Eric Mack On-Line

One step closer. Digital torture. Take II

Eric Mack — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:14:00 -0700

FedEx delivered the new iPad today; however, it's still in the shrink wrap. I've promised myself that I would get my eProductivity inboxes processed before I played with the new tablet. (Which is why I'm blogging, right?)

The last time I was in this situation was almost 7 years ago when I was getting ready to unbox my first tablet pc. I eventually did the unboxing the next day and recorded a podcast. We had a lot of fun with that, back when Tablet PCs were 7 pounds and would run for 3 hours (maybe) on a charge.

Now, in the "Post PC era" as Apple calls it, a tablet is light and thin and dare I say "simply amaaaazing". Anyway, time to tidy up here and get ready for the unboxing with a friend who also purchased a new iPad. My focus with the iPad will be on integration with Lotus Notes and other productivity apps as tools for GTD and high performance knowledge work. I look forward to this next adventure.
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GTD Meetup at The Master’s College

Eric Mack — Tue, 6 Mar 2012 13:38:14 -0700

This morning I was invited to be a guest speaker at a GTD meetup at The Master's College in Santa Clarita. A group of professionals have been studying David Allen's book, Getting Things Done - The Art of Stress Free Productivity, for the past year and asked if I would be willing to host a GTD Q&A session.

I shared a 5-minute overview of the GTD methodology then took questions.There were a lot of excellent questionsabout managing lists, what tools to use, and how to work across disparate systems.

The new Legacy Center is an impressive meeting venue. While I teach two classes on campus, I've not spent much time in there. What a beautiful facility; it's hard not to feel scholarly in there.

I consider it a privilege to share what I have learned with a fine group of people dedicated to developing the next generation of students. I wish I had been taught the skills of high performance knowledge work when I was a young student. I'm delighted to help those who are investing in the lives of the next generation and I look forward to the next opportunity to do so.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

How to build a KM strategy, in less than 50 words

Eric Mack — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:13:44 -0400

Nick Milton does a great job answering this question:

How to build a KM strategy, in less than 50 words
Decide what knowledge is vital for the organization (A)
Find out who needs that knowledge (B)
Find out where that knowledge is now (and if it doesn’t exist, where it will come from) (C)
Work out how to get A to B from C
� Routinely
� Systematically
� Effectively
� Efficiently

As one commenter mentioned, it's important, when determining the knowledge vital to the organization, that consideration be given to where the organization wants to be.

Source: Nick Milton
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Thinking about becoming a programmer?

Eric Mack — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:20:00 -0400

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Take the 14 day GTD Challenge and Get More Done

Eric Mack — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:20:00 -0700

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

What would you do if it was the last hour of your life?

Eric Mack — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:42:12 -0700

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

What can we learn from the ’Open Letter’ to RIM?

Eric Mack — Fri, 1 Jul 2011 00:46:41 -0700

According to Engadget, RIM received an 'open letter' from an disgruntled employee. I won't speculate on whether the letter really was from a disgruntled employee or whether it was appropriate to post if it was - there's plenty of speculation in the comments. What interests me are the talking points from the letter and what takeaways might be applied to any company, mine or yours, large or small.

Let's take a look:

Focus on the End User experience

Apple raised the bar here and they raised it high. End users want to feel good about the tools they use. And so they should, it makes for happier more productive users. End users don't care about technology platforms - they care about how a product makes them feel about themselves, the benefit they get from the product, and yes - whether it's shiny or not.

Recruit Senior Software Leaders and enable decision-making

While this advice is important to organizations of any size, it's critical for large organizations to have teams that work well together with clear leadership. This leadership needs to extend to customer communication as well. Decision-making needs to be placed with the people that can have the greatest impact or at least consider these people in the process. New styles of management, including one I recently learned about: Holacracy appear to be an interesting way to help enable better decision-making across the organization.

Cut projects to the bone

To me this means, "choose your battles carefully". It's hard to fight on many fronts and do it well. Don't try to be all things to all people. Find a core competency and do it really well.

Developers, not Carriers, can now make or break us

Lots of ways to read into this, but I'm not going to draw conclusions about any companies I know. Let's simply say that the app store model has a place in many product strategies. Users and developers want to be involved, they want to contribute, they want to share what they have done and they want to profit by it. Give them a venue to do that and a community can thrive. Lock them down and they will find another way (or another product). I think back to the days of VisiCalc, SuperCalc, Lotus-123, and Excel. These products thrived because they met a need and anyone with a small degree of effort could create a solution with it and share it with others. We would not have seen this level of innovation if these tools had been locked down, read only. Can you think of other platforms/environments where this holds true?

Need for serious marketing punch to create end user desire

It's one thing to have (or think you have) a great product. It's another thing to get that message out there coherently and consistently. As a small business manager, I cringe as I write this because I can think of so many things we can and should do better. The fact of the matter is a solid "demand generation" strategy is an important part of any business plan. Marketing focuses on what the company wants to tell its customers so they will want their product or service. The company is in the center. Demand generation looks places the customer in the center of the picture and figures out what drives the customer, how they feel, how they want to feel, and how they find ways to feel even better. By acknowledging the emotional side of the buying process it's possible to create a rational approach to promoting the product - one that end users will want to be a part of. Marketing is essential. Marketing that connects with people is effective.

No accountability - Canadians are too nice

Responsibility without authority is futile. Responsibility without accountability is unpredictable. (There's also some truth in the second part of this point. I have many Canadian friends and they are too nice people.)

Don't snap at the press, now is the time for humility with a dash of paranoia

OK, I'll start. There were two reasons I decided to blog about this. First, it hits home with several of the developer and business partner ecosystems I'm currently a part of. (I'm not naming names because I want to focus on the lessons to be learned. It's easy to throw stones at glass houses.) More important to me, I see places in my own organization where we can benefit from consideration of these points.

Democratise. Engage and interact with your employees -- please!

I know from my own experience that this is challenging enough to do in a small organization. It's measurably harder in a large one or a distributed one or a multinational one. Employees are like customers. They choose where they work. They want to feel good about the work that they do and they want to believe in the company and its leadership.

How will RIM respond?
I don't know what lessons will be learned or the impact this letter will have on RIMs leadership. The PR folks have already responded with a PR response. I'm not sure they could say much more publicly.

More important, how will YOU and I respond?
That's the real purpose of this blog post. I do hope that anyone that chooses to take the time to reflect on these points gets value from them and can apply them to their own work. I can already see opportunities for improvment.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

The business of death - lessons learned

Eric Mack — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 13:58:51 -0700

John David Head shares some valuable lessons learned from the recent passing of his father. Key points include:

Paperwork is either your saving grace or your worse nightmare.
Salespeople at cemeteries are the new low of low
Emotional Attachment to things can make you do silly things
Documents, Lists, and Storage
Remember that even with death, your life must go on

To John's point #2, I am reminded of the time my brother an law and I accompanied my wife and her mother to help them select a casket for Kathy's father. I gritted my teeth through most of the sales pitch and attempted upsells (e.g. extra padding in the pillow, the kind of satin lining in the casket, or the type of plating on the fittings) but when the salesman got to the part about the 25 year warranty on the hardware I became (quietly) livid. It was all I could do not to burst out and ask why not a lifetime warranty? - it would have been just as valuable.

Apart from honoring your loved ones and letting them know they are loved - it's key to be prepared and ask the tough questions up front so you won't be alone making difficult decisions later. I think John provides a good starting point. From a spiritual perspective, there are other important questions to ask, sooner than later. The answers to these can provide great assurance and comfort during such times.

I appreciate John's willingness to share his experience. You can read his blog post here.
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Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Go Home and Love your Wife! (No excuses)

Eric Mack — Wed, 8 Jun 2011 16:47:13 -0700

Dr. Voddie Baucham discussing the Importance of Marriage...
Eric Mack's personal blog

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

A lot on on my plate lately; less time to be social

Eric Mack — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:16:28 -0700

I've been socially disconnected since returning from Lotusphere. This is mostly due to big changes on the business and personal fronts. For starters, on the business side, we launched a new product, a new business model, and a new web site to tie it all together. If you have ever done anything like this you know how time consuming any of these can be, not to mention all three concurrently. I'm fortunate to work with an awesome team and Ryan Heathers, my director of consumer sales and marketing did an amazing job coordinating all aspects of this project.

Things are busy at the Mack's, too. A move, a wife recovering from surgery, homeschool for the kids, two daughters getting ready for college, and Amy's world debut of her first orchestral score on Saturday. Her score will be performed by the GBC Praise Symphony Orchestra this weekend along with the West Coast Premier of Dan Goeller's presentation of The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. I'm excited about all of these.

If you are in Santa Clarita on Saturday and want to attend the concert, let me know. If you use Lotus Notes and want to learn about eProductivity and the new free Essentials version, please check out the new site. If you want to tweet about either, I'd appreciate that, too.

Anyway, there's an update. I do plan to get back to the social side of things soon.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Love is...

Eric Mack — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:52:20 -0700

Opening up the refrigerator to find a plate of freshly iced cookies from my daughter.

Thanks Kelly, you made daddy's day.

Love, Dad.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Why I Love My 3D Printer

Eric Mack — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:05:18 -0700

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Phantom of the Floppera

Eric Mack — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:13:02 -0700

It's been a long time since I have used my soldering iron to build circuits but I found this inspiring, technically and musically. This guy built a MIDI controller that drives teh stepper motors in 4 flopy disc drives to make music. Be sure to watch to the 2:30 mark for a special surprise.

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Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Ethics are the foundation of effective Knowledge Management

Eric Mack — Wed, 9 Feb 2011 14:55:14 -0700

I recently had an interesting discussion on the topic of ethics in business and how they apply to Knowledge Management. My view is that ethics are the foundation of effective knowledge management.

Here's how I currently define the argument for Ethics in KM

Knowledge Management is about sharing of knowledge, information, and experiences - an exchange of information and ideas . (We often call this learning.)
This exchange cannot occur without effective communication.
For communication to be truly effective, transparency must exist. Transparent communication is built on trust
Any unethical behavior undermines trust which ultimately impairs communication which leads to the loss of sharing and the loss (or distortion) of information and knowledge .

The bottom line is that ethics is important to KM because of trust.
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Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Please help: LS11 Photos wanted: INV208 V=KMT: The Formula for Creating Value with Lotus Software

Eric Mack — Mon, 7 Feb 2011 13:17:18 -0700

Due to the stage lighting, I was unable to see much of the audience from the main stage where I was presenting, but I know that many people were taking photos during the presentation.

I'm hoping that some of you who took photos of my presentation would be willing to share these with me.

Did you attend Lotusphere 2011 in Orlando last week? Did you happen to attend my session: INV208 V=KMT: The Formula for Creating Value with Lotus Software? If so, I'd like to hear from you.

Please comment. Thanks.

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

User Satisfaction with Lotus Notes Mail & Tasks

Eric Mack — Sat, 8 Jan 2011 13:24:42 -0700

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

2011: Ringing in the New Year

Eric Mack — Sat, 1 Jan 2011 23:00:00 -0700

A quiet day of reflection at my desk today...

2010 was a whirlwind of a year, with many challenges, opportunities, and blessings. If you received our 2010 Christmas letter, then you have a glimpse at what our year was like.

Looking back at 2010

A great kick-off at Lotusphere; IBM even spotlighted our product in the technical keynote! (Thanks, Ed Brill)
A new product launch and continued business development; looking forward to closing some larger deals in 2011
Thankful for our consulting clients and eProductivity customers around the world. I enjoy reading the emails and letters of thanks we get. Neat to know our product is changing people's lives at work and at home.
For my blog readers, thank you for sharing and for your emails and tweets of encouragement.
Many opportunities for music for the girls, including the a handbell festival, multiple bell choirs, vocal ensembles, choirs, and orchestra. All of this was rounded off by a week of performances at The Master's College "Come Christmas Sing" events followed by a weekend of Candlelight Christmas concerts at Church and topped off by a Hallelujah Chorus sing at the mall. (It was billed as a "Flash Mob" but when thousands showed up to participate it lost its "flash" status. It was just a mob. It was still a lot of fun.
I was able to attend two knowledge management conferences and speak at one. Exciting things happening there as I test and refine some of my materials and concepts for a future book.
I taught my best class ever (Technology for business decision-making) at The Master's College. I really enjoy serving in this capacity. It's a great college with a great mission.
I did not have much time to pursue hobbies this year, but I made progress moving some of these forward to do in 2011
I am in awe of the many ways that the Lord provided for our needs this year, many times even before we knew we had a need. I am thankful for the many friends and family who helped and encouraged us in 2010.
A great year of home schooling our four girls. I so enjoy seeing my children learning and growing. I also like flirting with their teacher (don't worry, my wife doesn't mind). ;-)
After 10 years of study, Amy & Wendy each earned an Awana Citation Award. I'm very proud of them.
Emily & Kelly were baptized this year; I enjoy seeing my children delight in the Lord. Kathy and I are praying for their friends and future spouses.
Amy & Wendy turned 18 this year. I'm very proud of them and thankful for the godly women they've become.
I still can't watch Steve Martin in Father of the Bride with out getting angry (or at least frustrated). Not sure that will ever change.
My love for my wife continues to grow as we celebrate our 50th anniversary for the 21st year. So cool to be married to my best friend.
I realize how blessed I am to have a loving wife and children, great team mentors and advisors, and the most talented bunch of people to serve with at work, and an encouraging group of friends and family.

Looking forward to 2011

One of my many goals this year is to become more active on my blog and social networks. I value the learning I get from these activities and I will plan to spend more time here. Thanks to everyone that takes the time to engage.
Amy & Wendy are wrapping up their senior year of high school and are looking forward to college. I'm still getting used to the idea. A big shift from our one room school house where we've learned and laughed together for the past 18 years.
Looking forward to big enterprise sales in 2011 as more business recover from the financial downturn of the past few years.
I have a few new projects and products I hope to make progress on in the productivity/personal knowledge management space.
I'm thinking about joining either our church orchestra or choir this year. (I'm not sure the orchestra will want a Tenor Kazoo so it will probably be choir.)
I am still working my way through Janet Goldstein's Publishing Reset program for writers (Thanks, Jason for the tip!). I look forward to putting what I'm learning into practice and sharing with others through this blog.
I look forward to dating my wife and daughters more this year. They are each special to me and I am blessed to be surrounded by five lovely ladies.
I'm going to try to make 2011 a year of simplicity. I've shut down all but one server at home and I'm even simplifying the tech and apps I use at my desk. Of course, to achieve the level of simplicity I desire, I will probably have to venture into new levels of technological complexity to accomplish it. Go figure.
On the spiritual side, I'm excited to try a new approach to reading through the scriptures; I'll be using Prof Horner's Bible Reading System, a schedule of 10 parallel reading themes that promises a new perspective of God's Word. I have a new ESV translation of the Bible, a gift from Pastor Sumrall when I spoke in Manilla.
Finally, I'm looking forward to seeing how the Lord will work in my life and those of my family. Last year, we saw so many things (and those were just the ones we took the time to enumerate).
Finally, This year, I hope to be more quiet and observant as I seek to honor the Lord and serve him.

It's time to do a yearly review; clean up the old and organize myself for action 2011. Tomorrow, I will begin to reorganize my office, computer, and files for the new year.

I'm looking forward to getting started!

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Kiwi Children Tell the Christmas Story

Eric Mack — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:12:02 -0700

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

Jesus and Santa

Eric Mack — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:27:09 -0700

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online

A Digital Christmas Story

Eric Mack — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:11:06 -0700

Originally posted on Eric Mack Online