CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Notes, Lotus & IBM, 910625
Franchising/licensing

0504 -
0504 -    ..
0505 - Summary/Objective
0506 -
050601 - Follow up
050602 -
050603 - Sent ref DIT 1, confirming discussion with Ross for information on
050604 - how to contact IBM reps to market SDS.
050605 -
050607 -  ..
0507 -
0508 -
0509 - 1710 Ross called back
0510 -
051001 - Ross had not seen the fax, ref DIT 1, but retrieved it during our
051002 - discussion.
051004 -  ..
051005 - We considered at length the potential for selling SDS by IBM's account
051006 - executives; how it would add to IBM's markets in the manner explained
051007 - in the Examiner piece on the IBM and Lotus joint venture regarding
051008 - "Notes."  SDS would enable IBM to deliver on its advertisements for
051009 - improving office productivity with personal computers.
051010 - ..
051011 - Ross has been unable to find the phone or address for either
051012 - Richard Anderson or Tim Breuer.  If he had the city where they worked,
051013 - it would be easier.
051014 -  ..
0511 -
0512 - Follow Up
0513 -
051301 - He will look further tomorrow morning to get this information.
051302 -
0514 -

SUBJECTS
SDS, Business Development
Copywrite

0604 -
060501 -  ..
060502 - Ross asked if SDS is copyrighted or patented.  I advised it is not,
060503 - explaining my investigations showed it would cost approximately $5K
060504 - for this service.  Ross mentioned that he under- stands we can file
060505 - for a copyright/patent simply by filling out a form.
060507 -  ..
0606 -
0607 - Follow Up
0608 -
060801 - Maybe I should contact Jerry Knecht to see if all we need to do is
060802 - file a document, to get in the record that we have actually filed for
060803 - copyright and patent.
060804 -
060805 -
0609 -

SUBJECTS
IBM Credit Evaluation SDS
General; Updates
Pilot Test Experiment New Methods, Who Pays
Pilot Test Ergonomics Need Adequate Computer and Work Arrangements to

0906 -
090701 -  ..
090702 - SDS Not Configured Properly, Ergonomics Difficult to Experiment, Test
090703 -
090704 - Ross has received the update, but has not installed it yet.
090705 -
090706 - He has SDS on a computer other than the one he uses regularly, so
090707 - there is minimal opportunity for him to experiment with it.
090709 -  ..
090710 - Ross asked about installing the update.
090712 -  ..
090713 - I explained he can install it over the existing code by following the
090714 - instructions accompanying the update disk.  I can come by and give
090715 - him a hand, if he needs help.
090717 -  ..
090718 - Ross will let me know if he needs help.
090719 -
090720 -
090721 -
090722 -
090723 -
0908 -

SUBJECTS
IBM Credit Evaluation SDS
General; Updates
Correlation to accepted practice and concepts
Culture Peer Pressure Encourages Using Software Everybody Else is Usi
Write Everything Down Overkill Not Enough Time Don't Know to Only Nec
Write Everything Down Not Necessary Write What is Important to Object

1808 -
180901 -  ..
180902 - Perceived Value/Sales Resistance
180903 - SDS Not More Effective for Improving Daily Management
180904 -
180905 - Ross feels he has a number of "time saving" programs which are
180906 - effective for his work and are accepted by his organization.  He
180907 - indicated a general belief that SDS may provide additional support,
180908 - but for now he does not expect to adopt it for the reasons he
180909 - explained on 901003. ref SDS 7 QW6X
180911 -  ..
180912 - We reviewed recent improvements adding a menu system to SDS reduces
180913 - the learning curve, but using SDS still requires a transition to adopt
180914 - good management practices.  I offered to provide assistance, since
180915 - organizational culture creates significant barriers to learning good
180916 - management, and cited the experience of Morris at Chips who took 2
180917 - years to change his mind from initially saying on 890809 he didn't
180918 - need SDS, ref SDS 2 0880, because it is "overkill," ref SDS 2 U87H,
180919 - and then to change his mind and begin using it, reporting favorable
180920 - results on 910523. ref SDS 10 3001
180922 -  ..
180923 - Ross, like everybody, has been gradually learning from daily
180924 - experience through trial and error and observing colleagues at IBM a
180925 - little bit about performing management tasks, which, over time,
180926 - comprise a complex set of skills.  It is easy to implement single,
180927 - narrow improvements by learning a little bit more in a few minutes or
180928 - hours every now and then.
180930 -  ..
180931 - These dynamics make "integration" that is a strength of SDS once
180932 - learned, a weakness in making sales.
180934 -  ..
180935 - Integration increases productivity well above the patchwork assemblage
180936 - managers now apply, and provides many new tools they have never even
180937 - considered.  This makes SDS both foreign, and a significant learning
180938 - effort.  To learn that F1 Shift F7, or to simply pop a menu function,
180939 - returns a document in half a second, may well be seen as advantageous
180940 - relative to getting up from a chair, going to a filing cabinet or desk
180941 - drawer, and rumaging through a bunch of papers; or, alternatively
180942 - asking someone to do it.  On the other hand, hitting F1 F6 to open
180943 - notes of a prior related event like those listed at the top of this
180944 - record, is not so readily seen as a valuable improvement, because no
180945 - one has ever been able to do that, and so it is not missed.  Right
180946 - now, people just pull the trigger.  If they remember something, fine.
180947 - If not, they do not know that they do not remember, or are remembering
180948 - incorrectly.  While Ross may be an exception, the frequency of using
180949 - handwritten notes is almost nil, because the process is generally too
180950 - slow.  Notes are used for dispute and litigation support.
180951 -
180953 -  ..
180954 - Writing Everything down
180955 -
180956 - Ross was concerned that he would not have time to apply SDS, because
180957 - it requires that he "write everything down."  He feels entering notes
180958 - from his binder to SDS would be a duplication, which reflects Morris'
180959 - concern at Chips and Technologies on 890809. ref SDS 2 8850
180961 -  ..
180962 - I explained this is an incorrect view of how SDS is used.
180964 -  ..
180965 - SDS enables people to create useful "intelligence" once, and then use
180966 - that knowledge over and over, i.e., recycle intellectual capital, to
180967 - save time and money under the common rule that time is money and
180968 - knowledge is power when people work "intelligently."
180970 -  ..
180971 - An example, is the record on 910520 showing that Morris discovered
180972 - using SDS is not writing information down twice. ref SDS 9 655O
180974 -  ..
180975 - Ross mentioned earlier in the discussion that he has already filled
180976 - out several binders with notes of his work for this year; so he is now
180977 - doing a good deal of writing, per Morris' management practice,
180978 - reported on 898089. ref SDS 2 8812
180979 -
180980 -     [On 950327 developed Communication Manager to provide support for
180981 -     using SDS. ref SDS 12 6118]
180983 -      ..
180984 -     [On 970418 US Army Corps of Engineers reported Com Manager cost
180985 -     effective. ref SDS 13 2103]
180987 -  ..
180988 - SDS requires no more than this present level of effort and it offers
180989 - new advantages:
180990 -
180991 -     1.  Information in SDS can be "managed" better than when entered
180992 -         into a notebook.  It can be linked to related events automa-
180993 -         tically to permit browsing an issue, like the mind browsing
180994 -         its memory.  It can be assembled into reports on particular
180995 -         subjects.  It can be formatted instantly into a formal commu-
180996 -         nication for issue.  It can be associated with other documents
180997 -         so there is a complete chronology on a "Subject" at the touch
180998 -         of a key.  Further, what is written is seamlessly integrated
180999 -         into the primary management tool:  Pending Action Items.
181001 -          ..
181002 -     2.  You can write faster and more comprehensively in SDS than in a
181003 -         bound notebook.  Handwritten notes generally contain only the
181004 -         most obviously important points and aspects of points.  Little
181005 -         of one's ideas are entered into a notebook, and so, with the
181006 -         passage of time, context, nuance and meaning fade. The
181007 -         notebook becomes less valuable, and can even become
181008 -         misleading.
181009 - ..
181010 - The only objection to adopting SDS is skill level.
181012 -  ..
181013 - Ross now posses all the skill he needs to make handwritten notes or
181014 - to use wordprocessing.
181016 -  ..
181017 - It took 10 or 12 years to learn that skill (i.e. writing
181018 - intelligibly). It takes another several weeks to learn the skill of
181019 - "managing" that writing, to greatly improve its value.  Is SDS worth
181020 - such investment?
181022 -  ..
181023 - Since "writing" is the process of capturing knowledge and ideas, and
181024 - since new wealth is derived from sound decisions and good ideas, which
181025 - in turn eminate from remembering and associating quickly and accur-
181026 - ately (i.e. "managing" our knowledge and ideas), then it would seem
181027 - that a few weeks to learn a skill that improves our ability to do
181028 - this, is a sound investment (see for example 890809. ref SDS 2 8850)
181029 -
181030 -
181031 -
181032 -
181033 -
181034 -
181035 -
181036 -
181037 -
181038 -
1811 -