As the year draws to a close, I take a look at whether I filled my Harvard commitments, preach the virtues of VoIP, and give you my frank assessment of the world’s highest selling mobile phone.
My Harvard Promises – How did I go?
At the end of my Harvard course, we were invited to set goals for the next 6 months, 12 months and long-term. The scary bit was that we had to commit them to writing. We were warned about aiming for too much – and doing too little. So how did I do?
I can actually look back on my list with some satisfaction. I’ve achieved many of my goals and will soon be able to tick off several more. Here are the things to do I’ve already done:
- Completed a strategic business review
- Added capability to the board - by appointing Garth Biggs
- Strengthened the team - by adding Lance Wright, Michael Pook and Kristy Wood
But there’s no resting on my laurels. I have some pretty ambitious goals for the year ahead, and hope that this time next year I can return an equally positive report card.
The Virtues of VoIP – get rid of those land lines
One of our big internal success stories this year was the implementation of a new VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone system. Despite increasing the size of our staff, we actually reduced our land line costs by an average of 55%.
Another benefit of the VoIP phone system is the ability to email voicemails. This means you can listen to them no matter where you are – or forward them to whoever needs to know. A real productivity boost.
Want to look at VoIP for your business? Let’s talk in the New Year.
What I think of my iPhone
As an early adopter of the Blackberry, I was initially sceptical about the iPhone. I thought it was more fashion accessory than serious business tool. But I’ve had an iPhone for a month and … I love it!
One of the iPhone’s best features is that it can access a wireless network for data connections rather than your mobile phone network – for example, in your office or home. That means big cost savings on data downloads.
The BlackBerry still has some advantages – the iPhone won’t let you cut and paste or email contacts or vcards. But you simply cannot beat the iPhone’s web browser, PDF support and user interface.
We now have half the office on iPhones with the rest on BlackBerry’s. However for overseas travel, we still recommend the BlackBerry. They cost much less to run because roaming data charges are prohibitively high – up to $30 per MB.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and an enjoyable, safe and prosperous New Year.