He was right, almost 6 months ago to the day I posted Countdown to iPad – Ultimate Sales Kit II (Use Case 25). What a difference a little time makes.

Goals – Knowledge of a project’s overarching goals provides the context for understanding the specific objectives/ tasks of individual team members. All team members should understand and be able to communicate the driving business needs and the project’s expected outcome. Those leading group interaction/ meetings should state the specific goals of the meeting, phone conference or other team communication. It’s everyones’ job to maintain focus on the goals of a particular meeting, thus respecting each others time.

Roles – Every team member needs to understand his/ her individual role and specific responsibilities. Teams are interdependent by design, heavily reliant on each member fulfilling their respective roles. Teams are intentionally comprised of individuals with unique skills, expertise and differing perspectives. As such, it is not possible for every team member to fully understand everyone’s role and responsibilities. However, members should have a basic comprehension of the duties and activities of others, especially where it directly impacts them.

Expectations – Communicating expectations is just as important within a project team as it is with the customer. Every team member not only has the right to know what is expected of them, but the personal obligation to find out. Once an individual learns he or she is assigned to a project, he or she inherits the responsibility of learning what is expected… not waiting to be told.

Accountability – Accountability is the backbone of teamwork and trust. Teams where each member meets his/ her personal project responsibilities enjoy a greater degree of mutual success than those who can’t count on each other to follow through.

Timing – In order to coordinate project activities and ensure milestones are met, team members must be personally committed to the team and deliver on their individual deadlines.

How to leverage the GREAT acronym…
Use the GREAT acronym, during meetings, phone/ video conferences, or other group discussions, to keep the focus on…
G. (Goals) … the goals of the particular discussion as well as the goals of the overall project.
R. (Roles) … the individual roles of team members.
E. (Expectations) … everyone understanding what is expected of them.
A. (Accountability) … what each team member is accountable for, the current status and ongoing progress reporting.
T. (Timing) … task deadlines and the individual commitment to their completion.

As my nose returns to the ‘blog stone’, I will be back to mixing things up a bit. Though I still love the iPad, it is time for me to revert to my eclectic roots. See you soon.

While you drive, your co-pilot is free to check weather, hotels, points of interest, traffic reports, etc. … all en route. And iPad not only lets you make reservations and purchase tickets while speeding along, but even guides you into port using on-board GPS.

iPad - Planning on-the-road and on-the-fly.

iPad, the parallel planning tool... soon to be all the rage.

…don’t need to wait for a conference room with a projector.

…eliminate the last minute rush/waste of printing and copying handouts.

…don’t turn out the lights for presentations, so no one sleeps.

…don’t have to send out for the one report everyone forgot.

The benefits of iPad meetings don’t stop in the room. Those joining by phone get the same handouts and see the same presentations.

iPad – out-of-the-office no longer means out-of-the-loop.

Getting on the same page

Companies like MochaSoft already have VNC technology working successfully on the iPhone and iPad Touch… see Mocha VNC. Just think of what they’ll be able to do with iPad’s additional screen real estate. Soon computer guys and gals everywhere will be walking around with iPads in their hands and smiles on their faces.

What? Windows on an iPad?

iPad - portal to a whole new world of computing

Defender of Innovative Thought

Sleeker than a common e-reader.
More colorful than the gloomy Sony.
Able to speed through content with a single swipe.

Look! Up in the sky!
It’s a Nook. It’s a Kindle. It’s Super-reader!

Yes, it’s Super-reader – strange visitor from Infinite Loop who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal devices. Super-reader – exceeding your ability to understand how it works, sort of magical, and who, disguised as iPad, so simple… so thin… so light… yet so capable… is changing the way we do things everyday, without so much as a pointing device.

Upcoming Episode
• iPad Day One – April 3, 2010

Previous Episodes
• Pilot – Apple iPad Keynote – January 27, 2010
• Wall Street Journal – Barnes & Noble Plans iPad App – March 11, 2010
• Computerworld – Amazon preps Kindle app for iPad – March 22, 2010

iPad - every other reader’s kryptonite

My educated guess is that the uncommon technical approach is both Poingo’s blessing [translation: fun to use] and their curse [translation: expensive to produce]. Perusing their website today yielded more titles, but still a small selection given how long the product has been on market.

iPad - taking learning to a new level

iPad heralds a new day in interactive technology. No special pen needed, just a touch of a child’s finger brings the magic to life. iPad will give my daughter and I both many an OOH-n-AAH! day. However, unlike the Poingo, I expect the river of content to flow and flow.

iPad - a heathy dose of OOH-n-AAH! covered in a layer of Yippee!

Where I have long felt the company deficient, was in the tech/software arena. While FC has certainly tried to make the jump to digital planning and life management, their success has been lackluster when compared to past accomplishments. It is time for Franklin’s planning/GTD (Getting Things Done) know-how, Covey’s understanding of life/business governing principles and Apple’s legendary ease-of-use penchant to come together. It is time for my dream planner, FranklinCovey on iPad.

So what do you say, FranklinCovey? Are you ready to combine my aging favorite planner, my mentor of life principles (he just doesn’t know it) and the latest rule-breaker from Apple? This inquiring mind would like to know.

3 great works - that work great together

iPad - I love it when a planner comes together

iPad – Copyright © 2010 Apple Inc. (www.apple.com)