Apple Watch in Action
Posted: August 6, 2015 Filed under: Technology | Tags: Apple Watch Leave a commentA friend who doesn’t own an Apple Watch recently asked me how I was enjoying mine. She was trying to figure out how someone might incorporate yet another option into one’s personal array of devices (hers currently includes an iPhone, Kindle, iPad, Fitbit and MacBook Pro).
A fair point is that sometimes in our eagerness to own the latest gadget, we don’t spend enough time exploring its features and using it to its greatest potential. The conversation led to a challenge for me to record, over the course of one day, how I use my Apple Watch. See my log and summary below. Beyond just owning a new bright shiny object, I have been taking advantage of a number of the features—actually a fairly broad array. There is still potential to do more, especially in the realm of fitness tracking. I’m excited to continue to explore the capabilities of my new “executive jewelry.”
My Comments on Box Blog
Posted: August 4, 2015 Filed under: Technology | Tags: Box.com Leave a comment
Photo by Mark Baker
We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what is possible using cloud technology. It will be very interesting to see how products evolve and how they are adopted by both business and individual users. I have explored many services, and now use Box on a regular basis for business collaboration.
It was a privilege to have Wipfli featured in a Box “Customer Stories” blog post on how businesses can use technology to improve efficiency and service delivery. See Wipfli CIO On the Intersection Between Business and Technology. I welcome your comments.
The Downside of Email
Posted: July 24, 2015 Filed under: Change, Technology | Tags: Amoco, email Leave a commentMy first job was at Amoco almost 30 years ago. Amazingly, I have had access to email since day one of my working career. Amoco was heavily invested in technology and had worked closely with IBM to develop the system. See The Networked Business Place for historical context.
Email as we know it has about three decades of longevity. This is practically a dinosaur in the IT era. And like other dinosaurs that once roamed the earth, many experts feel it is just a matter of time before it becomes extinct. As noted in Is it Time for Email to Go Away?, there are many better ways to manage our tasks, communicate and foster team collaboration.
Email is like junk food: cheap, abundant and familiar. As you work through your inbox and crank out responses to messages and instigate other conversation threads, it can make you feel full and satisfied. That doesn’t mean it is the best choice.
The primary challenge in breaking our steady diet of email is that behavior change requires a group effort that starts at an individual level with each of us. Like with any other diet, we need to sacrifice immediate gratification for a long-term payoff. The new tools hold promise for more efficient and effective communication. The amount of change necessary to reap the full benefits is definitely easier said than done, but will be worth it.
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