Featured Stories

Trying times

The Admin

Scheduling meetings takes a big part of my day. I spend hours to arrange a simple conference call, with email, voicemail, callbacks, confirmations, and making sure everyone has the latest agenda and materials. A big executive presentation or customer-site visit can take weeks to schedule, and business stays "on hold" until it happens. After all that, sometimes the meeting just falls apart, and rescheduling is a whole new nightmare.

I could do a lot more for this company if I could bring people together faster. My Outlook calendar helps, but not everybody keeps theirs up to date, and it doesn't work for all the meetings I schedule outside the company. Read More...

Making the most of time

The Sales Manager

When I'm in a city, I want to see as many customers as I can, especially if I'm bringing along a product specialist or top executive. But after the juggling act to make and change appointments, my schedule looks like Swiss cheese. I end up meeting just four customers instead of ten, and waste downtime sitting in Starbucks, with my Executive Vice-President. It's embarrassing.

I'm paid to sell, but some days I do nothing but set up, move and confirm appointments. And as much as I hate to bother customers, I have to check back with them to avoid double-booking and no-shows. Read More...

No time to find time

The Consultant

All my new business comes from my network, it's my lifeline. But I lose my grip on it every time I get a big assignment. I try to stay in touch by email, phone and IM, but it's hard to get together in person with contacts, even for coffee. Sure, I'm busy, and so are they, but it's not like we work all the time. We just can't sync up fast enough to use the time we have.

To stay productive, I need to network during assignments, not just between them. Technology helps, but it doesn't close the loop. Phone, email and IM are great, but they don't connect with my calendar. I don't have an assistant, and I can't spend a lot of time record-keeping. I'm getting my work done, but my networking and business development are starting to suffer. Read More...