Where Does it Hurt? A Closer Look at Pain Points

The more I talk to customers, the more it amazes me how much similarity there is in the core problems businesses are trying to solve. Whether it is an IT manager or an accountant, the common denominator is that they spend the majority of their time trying to figure out how to get things done. In my world, this tends to mean moving from paper-based processes or figuring out the right way to get things done with digital information.  Which tools, what processes and how to teach everyone the “right” way to do things is a constant problem.

Companies are trying to figure this out, while at the same time, they tell their IT organizations to lower costs, streamline their processes and to protect their business interest.  No easy task – and how does an IT organization do this while also empowering their end users with best practices?

IT organizations need to think beyond just offering tools and leverage best in class practices for their organizations.  Often, this can put IT in a bind. How to lower costs and also get the best tools into their users hands?  I have found that the best organizations do this by first focusing on prioritizing the pain points of their end users. This is where the end user needs to speak up. What costs the most time, effort and pain to you in your daily work? In my previous post, I spoke to an example of a company that completely revamped its UI based on user feedback, which led to impressive results. Some examples we hear from end users are:

Gathering feedback and approvals takes foreverUsing forms to collect information is too difficultSending multiple attachments causes confusionEditing PDF documents is a hassleProperly protecting electronic documents is too time consumingIt’s hard to ensure that published documents are readable in a multi-screen worldIt’s hard to send large files with email and IT restrictionsIt takes too long and is too complicated to get documents signed electronically

Sound familiar? These are very common themes, especially as we move into a new business climate where we are not just trying to be productive on our PC’s, but also on our phones and tablets. It’s time to take a look at what NEW best in breed companies are doing.

What are your pain points? How do you handle them with the current technologies you use?

(Photo credit: Thumb Being Pressed on Thumb Tack via Shutterstock)

Mark Grilli is senior director of Acrobat Solutions product marketing at Adobe Systems Incorporated. He is responsible for worldwide marketing strategy and implementation of the company’s Acrobat, EchoSign, and document products and services. Prior to joining Adobe, Grilli held marketing and client services positions at WebEx (now a Cisco Company) and was co-founder in a eLearning start up. Grilli blogs often on the official Adobe Acrobat blog. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCSB and a MBA from Pepperdine University.

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A Closer Look at How Credit Card Debt Consolidation Works

In recent times many individuals, especially US citizens, are knee-deep in credit card debt. People can incur credit card debt due to many reasons, like medical expenses, extravagant vacations, renovating houses and paying bills due to low income. No matter how you get into debt, you must try to come out of it as soon as possible. You may pursue either credit card debt consolidation, debt settlement, debt management, or even file bankruptcy to wipe off the credit card debt. But remember, debt consolidation has certain advantages over other methods of debt elimination. Before you proceed with the process of credit card debt consolidation, you must know how it works.

Credit card debt consolidation is a program that allows you to consolidate all your multiple debts into one monthly payment. With debt consolidation, you can lower the interest rate and therefore reduce monthly payments. Thus, credit card debt consolidation helps you pay off your debt as soon as possible. This is the best way to wipeout debt without injuring your credit.

A primary way of consolidating credit card debt is to take out a loan at lower interest rate and merge all the debts into the loan. If you own a home, you may put it up as collateral in order to get a lower interest rate loan. This loan is also known as a home equity loan.Another way of consolidating credit card debt is a balance transfer. Transfer the balance on your credit card to a new form of credit that offers zero or low-interest rate.You may also apply for a personal loan or unsecured line of credit to consolidate and pay off the credit card debt.Amend the inflow of cash. Try to reduce the size of your monthly payments over time so that the amount lowers gradually and eventually increases the inflow of your cash.Rid your debt sooner. Try to erase your debts as fast as possible. This will enable you to save some money and prevent your credit report from getting damaged.Do not miss payments. Never miss monthly payments and bills. That would certainly add up to the total debt amount — and create stress as well.Before you choose the method of consolidating your credit card debt, you must contact creditors in order to find out the outstanding balance on each of your accounts. Then, obtain a personal loan or unsecured loan to pay each creditor in full.If you are planning to transfer your balance you will have to provide your creditor with billing information, an account number and the balance on the account you are transferring. After you have paid off each account in full, you then have to decide whether you want to close the accounts or want to leave them open.

There are many people who think that debt consolidation is the same as debt management and credit counseling. The fact is debt management and credit counseling involves debt consolidation through a company. When you hire the services of a credit counselor or a debt management company, they negotiate with creditors and reduce the interest rate on each account. Then they collect a fixed monthly payment from you and disburse it to creditors in order to pay off your existing credit card debt.

Debt consolidation is the most viable method to pay off the credit card debt. But before going for this option, you must consider some factors associated with it. If you take out a consolidation loan while putting up collateral, you must remember that you cannot afford to miss a monthly payment. If you default on loan repayment, you may lose your asset. So make sure to choose the debt consolidation option through giving it careful thought and analyzing your fiscal situation.

(Photo credit: Colorful stack of credit cards via Shutterstock)

The article is courtesy of Anya Bennett of Oak View Law Group. People willing to look at credit card debt consolidation can get profound advice on all debt relief measures from her.

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Why Failure Can Take You One Step Closer to Success

The Failure/Success Crossroads

Are you one of those people who has never failed? I hope not, because failing in my opinion is a stepping stone on the road to success.

In my world of work I am seen as a “productivity expert”. I use GTD, I try and test productivity apps and I teach people how to organize both their physical and electronic world. But I’m going to let you into a little secret:

I’m not naturally inclined that way.

I am chaos — or maybe I’ll qualify that — I was chaos.

My life was disorder, disorganization, stress, frustration and many more negative things. When I was young my father used to offer me a shovel on my way to bed. The joke was that I would need a shovel in order to clear a path to my bed. Yes I was that bad.

The fairytale goes like this; I was chaos, I found the world of productivity and now my life is order, control and success.

I don’t think so.

There have been many bumps on the road and I still battle at times to keep my physical and mental world in check. I didn’t like the rigidity of systems, the discipline of routines. It wasn’t going to work for me. I got started and I failed.

What is failure? A student once asked me:

“Is failure a necessary component in success?”

We debated the subject in class and came to the conclusion that failure doesn’t have to failure 100% of the time in order for someone to be successful but more often than not it will be a component. Especially when the success comes from hard work and personal achievement, as opposed to getting lucky or having a successful family.

Most business people fail the first time they start a business. In fact, statistics say that on average most people finally succeed at their third business.

(Corollary: Don’t panic if you are starting your first business; some of these succeed too.)

What entrepreneurs will tell you is that the important thing is to learn from failures, understand what happened, pick yourself up and start again.

So if failure is a stepping stone to success then why does this word have such a negative connotation? I think we need to change the way we think and speak about failure. The following words I heard at a weight watchers meeting and I think these words can become a philosophy for life

“You are going to fall, but that doesn’t matter, what matters is how long you stay lying down.”

So, that’s it.  We all fail. We all fall down. It’s how quickly you pick yourself and dust yourself off that is a strong determinant of success.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not naturally an organized person (to put it mildly). I also said that I did fail, but I picked myself up, I persisted and today I can now honestly call myself organized and productive. Sure, I’m not productive 100% of the time — Twitter and Facebook have a lot to answer for — but my stats are getting better. Through persistence and determination, I’ve learned all the tricks of the trade. I’ve tweaked them and now I have a lifestyle that works for me.

I have failed many times on my journey and at times I have been demotivated and disorganized, but because I know the beauty of productivity, the benefits and the possibilities, I know it’s worth that little extra effort to stay organized.

If you are just thinking about becoming more productive, or if you have tried and failed, here are my top tips to help you get going — or get back on board.

Have clear goals. This helps with motivation and purpose.Get a system. You need a way to organize and process your work, it also helps when you go off track by giving you a road-map to get back on track.Get up early. You can achieve so much more in the early hours when no one is awake. (This may not work for night owls. Instead, they need to get a head start on the early risers the night before.)Exercise. It reduces stress and creates energy to up your game.Meditate. This also helps with stress relief, focus and concentration.

And remember: If or when you do fail in life, it’s not an occasion to cry, it’s an opportunity to learn, grow and improve. A time get excited about the possibilities of what comes next and stand up to the challenge.

(Photo credit: Failure or Success Road Sign via Shutterstock)

Ciara Conlon is a Personal Productivity Coach and author. Her mission is to help people achieve their best through working efficiently and being positive and present. “Through Productivity and Positivity I believe there is little we can’t achieve” go to Productivity & Positivity and get Free eBook called Clear the Clutter; Find Your Life

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