Productivity - Enhanced By Presence
by Izuchukwu Ezeume

Every significant success achieved in any sphere of life is traceable to the depth of preparation put into it, no doubt. But presence is so crucial that despite the import of preparation, without presence, success may remain a mirage. What impact does Presence play? Well, read on...

Presence is defined as the state or fact of being present; current existence or occurence. It also means immediate proximity in time and space. In otherwords, presence is also about reach. How soon you can be reached. How fast.

In an instant messaging (IM) system, presence is defined as the status of a person's current availability (online, idle, offline, etc.). In "Unified communications", presence across all the applications and devices the user might communicate with is required, including e-mail, IM, office phone, cellphone and PDA. Presence therefore in this context can be said to mean the same as availability.

There have been occasions where great preparation was made to achieve success but after all the preparation, the individuals were not available to deliver - to maximise the success they had worked so had to obtain.

A couple of days ago, I was at a bus terminal sometime around 6.20am. Usually buses queue to pick up passengers to diffrent destinations. The queing sytem used by these buses does not follow the conventional pattern. They seem to have a way of knowing whose turn it was to pick passengers even though the next bus to pick passengers is parked right in front of the one currently picking up passengers. I got in, took a seat and a few minutes later, the bus was ready to go. Lo and behold, the driver was no where to be found. He couldn't be reached. It was pretty early and everyone in that bus was headed to their various offices. The next minute, we all disembarked from that bus and moved into the next bus. The driver of the bus we all got into promptly got in and we moved off. (He reaped the reward of another man's labour because he was present. He could be reached.) It suddenly occured to me, this is how it happens in our various business rounds. After we've prepared, gotten out on time, like that driver did, positioned our tools for business, just like his vehicle was waiting on the queue, we also need to ensure that we are present to receive the deals, the business opportunities, etc.

Apart from being physically present, which is very vital for productivity, we also need to consider these additional tools:

• A standard complementary card with your contact details that is within reach.
• A working mobile phone. (You might think of utilising the kind of mobile phone that allows dual sim cards such as Smart Phones, Black Berry, etc. In the event that one of the networks is out of coverage, you can still be reached through the other one.)
• Maintain a constant presence via your email address. (You might need to set up an email alert that forwards new email messages to your mobile phone.)
• Of course, you also need a land line. Most enquiries and deals are closed via land lines. They are a lot cheaper to call, except in a few countries where the land line rates and those of mobiles are the same.
• Maintain a presence in your office location and in the event that you have reasons to be out of the office, ensure you have a secretary that is upto date with necessary information regarding your operations. He/she would be able to give out relevant information in your absence.

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