PST Newsletter

How long has he used ManagePro? –
Years, dating back to the mid-90s when Avantos held the product.

What are the software programs you use the most? –
I have three up on my desktop everyday; ManagePro, Outlook and Mindjet Mind Manager, in that order.

What are the biggest payoffs you get from using ManagePro? -
1.  I believe the person with the greatest flexibility controls the system.   What Mpro gives me is a term I call “requisite variety”.  I get a flexible overview of everything I’m doing, the people I need to contact, follow-ups, history of conversations and comments all stored in my progress updates.  I use the information in all sorts of ways to help me get a handle on and creatively address the present and clarify the future .   And, it gets better, ManagePro isn’t static –neither is life,  I have the flexibility to drag and drop, demote and promote and reconfigure outlines that illustrate business activities, processes and relationships at will.  I’m rarely, if ever, stuck.

2.  I am consistently on top of the calls and overall  intentions throughout the day and with just a bit of  discipline to document conversations and put in reminders for follow-up, I’m always more prepared than most people no matter what shows up during my day.

3.  The fact that I don’t have to look for  files any longer, or rely on an admin person to remind me of appointments I’m quicker off the mark and up and running for any and every appointment or challenge that comes my way.   ManagePro not only captures relationships and who’s doing what, for me, it also reminds me to call people and what the context is for the call.

 
What do you see people needing to grasp when using Managepro? -

1. Three things, really.  First is the complexity – simplicity issue.  This can be a very complex and daunting program at first glance.  People initially see the capability to track so much stuff and sometimes just glaze over while others dig in with gusto and have it humming along in a short period of time. .  And that’s all OK because ManagePro can be as simple or detailed as one wants.   It just depends on what  a person wants, needs or choses to look at and/or work with.  For example, just looking at one project within ManagePro, as opposed to feeling the need to scan the entire database, is one of the best ways I found to quickly and easily move into getting this program working for me.

2.  If people decide not to take the few minutes needed to create progress updates and/or todos that will pay off over and over in the future when they need to reference them, they will consistently come up short.  Every business is incredibly busy now-a-days, and it’s more important than ever before to pay attention to your people.  ManagePro helps me remember to recognize my people and maintain these all important relationships, eg.  So I end up saying, “I’m sure glad that I was reminded to talk to so and so… and didn’t let it slip by me because I was too busy.”

3.  People in management are getting paid to manage the uncertainty of the present and the future. The investment one puts into ManagePro now to help create a plan is a great hedge against the uncertainties of tomorrow and that all to familiar human tendency to defend the existing instead of take advantage of the new possibilities just over the horizon.

What’s the biggest thing you see that people need to “get” about ManagePro? -

MPro is a future product, just coming into its own now.  In order to be at the fore-front, you need to create convergence and relationships between free agents and contract people –so working off of lists and internal staff isn’t as effective as it once was.  With the world continuing to flatten and people and intellectual capital becoming more and more important, the ability to manage people, information and projects from within ManagePro is not only unique – It’s a critical advantage.  ManagePro is the only software that I have found which ties the hardware (stuff) and the software (people) together.