to continue building our body of curriculum.  After a short time almost everyone was on board and very happy with the product.  Our sales force really loves the PPTshuffle team because they always get a quick response when questions arise.

Over a year in, how has the feedback on PPTshuffle been?
We did a big follow-up in July as part of our training. Basically the response was “oh my gosh, I love it”- they are thrilled.  You can really see how much our sales force relies on PPTshuffle as a PowerPoint presentation manager – I think the sales force had a newly found appreciation for benefits PPTshuffle and how it’s become part of the way we do things now.

How many users are on PPTshuffle?
RCCL has 146 users and Celebrity Cruise Lines about 70.And Global is starting this year with 30 users and they anticipate that number growing quickly.

In addition to speed and convenience has  PPTshuffle changed the way people build presentations?
Our sales force is very creative so they are always going to put their own flavor and personality into a presentation and we want them to do that.  With PPTshuffle they have a more flexible method for sharing presentations with each other without blowing up each other’s email boxes as they can send links instead of attachments.  I always ask them how they are using it and give them a chance to share what’s working and what’s not. PPTshuffle allows them to collaborate and create; just another great tool in their arsenal.

 What about control over ppt slide library content?
We make sure that everything in the slide library is within brand guidelines and color scheme. – We trust our salespeople to do what they need to do to tweak things a little on their side but we also are able to keep the brand message consistent and recognizable.

I know it’s only been a year but would say that PPTshuffle has caused any ripples outside of just the sales forceand Training Departments?
Yes! –A lot of departments have taken notice. Several other training teams who support our call centers have access to our Presentation Library. They can go and see what we are doing and if they choose, adopt it for their use.   Really though the big benefit that everyone recognizes is allowing our sales-people more time to interface with the agents.  This is the upside to any technology we use – to help us increase the touch-points with real live people and the only way to do that is to create time-saving measures for our team.

I see the tools continuing to improve and evolve but ultimately their purpose is the same:  to allow for our team to spend more time face-to-face with their accounts.  We are always careful to make sure the technology does not get in the way of the personal touch

Thank you for your time today Cindy!
Thank you!  We really value the partnership with PPTshuffle and look forward to the future.

Challenges and how they solve them with technology.  part 2 of 3

 So, what would you say a typical day is like for you at RCCL?

Well, I know it sounds cliché but there really is no typical day here and that’s why I love it. I could be sitting in front of my laptop writing curriculum, creating PowerPoints and loading them into our PPTshuffle slide library, fielding calls from the sales force helping to answer their questions, in strategy meetings in the office or I could be traveling and taking part in our training events. For example this September I was in Alaska for a week to experience our Cruise tour land package and then the next week, I was in Boston for our last “Royal on The Road” tour.  Then a week later, I was off to the Mediterranean for a 7-night sailing out of Rome to conduct a “Seminar at Sea” for about forty agents.  I feel very privileged to work at a job where I have seen so many places and met so many amazing people. Every day is a different experience.

How do you work with the BDMs (salespeople)?

We plan and facilitate events including regional training summits, our annual national sales meeting, internal webinars on new technology or product updates, as well as being on call to answer any individual questions.

Besides PPTshuffle, where else is technology employed and what is the function of technology in helping you to do what you do?

Of course we have a great partnership with you all but we also have an excellent relationship with GoToWebinar and the company that maintains our online learning program “The University of WOW!”  But the main hub for all our training materials is our Intranet site where we post all the resources our sales force needs to be successful: including technology guides, product news, Seminar at Sea resources, game templates/icebreakers, etc.  This is where our sales force accesses the link to our PPTshuffle Presentation Library.

We have a wide variety of information on our Intranet site, including a section on social media guidelines& co-op.  We also have reporting on how many of their agents have completed “University of Wow” (Travel Agent training) …not to mention technical supporting information for software etc. Of course our public site has a lot of great interactive features as well –www.royalcaribbean.com as well as our trade site- www.cruisingpower.com

What sort of challenges do you have in curriculum design for training?

With everyone so spread out the challenge is trying to figure out when we need to do an in-person event or when a webinar would work best.
I think we are very fortunate that our leadership team sees the advantage in both: In-person training, road tours etc. but also virtual training by maintaining our training site, producing webinars and our relationship with PPTshuffle for our Presentation Library.

How do you use your webinars for the Travel Agents?

Currently we do about two national webinars a month for the Travel Agents and make sure that the topics are consistent with what information needs to be out there at that time – product or itinerary updates, technology enhancements, sales techniques – we typically have anywhere from 300-1000 attendees at our webinars.

We utilize the chat box to answer questions during the webinar and to provide links to helpful sites or flyers. It’s also helpful to the BDMs (salespeople) because if we cover a topic that is of interest to a lot of Travel Agents we take some of the burden off of them to train on that topic.

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Cynthia Clapp spoke with us last month about her role at Royal Caribbean International as well as her use of technology and specifically ppt management, their work with PPTshuffle, document management solutions and the role of technology in Travel and Hospitality.

RCCL:  Leaders in training.     Part 1of 3

Thank you for talking with me today Cindy.  Let’s start off by maybe telling me a little bit about what you do for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines?

Sure, and thank you Rob. I’m a Curriculum Designer for the Royal Caribbean Sales Training and Development Team. I design the training materials our sales force utilizes to train Travel Agents as well as the materials used to directly train our sales force (also referred to as BDMs – Business Development Managers). My team also occasionally trains the Travel Agents directly.

Tell me about training the Travel Agents

We do a lot of different programs for the agents;
For example, in 2012 we did an eleven city tour called, “Royal on The Road” throughout North America. We travelled with our executives, subject-matter-experts and our training team to provide a half-day seminar followed by a trade show for about 200 agents at each event.  My team also maintains an online learning program called “The University of WOW!” that educates the trade on our product, destinations, and general sales skills to assist them in building their businesses. We also do a program called “Seminars at Sea” where we offer a discounted rate for Travel Agents to sail with us and take part in on-board training sessions and experience the ship and ports.

Wow! That sounds amazing – what does a travel agent have to do to be a part of a tour?

(laughs) – Yes, it’s really a great program. They (the agents) must be a graduate of our online learning program the “University of Wow” – we also ask our sales force to provide us with names of agents they recommend. In particular, agents that they feel may most benefit from the experience.  We put a lot of thought into who we invite – some have a lot of experience with us while others have never worked with us before. We are the only cruise company that has our sales people call on all Travel Agents regardless of whether or not the agent has booked business with us previously.  We look for every opportunity to develop those relationships even if our product is totally new to the agent.

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Get More Time To Think: 4 Tips

When’s the last time you gave yourself some time for quality, focused, creative thinking? Start here.

Without a doubt, the explosion of the Internet and mobile technology has made business faster, more efficient and less expensive. That’s the good news. The bad news is that all this speed and accessibility creates an awful lot of clutter, mental and otherwise…. read more

No argument from me that web-shared PowerPoints are so much easier, faster and cheaper than passing out copies of something or other in a conference room.  And IM is much better than phone tag.  Plus, I make a living from Presentation Management Solutions and PowerPoint slide libraries, so the status quo is actually in my best interest.

But nothing has more impact than human contact and face-to-face communication.

So, let’s just take a minute to appreciate the power of a well crafted speech, delivered in person where individuals are actually motivated and inspired by the other people in the room.  If Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address today, with Twitter, it  might look like this:

Or in PowerPoint, it might look like this:

Gettysburg Address in PowerPoint

See what I mean.  Never underestimate the power of preparation or proper prose, combined with the impact of the human connection.

1)  Break the presentation up into parts.  Start with a Core which serves as the foundation and mandatory content of the presentation.  The core could be anywhere for 15-30 slides.  Then, provide shorter, optional, modules, 1-10 slides,  that the pharmaceutical speaker can select according to her topic and audience.

2) Use PPTshuffle presentation builder technology that automatically puts the slides in the logical and approved order.  That way, the KOL can focus on mastering her subject matter content and giving an extraordinary presentation – not fumbling around with PowerPoint slides.

3)  A little hand-holding and the human touch is a big help.  When a KOL is having trouble with his PowerPoint deck, and reaches out via phone or email, a familiar person with an immediate response makes all the difference.  A major criteria for the selection of a KOL is her relationships and credibility among their peers in the medical community.  The platform that delivers the content is no different.  The technology is great.  But it ultimately comes down to the relationship.