Every company should purchase an iPad for every c-level executive. No meeting should ever have paper again. Here's why:
- It's a perk. When it comes to rewarding employees, it can be a challenge thinking of new ways to motivate a team. The iPad makes it easy. It's a no brainer. The perceived value far outweights the actual cost.
Go green Cut Costs. Get rid of paper. After considering the costs of paper, ink, and labor costs, it is much cheaper and efficient to distribute management reports on an iPad instead of paper.- Better reading experience. The iPad screen is so crystal clear, it makes reading a joy. It's better than a laptop screen. It's better than paper.
- Better security. After the meeting is over, are you sure that those confidential financial & HR reports are shredded. Are you sure a couple pages haven't been left on the floor or table somewhere?
- No heat. Laptops generate a ton of heat, especially in a board room in which everyone has one. Plus the fans are noisy. iPads generate no heat and need no fan.
- No clickity keyboard. There may be nothing more distracting in a meeting than a noisy keyboard. Hmm, why is Joe taking notes on that comment. Or is he emailing?
- Access. Have you ever been in a meeting and thought, Damn I wish I had that report? Or I could look that up quickly, if only I had my laptop. With the iPad you can especially with Dropbox and/or LogMeIn PC.
- More productivity. Your leadership team is already taking work home with them, but they are tired of booting up their laptop and lugging it around. The instant-on iPad makes the iPad as quick and easy as opening a book. The commitment is so much less compared to a laptop, it is likely your team will find themselves working more.
For the iPad to be a useful management device you need a few apps. Here's how:
- Dropbox.com. Share documents via Dropbox.com. Set up a shared folder and share it with your senior leadership team. You have complete control of the documents and everybody is on the same page. It's free.
- Docs2Go. View, create, and edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint docs. You won't want to use this as your primary source of creation, but Docs2Go is perfect for viewing docs including PDF's. Plus it syncs with Dropbox.com. This will be the most used app in the board room. It's a steal at $10. Click here
- LogMeIn Ignition. You always have access to your PC. This product is so fast and user-friendly it makes your iPad a dumb terminal for your PC. It's pricey at $30, but totally worth it.
- Feedler RSS. I hope everyone on your team is an avid reader. You just can't keep up with the market, your competitors, and your own skills without reading, reading, reading. The best tool for reading blogs is Feedler RSS which syncs with Google Reader. It's free.
- Email. The iPad is absolutely the best email device. It's better than Outlook because it is fast and stable. It comes pre-installed.
The iPad is not a laptop replacement, but it is a paper replacement. It is perfect for distriubting and reading PDF documents. It's perfect for the board room.
Image via Wikipedia
