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Incremental improvements in productivity add up to big wins at the office

John Wooden was phenomenally successful in basketball. He was the first person in history to be named to the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player and as a coach.

Winning a record seven NCAA championships in a row, he knew a thing or two about achieving greatness. Wooden once said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

That advice applies equally well off the basketball court, where incremental improvements add up to big wins.

Bright luggage stands out in a baggage carousel filled with black bags. Duct tape proves to be a remarkably useful tool for opening stubborn jars. Save yourself over 50,000 calories a year by replacing a soft drink with water at lunch.

Similarly, Windows 10 and Microsoft Office 2016, included with Office 365, provide exciting features that add up to big improvements without the need for extensive training or workflow changes.

As stated by Kelly Sheridan of Information Week, “Windows 10 is designed to support productivity. New Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are optimized for the new OS.”¹

Take a look at these collaboration and productivity enhancing features that can bring a substantial cumulative boost to efficiency.

Collaboration

• Mark Up and Share Web Pages – Microsoft Edge, the new browser included with Windows 10, allows you to take notes, highlight or draw on a web page and then share the marked-up page with a colleague.
• Real-time Co-authoring in Word – Multiple users can work on a single document simultaneously. Each user views all changes as they happen. Those working on the document can use Skype for Business to open a group chat window.
• Team Email Conversations – With Groups, Outlook now provides a shared place for team email conversations. Groups are easy to create and can be organized around topics or conversations, with full history and event scheduling.

Efficiency

• Cortana Proactive Suggestions – If your calendar shows an appointment across town, Cortana can alert you when you need to leave to reach your destination on time, based on traffic.
• Multiple Virtual Desktops – Windows 10 enables you to create as many desktops as you like. Group your work email and Office apps into one desktop.  Organize your social media and personal email into another. Easily switch between the two.
• “Tell Me” Feature – Type a word or a phrase in the Office 2016 “Tell me what you want to do…” text box. A drop down menu appears with a link that sends you directly to the tool you need.
• Smarter Email – If you use the words “attached” or “here is” in a message without actually attaching a file, Outlook will remind you to attach a file. It will also prompt you to put a location in your calendar request if you leave it blank.
• Faster Attachments – When attaching files to emails in Outlook, a drop-down list appears with the last file modified on top.

Thanks to a host of time-saving features like these, Microsoft reports a higher satisfaction level with Windows 10 than with any previous version.² TechRadar calls Office 2016 both “intelligent” and “intuitive.”³ Combined, the two products offer a powerful tool to increase productivity.

The principle of incremental improvements applies to all of your Microsoft software. Upgrading Windows and Office to the latest versions provides the maximum productivity boost. Reduced costs for third party software and enhanced security provide additional benefits.

¹Kelly Sheridan, Information Week, Top Windows 10 Apps To Boost Your Productivity, [Article], Retrieved from http://www.informationweek.com/top-windows-10-apps-to-boost-your-productivity-/d/d-id/1322611

² Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine, Microsoft Windows 10, [Article] Retrieved from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2488631,00.asp

³ Mary Branscombe, Techradar Pro, (July 25, 2016) Office 2016 Review, [Article], Retrieved from http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/software/business-and-finance-software/office-2016-1290455/review

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