Tools have a critical yet subtle impact on how work gets done. Tools can e to define the work, as much as just making work more efficient. Early in the use of new tools there's a bination of a huge spike in benefit, along with a temporary dip in productivity. Even with all the improvements, all tools over time can b e a drag on productivity as the tools b e the end, rather than the means to an end. This is just a natural evolution of systems and processes in organizations, and productivity tools are no exception. It is something to watch for as a team.
The spike es from the new ways information is acquired, shared, created, analyzed and more. Back when the PC first entered the workplace, it was astounding to see the rapid improvements in basic things like preparing memos, making "slides," or the ability to share information via email.
There's a temporary dip in productivity as new individual and organizational muscles are formed and old tools and processes are replaced across the whole team. Everyone individually and the team has a whole feels a bit disrupted during this time. Things rapidly return to a "new normal," and with well-chosen tools and thoughtfully-designed processes, this is an improvement.As processes mature or age, it is not u mon for those very gains to b e burdensome.
When a new lane opens on a highway, traffic moves faster for awhile, until more people discover the faster route, and then it feels like things are back where they started. Today's most mon tools and processes have reached a point where the productivity increases they once brought feel less like improvements and more like extra work that isn't needed. All too often, the goals have long been lost, and the use of tools is on autopilot, with the reason behind the work simply "because we always did it that way."New tools are appearing that offer new ways to work. These new ways are not just different — this is not about fancier reports, doing the old stuff marginally faster, or bigger spreadsheets. Rather, these new tools are designed to solve problems faced by today's mobile and continuous organization. These tools take advantage of paradigms native to phones and tablets.