Productivity Hacks

Quickly & Easily Remove Duplicate Contacts using Scrubly!

Eliminating one more hassle from modern everyday life is Scrubly.com. This innovative online application lets anyone quickly and easily clean up their email address book(s). Use it to get rid of duplicate, junk, and mismatched contacts, plus integrate those containing identical elements.

Scrubly uses cloud computing to accomplish this simple yet so important task, no matter if you use one or all of the following email platforms:

• In MS Outlook you can scrub one or all of your folders, clear out duplicates in all or any PST files, and supports Microsoft Exchange folders (even public contacts). Scrubly is compatible with all Windows Operating Systems from NT through 7. Outlook versions include 2000, 2002 (XP), 2003, 2007 and 2010 (the only non-compatible version is Outlook Express).
• You can easily clean up email contacts in a Mac address book to eliminate formatting mistakes, conflicting data and duplicate contacts. Operating systems supported are both the 10.5 Leopard OSX and newer, and the 10.6 Snow Leopard OSX.
• GMail from google will also tidy up nicely with Scrubly. Fix formatting errors, get rid of any duplicate contacts and straighten out any conflicts. Scrubly works incredibly well to de-clutter the contacts in your Google Apps address book as well.

The secrets to Scrubly’s success are its unique method and powerful algorithm that quickly compare each field of an address book contact. Whether it’s exact duplicates, closely matched contacts, or conflicting data, Scrubly is designed to find and flag the problem contacts for your perusal, prior to deletion.

The “Conflict Resolution Wizard” speeds up the entire process by identifying and eliminating the commonly found error patterns that are the result of syncing various platforms. The Wizard also takes care of mis-matched data across contact fields. Doing this work manually would be a horrible, time-consuming project!

With the above email platforms, Scrubly backs up your contact data before beginning a clean up. This backup is kept on the Scrubly server, so if you need to reload your previous settings it’s easily accomplished; you never lose your information even after a de-cluttering is complete.

In addition to ease of use, a very important consideration is data security, and Scrubly has that well under control. They use a sophisticated combination of complex password requirements, multiple server locations across the country (Seattle, Dallas and DC), server firewalls, and 128-Bit SSL encryption.

Just like the clean up process itself, setting up Scrubly is fast and efficient. The first step is to sign up with a username, your email and a unique password. Next, set up your Scrubly profile by choosing what type(s) of email address book platform you’d like to de-clutter. If you’re a Mac or Outlook user you’ll need to install a small client file. Then you just hit “process” and while you watch, Scrubly resolves conflicts, merges matches and eliminates duplicate contacts. The final step is to “update” and the newly tidied contact list is imported into your email address book(s). It’s that simple!

You should go to http://www.scrubly.com and take this uber-convenient email clean-up tool for a test drive. You won’t have to pay a dime to try it out – Scrubly offers a trial version that will clean up to 250 contacts! Once you’ve tried it – you’ll love it!

As business professionals, Scrubly can be used for your professional contact lists as well! Next we talk about implementing Social Media Policies in the Workplace.

Can social media be beneficial to your business?

A big controversy today exists on the matter of whether or not social media in the workplace is beneficial or a productivity killer. Pros and cons of each side make a consensus difficult to reach. Some firms view the accessing of social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook during work hours as an attack on productivity. Although employees may be blocked from sites on their work computers, any smart phone still offers easy access. Communicating with business contacts and peers is often considered a productive networking tool. So where do businesses draw the line?

How does social media traffic impact business efficiency? How much time are younger generation employees spending on Facebook? It is technologically feasible to block access to a website that is a productivity problem, but is it necessary? One approach is to view social media sites as a communication tool and determine which groups of people in a business need access to it. For those who need unrestricted access to potential clients or are tasked to improve operations, the resources offered through these sites are critical.

One extreme or the other does not seem to be the answer. For employees who are not executing their job and are incapable of limiting their time on social media sites, global blocking is an option to consider versus terminating these people who do not seem to be able to self-police their own impulses. However, global blocking is impractical in that this easy way out does not solve the underlying problem. Lack of trust has a huge impact on employee satisfaction in the workplace as well as recruiting and retention efforts.

Consider these following solutions when social media in the workplace starts to be an issue:

1) Time Restrictions – Restrict the time that these sites can be accessed to a certain window each day. For example, pick a two hour window around the lunch hour. The time restriction shows employees that the activity is not necessarily supported during business hours but the company realizes that employees need access.

2) Group Restrictions – Restrict the groups that are allowed access to these sites. Have different access permissions based on the different roles of the employees in the business. If a group has not been granted access and feels that it is needed, have them submit a proposal outlining the reasons why.

3) Identify Abusers – Have your employees sign a policy that outlines their code of conduct concerning online activities. Then use the proxy servers to isolate the top users of certain sites to see if they are abusing their privileges.

4) Review Websites – Review the different social media sites to determine their intended purpose. Obviously Facebook and LinkedIn are different sites and offer distinct advantages and disadvantages.

5) Clarify Expectations – Spell out what you require from your employees. Let them know your productivity milestones so they are able to reach them. Use policies to explain how certain sites are to be used in the workplace.

There is a huge benefit to using social media sites but it is important that balance is maintained. Employees need to understand the value of personal productivity and develop a strong work ethic. Generally removing temptation or micromanaging behavior does not solve the problems as inherently employees will find another way to goof off or access these sites. In certain cases, the implementation of selective blocking may be necessary but this is where the above solutions come into play, such as time and group restrictions. It is also important to keep in mind that websites constantly evolve based on the needs of the user and the environment of the Internet. A site that may seem unnecessary at the time might offer a new opportunity in the future.

Next in line for Social Media in the Workplace: “Workplace Policies on Social Media”

How the Green Initiative can Help Your Business!

In today’s post-recession economy, it’s important for small businesses to take advantage of every opportunity to embrace innovation. This was a central theme in President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address, in which he discussed how the emerging green economy will provide the path to success for small businesses in the 21st century.

But how can you leverage the green energy economy to help your small businesses? There are several important options to consider.

A good first step for a small business would be to investigate how you can make green improvements to your existing infrastructure. Green energy, including solar, wind, geothermal, is not only safer and cleaner to produce — it’s often cheaper, saving money for businesses as well as consumers. It is a short-term investment that will likely pay for itself in the long run.

To create incentive for small businesses to retrofit their buildings with environmentally friendly doors and windows — or install solar panels for their own independent energy production, for example — the federal government and state governments have provided incentives, usually taking the form of tax credits, to ease the cost of making green updates.

The incentives vary based on the type and extent of green infrastructure improvements made, so check with your local chamber of commerce or other local government organizations to find out more about government benefits. With the passage of Assembly Bill 32 in 2006, California is on the forefront of nurturing a green energy economy. In fact, nearly 500,000 people in the state are already employed in green energy, the state’s fastest-growing economic sector. This is a direct result of its green-friendly public policy advancements.

Secondly, there may be ways for small businesses to strategically position themselves to benefit from the emerging green economy. There are obvious advantages for companies that are in the energy production and management industry. But the benefits often trickle down beyond energy companies to small businesses that offer a supporting green-friendly service.

For example, a human resources company that specializes in training skilled laborers may introduce solar panel installation to their training curriculum, making their personnel more enticing to small businesses and the population at large.

Third, going green may help your small business by fostering good will as a result of your company’s green-friendly practices. Conscientious consumers spend their money (and more of it!) at businesses that not only offer good products and services, but also those that do so in an environmentally respectful way. For companies large enough to benefit from institutional investors and hedge fund contributions, going green will win kudos from stockholders and investors, eager to support businesses that are embracing technology, innovation and social responsibility.

One of such companies is the Virgin Group, based in the UK. Despite the environmental damage caused by their air travel company, they have invested a significant amount of resources on fighting climate change and ensuring that their operations remain “carbon neutral.” Consumer confidence in the company is nearing an all-time high in 2011.

By investing in the transition into the green energy economy, you will help ensure your small business retains its competitive edge and continues to grow for years and decades to come.

For more information, visit these sites:

The business benefits of going green.

Why businesses are going green.

While being green can help your business, Our next article is on whether “Social Media in the Workplace, Beneficial or Productivity Killer?”

Taking control of business taske with MindNode.

If you’re in business development, technology oversight or sales, MindNode (available for iPad and iPhone) is your essential tool for staying organized while attending trade shows or events. A visual mind mapping application, MindNode allows users to create a map of all the companies, people and products on their agenda, then strategize their day and constantly update the app to reflect new objectives as they occur. If you’re new to mind mapping, or you’ve seen other mind mapping apps with complicated user interfaces, have no fear. MindNode’s learning curve takes no time to get over, yet it’s packed with features that increase your productivity like it’s had a bit too much caffeine.

Getting started is as simple as entering objectives you’d like to accomplish as nodes in the application. Under each node, you can add subnodes that list the people or products you need to see to complete that objective. Then just color code the most important nodes to maximize your productivity. As you complete each goal, tap the node to re-color and mark it as completed. If you’ve found something new to add to your map during the day, that’s no problem for MindNode. Simply add nodes for each new product, company or person and the map will fluidly include all the new tasks you’d like to accomplish. You can even drag and drop nodes if associations change or you put something in the wrong place.

As a checklist, MindNode is a dream; but the app offers much more than that. If you need to take notes as you speak with prospects, potential partners or customers, you can easily add that information to their node on the mind map. To avoid speaking to anyone twice (or worse, missing someone), just change the node color of contacts to whom you’ve already spoken. It’s even possible to map these relationships by business or product groupings, meaning you’ll always associate contacts with the right company. Additionally, you can map your business development plans and associate people or products with each stage. The portability (and export ability for PDF and other formats) inherent in MindNode means you’ll always have those plans at hand when you need them. Plus, the no frills interface means you won’t easily be confused or waste time tracking down information on the go.

But, as you’ll see from the list below, those are just a few of MindNode’s offerings.

MindNode Pro

• iPhone, iPad and Mac OS X support
• Features full keyboard support
• Supports improved printing dialog
• Canvas automatically expands
• Allows users to:
• Create multiple new nodes and node wells
• Create multiple mind maps all on one canvas
• Customize node widths
• Export maps to PNG, PDF, HTML, RTF, OPML, and FreeMind formats
• Import FreeMind and OPML files
• Import MindNode (touch) files
• Drag and drop to reconnect nodes
• Image nodes
• Create visual file links
• Create cross connections
• Enable WiFi sharing with MindNode (touch)
• Enter full screen mode
• Fold and unfold nodes
• Embed hyperlinks
• Customize node creation shortcuts
• Customize default node color, stroke, font and more
• Change a node’s title alignment
• Reorganize nodes
• Fill any node
• Copy mind maps to the clipboard as a TIFF or PDF

The simple user interface combined with so many useful features makes MindNode essential in terms of productivity. Plus, the portability means the app is both flexible and practical for attending trade shows and events. So if you’re new to the mind mapping concept, you’ll be an old pro in no time with MindNode. And if you’re an old pro, you just might pick up some new productivity tricks.

Using MindNode for productivity isn’t the only thing that can help your business. The Green Initiative and How it can Help Your Business.