As the world becomes smaller and faster, we are all being pushed to new ways to run our business, maximize efficiency, and collaborate more effectively.  At ALL Strategy, we found the best way to achieve all three of these objectives, and pursue a sustainable future for our planet was to be a paperless company.  We are 100% paperless (technically 99.9% as we do have business cards!), so you can’t find a printer or a notepad in our office.  But you will find a wealth of Apple products all linked beautifully to enable us to be able to service our clients, work on our business and stay connected wherever we are in the world.

This paperless work environment allows us to run the business, maximize efficiency and collaborate more effectively by:

1. Reducing duplication.  When we write notes in a journal or scribble down a phone number on a note pad, what it means is we need to still DO something else with that information in order to capture it permanently.  At ALL Strategy, when we are booking an appointment, it is added immediately into our shareable calendar and the person’s contact information is captured in our CRM, linking our ability to review all their email history, appointments, key relationships, business details and business opportunities in a moment.
2. Linking systems.  Although it works imperfectly, we try to ensure our systems are as connected as possible so that what you do with your proverbial left hand, you don’t have to repeat with your right hand.  If we send out a similar email often, we template that in our template directory, so anyone can access it and provide a similar communication experience.
3. Decreasing transportation time and cost.  With a cloud-based system, although it is lovely to meet at the office, we are able to work remotely as a team, but also with our clients.  One appointment with someone in Seattle, Washington ends, and a new appointment with 60 seconds of turnover takes place in Toronto, Ontario, followed by a third appointment in Calgary, Alberta.  All this happens from my office in Vancouver, BC, or perhaps from a hotel conference room in New York City if that is where I needed to be on that particular day.  We get more done, and have the same tools at our disposal whether we are local or remote to the office that day.

As Millenials are entering the job market, they are starting to consider factors like the eco-responsibility of their future employers.  It was for this reason, that, as Founder of ALL Strategy, I was interviewed for an article called Eco-stars: Companies creating a green future.  It is fascinating to read how businesses of varying sizes are taking small steps to integrate green practices into their systems.

It is noteworthy however, that the majority of our ALL Strategy clients are far from paperless in their environments.  There is no pressure to do away with the tried and true, however, if you want to take one small step in the efficiency future and help the earth out a bit along the way, we can definitely help with that!