Change Management Software - Drag and Drop Workflow Editor

Hello!  We at SLAM Energy Software wanted to share a few more new features that are in version 6.5 of our Change Management Software. Among the many new features in the system is a complete redesign of our Workflow Builder.  Custom workflows can easily be built using simple drag and drop; but, it doesn’t stop there.  Powerful options let you preselect approval methods, select default assignees at a certain stage.

The Workflow Builder has been completely redesigned to be extremely easy to use; but, very powerful in creating different workflow settings and flows.  First off - easy to use.  To create any basic workflow all you really need to do is drag and drop.

And the final result is a clean, easy to follow workflow diagram that gives your team a clear roadmap of any change issue.  Check out the quick video clip below.

Improve Your Change Management Strategy

Came across a great article entitled "Four Ways to Improve Your Change Management Strategy" on techtarget. Useful article calling for automating change management where it can be automated.  SES's Change Management Software lets you automate approvals and notifications to keep those regular/repeatable changes moving.  Check out our features page at http://www.slam-energy-software.com/change-management-software/features-new/ to see more.

Four ways to improve your change management strategy - TotalCIO

Daily Quote from Bruce Lee

If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done.

Bruce Lee

How to Manage Time With 10 Tips That Work

Chances are good that, at some time in your life, you've taken a time management class, read about it in books, and tried to use an electronic or paper-based day planner to organize, prioritize and schedule your day. "Why, with this knowledge and these gadgets," you may ask, "do I still feel like I can't get everything done I need to?"

The answer is simple. Everything you ever learned about managing time is a complete waste of time because it doesn't work.

Before you can even begin to manage time, you must learn what time is. A dictionary defines time as "the point or period at which things occur." Put simply, time is when stuff happens.

There are two types of time: clock time and real time. In clock time, there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. All time passes equally. When someone turns 50, they are exactly 50 years old, no more or no less.

In real time, all time is relative. Time flies or drags depending on what you're doing. Two hours at the department of motor vehicles can feel like 12 years. And yet our 12-year-old children seem to have grown up in only two hours.

Which time describes the world in which you really live, real time or clock time?

The reason time management gadgets and systems don't work is that these systems are designed to manage clock time. Clock time is irrelevant. You don't live in or even have access to clock time. You live in real time, a world in which all time flies when you are having fun or drags when you are doing your taxes.

The good news is that real time is mental. It exists between your ears. You create it. Anything you create, you can manage. It's time to remove any self-sabotage or self-limitation you have around "not having enough time," or today not being "the right time" to start a business or manage your current business properly.

There are only three ways to spend time: thoughts, conversations and actions. Regardless of the type of business you own, your work will be composed of those three items.

As an entrepreneur, you may be frequently interrupted or pulled in different directions. While you cannot eliminate interruptions, you do get a say on how much time you will spend on them and how much time you will spend on the thoughts, conversations and actions that will lead you to success. 

Practice the following techniques to become the master of your own time:

1. Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are going. You'll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.
2. Any activity or conversation that's important to your success should have a time assigned to it. To-do lists get longer and longer to the point where they're unworkable. Appointment books work. Schedule appointments with yourself and create time blocks for high-priority thoughts, conversations, and actions. Schedule when they will begin and end. Have the discipline to keep these appointments.
3. Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the thoughts, activities and conversations that produce most of your results.
4. Schedule time for interruptions. Plan time to be pulled away from what you're doing. Take, for instance, the concept of having "office hours." Isn't "office hours" another way of saying "planned interruptions?"
5. Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don't start your day until you complete your time plan. The most important time of your day is the time you schedule to schedule time.
6. Take five minutes before every call and task to decide what result you want to attain. This will help you know what success looks like before you start. And it will also slow time down. Take five minutes after each call and activity to determine whether your desired result was achieved. If not, what was missing? How do you put what's missing in your next call or activity?
7. Put up a "Do not disturb" sign when you absolutely have to get work done.
8. Practice not answering the phone just because it's ringing and e-mails just because they show up. Disconnect instant messaging. Don't instantly give people your attention unless it's absolutely crucial in your business to offer an immediate human response. Instead, schedule a time to answer email and return phone calls.
9. Block out other distractions like Facebook and other forms of social media unless you use these tools to generate business.
10. Remember that it's impossible to get everything done. Also remember that odds are good that 20 percent of your thoughts, conversations and activities produce 80 percent of your results.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219553

Daily Quote from Albert Einstein

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Albert Einstein

The One Mistake That's Killing Your Business

In business school we’re shown case studies about Apple, Starbucks, and those other big guys – but the idea that their marketing methods are "best" is the biggest lie in business.

Just because it works for them doesn’t mean it will work for the rest of us who work at small or medium sized businesses.

What you should be learning in business school is that you should not be focused on brand marketing like Apple or Starbucks – but rather on direct marketing.

Every dollar you spend on marketing should be tracked and expected to produce a return. Billboards and Super Bowl commercials only work for the 1%.

So if you’re serious about upping your marketing game, you need to refocus on learning what the best direct marketers do to build successful businesses. And one of the best resources on this subject is Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. 

1. Always Include An Offer

As Peter Drucker said, “The purpose of marketing is to create a customer.” If you don’t include an offer, you’re creating more awareness instead of more customers – a poor result when you have dollars on the line. Make the call to action clear and direct.

2. Give A Reason To Respond Right Now

With everything going on in our busy lives, we’re either going to take advantage of an offer now – or not at all. Put a time limit. Make it a limited quantity offer. Put a sense of urgency. Grab the attention of the people who see your ads and give them a reason to act right now.

Related: 3 Career Mistakes You Can't Afford To Make (LinkedIn)

3. Give Clear Instructions

Don’t assume people will know what to do when they see your marketing material. Tell them exactly what step you want them to take next. You’ll be amazed how this skyrockets your conversions.

4. Focus on Tracking, Measurement, and Accountability

If you’re not testing and tweaking your marketing continuously, you are guaranteed it won’t be as effective as it could be. And the only way to test is to track and measure everything. In fact, if it can’t be tracked and measured – don’t do it.

5. Only Do No-Cost Brand Building

There’s nothing wrong with brand building. It’s only wrong when you pay for it. Jack Trout (author of Positioning) said it best when he said that unless you have a billion dollars, don’t start a brand building campaign. Instead, focus on direct marketing. Enjoy any brand building you get as a bonus of your marketing – not as the goal.

6. Always Follow-Up

Dan Kennedy once asked a room of business owners which battery company ran ads with the bunny that kept “going and going”. Half the room thought it was Duracell. So if Energizer spent billions of dollars on advertising and still couldn’t get people to remember their brand – do you really think just one ad or marketing effort is enough to sway people to your cause? You need to follow up – follow up with your prospects, follow up with your customers.

7. Make It Look Like Mail-Order Advertising

Most people think mail-order advertising is ineffective. But the truth is, it works big time. The point is that mail-order advertisements are some of the most tested marketing pieces that exist. So study them. Use them as role models for all your campaigns.

8. Strengthen Your Copy

Most marketing we see in the digital age is made of nice pictures and cute catch phrases – seems that the people behind those ads forgot that those things don’t make people buy. And remember our goal: to make people buy your product. So focus on writing in a way that sells – focus on strong copy. (I highly recommend the book How To Write An Advertisement as a great guide for that).

9. Focus On Results. Period.

It doesn’t matter what image or copy you like, or which ad you think you should use. As a marketer, you need to listen and act only on results.

10. Put Your Business On A Strict Direct Marketing Diet

Next time your local newspaper calls about putting your logo on the fourth page – say “no” – unless you’re ready to use the above 9 points in there as well. Forget about awareness marketing and go on the diet of business champions: direct marketing.

What Did You Think?

How many of those rules did you “get”? Which one was spot on? Which ones did you already know? And more interestingly—which do you disagree with?

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237901

Daily Quote from John F. Kennedy

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

John F. Kennedy