PST Newsletter

Big Changes with the new MProLite

MProLite is gearing up for a new release at the end of this month (actually you'll see some of the changes already if you are being hosted by us), let's go over a couple of things you'll want to know about:

1. Speed, speed, speed -  It's faster, a lot faster.  Most screens pop in 2-3 seconds and it's even quicker if you use the new Google Chrome beta (http://www.google.com/landing/chrome/beta/).  The speed increase is such that it makes for a really improved experience in using the program, even though the features are the same.

2. Multi-Language - MProLite is now available in English, Spanish, German and Portuguese.   It's simple to use, you just select which language you prefer to use when you log in.   That also means that you could be viewing the program in Spanish, and I could be viewing it in English, and all the buttons and links would be translated into our respective language of choice.

Here's an example of the MProLite display in Spanish (however the text is in English - you can enter data in any langugage you wish).


3. Customizable layout - You now have control over two important areas in the program.  You can control the button titles on the left navigation bar.  For example if you don't like the title "Plans" call it "Outline" or "Projects" or whatever you want.  You can also control what gets offered on the left side, e.g. if you don't use the scorecard views, then remove them from display... keep it simple. 

4. Personalize the program with your logo - We can now put your logo in as a replacement for our MProLite logo (see example with Smithsonian below), plus add your logo to the login page and create a custom login using your business name.  e.g. http://mybusinessname.west.mprolite.net.  Very important:  You'll need to carefully follow these guidelines when sending us your logo:



 Note:  The logo (and business name) needs to be a PNG image that is exactly 200x130 pixels, it should be transparent and anti-aliased against a background color of #5A5A5A (this is key to show up in MProLite correctly.)  Note:  If your users are all using IE6 (Internet Explorer 6) aside from feeling sorry for them, you'll need to send us the logo in a gif format with the same dimensions.

We'll contact each of you (our MProLite customers) to upload your logo and modify your login options, and of course our self hosted customers will need the new code to be able to accomplish this task.  We should be contacting you the week of November 30th to make the cut-over.

Again we'll send you a letter to remind you regarding what we need to make the transition... and you can always contact our office for instructions (707) 487-3000.

What's coming the first of the year for ManagePro users?

We certainly don't want our ManagePro users to feel left out, and in fact have been busy building in some changes with more significant ones on the way.  Let me give you a quick peak into what we are targeting for availability in January: 

1. ManagePro tracks any record that has been emailed and to whom, and displays an email icon to give you a visual reference.  Clicking the icon displays the history of to whom and when the record was emailed.

2. ManagePro now works with Active Directory, to make user and password management easier.

3. We'll be releasing a smart phone ManagePro application that pulls your todo list from ManagePro (and MProLite) onto your phone, including the records you have prioritized using the Display in Calendar function.

4.  We'll be releasing an internal IM application that will let you IM to anyone in your company who is using ManagePro Plus or Smart or MProLite.  Your IM's will also easily convert into todos, progress updates and more.  Plus you have the protection of using an internal, secure IM client.

There's more, but that should give you a feel for what's upcoming.  We're excited and per usual, have set the bar really high for what we want to deliver.  So stay tuned and we'll keep you updated. 

Speaking of keeping you updated - You can stay in touch with us through Facebook!

From now on we will be supplying you updates to our development process as well as links to newsletters and other information on both our products and the company at our facebook site.

Please become a fan at our site so that you will get notifications of updates, releases and current information.  Our facebook page is ManagePro and MProLite, and you can find us at the following link.  http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/ManagePro-and-MProLite/166570256924?ref=ts

Click on the fan button at the top of the page to automatically receive our updates.






 

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We're giving away a FREE FLIP HD movie camera to celebrate the launch of our Membership Site!

First a quick word about how to get your name in on the drawing for the Flip High Definition camera. 

All you have to do is go to our blog (hopefully you're familiar with that) and leave a comment on the following blog post, describing your experience using ManagePro and what areas you find it helps you the most, e.g. strategic planning, project management, task management, managing people, scorecards, etc. 

To enter the drawing, leave a blog comment as a reply at the bottom of the following link: http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/customer-feedback-comments/


Be sure to leave your name and company name on your post about what value-able about ManagePro for you,  so that we can contact you if you win.  The drawing is Friday, December 4th.

I personally never like drawings where there is only one winner, so we're also giving away a one hour coaching session from the new Membership site to two 2nd place drawing winners.

Let's refresh your memory about what will be included in the Membership Site.  It's starting up several months later than expected.

Our goal with the membership site is to help you better use ManagePro and MProLite to make a change in your business.  That may sound aggressive, but we really believe we can help you rapidly move beyond "liking" the product, to generating high value from using it more fully in your business.

Why are we stressing this and launching a Membership site to support this agenda?

If you are like me, I find myself beginning by focusing on how to use the 20% that will give me 80% of the value. I don't have time or the interest to learn 100% of what most programs can do.   But with ManagePro users, we're often finding that they are struggling along with a working knowledge of less than 5% of the program.  Yikes.  Why?

It seems that part of the reason has to do with the nature of the ManagePro solution.  The intent of ManagePro is to provide a structure with which you can organize, track, plan and coordinate all the ins and outs (sometimes the chaos) of everyday business.  The problem, or reality, is that this doesn't suddenly happen upon acquiring ManagePro.  Let me share this cartoon I borrowed from one our user consultants, Imad Alsadeq, Consulting Director at www.thiqah.com.



So with ManagePro you have this very capable tool, let's say to basically plan, and then track the progress other people make towards reaching shared objectives.    But it may be that you don't usually take the time to build a plan.  Or if you do, you don't keep it updated, so it doesn't reflect today's reality.  Or maybe you have a team full of people who work hard, but rarely document anything, with information being managed by conversations and email.  Or maybe you struggle to come up with a system to organize the important stuff at work.  Or maybe you keep changing where you put stuff in ManagePro, so it gets hard to find stuff and you give up after awhile and just use ManagePro as a simple todo list.  Whatever your situation, I'm betting that your experience does not match the graphic above.

Miracles are usually in short supply; however you can find Magical thinking everywhere.  Here's an example of magical thinking - "If I buy ManagePro, I'll be changed, I'll get organized and everything will be different."   Reality is usually something quite different.

So what should we do with the reality of applying ManagePro to most of our business environments?  Remember at the top, I said I am going to change the business... and in the process hopefully help you change yours as well.

Some companies offer "boot camp" training events.  Get away for several days and get immersed into the product.  We've not seen that approach have a great long-term effect.  We've offered training and consulting for years, but we find most people see that as an extra expense they can minimize.   It's easy to tell yourself you can do just fine on your own - so they, you, I, under-resource the continued effort it takes to be highly successful. 

Let me ask you a question.  "Have you ever tried to learn something that involves skill or complexity on your own?"  Maybe it was skiing, or acquiring a foreign language.  Maybe it was learning to play tennis, golf or perhaps the piano.  If you look around, most people who don't invest in lessons in such endeavors... show it.   Meaning, they don't progress very far.

Generally, if we don't invest in having someone else keep working with us to advance, we get stuck in bad habits, get stuck in our skill progression, get stuck and usually rationalize that it's good enough.  Wonderful.  You see, buying the software isn't the "thing".  The software is good, but it's not magical, and acquiring it isn't the goal... working smarter is.

Here's the deal.  The reality is, actually there's two key reality points:
1. If you want to do something well, really well (for 95% or more of us), it requires working with someone who will teach you, challenge you, encourage you, push you, hold you accountable to your own goals. 
2. Most people don't really make a change unless it's something they do daily for some short period.  It's got to be on the schedule.

You may call that person a trainer, a coach, your instructor, (perhaps your worst nightmare), but the reality is we need someone like that to excel.  The truth is most of us need a coach to learn to use ManagePro really well in our business.  Most of us need assistance to use ManagePro to raise the level of our game at work, to work smarter.

So.... drum roll.  We are now offering a basic coaching service as the core to our Membership site.  We'll track your progress and coach you through the following key areas (also see image below):

1. Database Design and layout
2. Task Management and Collaboration
3. Using Priority and Focus
4. Project Management
5. Performance Management and Scorecards
6. Strategic Planning

Coaches are available at three different price points: $75/hr, $150/hr or $250/hr.  Plus to guarantee that there is no risk for you to participate, if anytime during the first month you decided it's not a service you want to continue, just notify us and the first month's charges will be dropped.



Bottom Line:  Call to get scheduled and started today - do it before you file this away for some other day.  Call us, if it is during west coast business hours, you'll get a real person, not a message center, and we'll get you on the schedule and on the way.  Call or email Jona (pst@managepro.com or ph. (707) 487-3000) at our front office.

Hope you're finding new ways to improve your business and help your people be more effective with ManagePro and MProLite.

 
Rodney Brim,  Ph.D.
CEO Performance Solutions Technology
Blog - http://www.PerformanceSolutionsTech.com/Blog
Twitter Account - http://www.twitter.com/RodneyBrim

PS. Beyond following our blog and twitter account, remember to take a quick moment and white list us so that you don't miss out on any email notices of updates.  To white list us, just enter PST as a contact, and then in the email addresses, including the following three
pst(at)managepro.com
patti(at)managepro.com
editor(at)managepro.com
I put the word (at) in, instead of the @ sign to avoid having the email addresses harvested by spammers.  You'll need to change that when entering into your contact list.