Onscreen inspiration - IdeaFisher Systems' IdeaFisher Pro Plus and IdeaFisher 6.0 Plus, and Covey Leadership's Covey Reference Library - Product Information

Home Office Computing, Oct, 1996 by John Moore

Motivational Software to et You Out of Your Rut

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU? MONEY? FEAR? ROCKY II? Listening to super hits of the 1970s? How about software? Don't get the wrong idea: Sitting around installing Microsoft Office probably won't lift you out of the doldrums. You can, however, find inspiration in a package designed to offer uplifting advice.

These programs range from full-fledged applications to books on CD-ROM to screensavers of famous quotes. Finding divine inspiration on your computer screen may not be as glamorous as sitting on top of a mountain, eating magic mushrooms, or singing Gregorian chants, but it can be a lot more productive. Fishing for Ideas In terms of business motivation, IdeaFisher Pro Plus and IdeaFisher 6.0 Plus from IdeaFisher Systems (714-474-8111,800-289-4332; Win/Mac; $200, $1 O0 respectively) are well-respected packages and with good reason. They help you brainstorm ideas when you don't know where to begin.

IdeaFisher lists topical categories that branch out to other related areas, which in the end helps you zero in on the point you're trying to make or the concept you want to convey. Two of IdeaFisher's main components are the Idea Bank, especially useful for writing (whether it's poetry or a business letter), and QBank, geared toward business planning and strategy. QBank makes you sit down and think about your goals and motives, asking such questions as, "What are your personal feelings about the project?" You write your responses in the Answer Notepad, which maintains your own Personal QBank. It's a package you can use every day or once in a while.

Now, let's say the rut you're in is your work--or your lack thereof. A package you might consider is Jumpstart Your Job Skills by Up Software (800-959-8208; $139.95). Despite the hokey title, Jumpstart is an invaluable tool for college students wondering where they can best apply that degree in creative macrame, people considering a change of career either because they hate their boss or they've just decided they don't like what they're doing, or anyone who stands at a professional crossroad.

The main program is divided into seven parts: Skills We All Have, Attitudes, Prioritizing Your Skills, Core Abilities, Bankable Job Skills, Communicating, and Marketing. You answer a series of questions about what you like to do, then answer another series of questions about what you believe you're actually good at. Based on your responses, Jumpstart then presents you with a list of potential jobs. It's a lot like having a guidance counselor/therapist on your computer. The program includes such statistics as the number of jobs available in a given field, the future outlook for a particular occupation, working conditions, and general job descriptions. It also tests your assertiveness and proofreading abilities, has you answer questions about your personality, and requires that you write down your thoughts. There's always the temptation to be less than honest when answering some of the questions, but you'll only be cheating yourself out of valuable advice.

Running for Covey Best-selling author Stephen R. Covey is widely regarded as one of the masters at motivating businesspeople to reach their full potential--the original corporate Deepak Chopra. Now, Covey Leadership offers the Covey Reference Library on CD-ROM, featuring the full texts of Covey's First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, and the "Stairway to Heaven" of business books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (888-442-6839; Win 95; $39.95).

Clearly Covey has influenced millions of small-business people, but unless you get your kicks by scrolling through text on a monitor, there's not much sense in buying this CD. You won't find any sound files or video clips of the master himself. nor is there any material not found in the books. Sure, you have full search capabilities via keyword, but that doesn't justify the CD's price.

If you're not a Covey-head, you may find his constant use of first-person singular a bit self-righteous and annoying--everything seems to relate to him, not you. From the chapter titled "Making Champions Out of Children" in Principle-Centered Leadership, Covey offers up this bit of advice: "Sandra and I have nine children, and we consider them all champions."

Doesn't exactly want to make you take on the world, does it?

Covey Leadership is also responsible for the 1984 through 1994 collection of Executive Excellence magazine on CD-ROM (Win 95; $199), which includes articles from the likes of William Bennett, Elizabeth Pinchot, and--you guessed it-- Stephen Covey. The package claims to provide "a systematic approach to helping you unleash the creative power within your management team. By reading an article each day, you and your team will open the door to the discovery of creative third-alternative solutions by creating positive synergy within your team." Are you and your team inspired yet? If you gain inspiration from such adapted speeches as Al Gore's "Crisis of the Spirit," delivered at the Democratic National Convention in 1992, then this CD is right up your alley. If you need more ethereal motivations, then perhaps you should look elsewhere.