Why every CIO should be fast-tracking their digital transformation strategy

With the sudden acceleration of remote work in the last two years, the need for streamlined content management systems has never been greater

These days, it seems like we’re talking a lot about labor shortages. From hotels to shipping companies to professional service organizations, everyone suddenly feels stretched a little thinner and a little more short staffed.

The Great Resignation is a real thing. According to the Harvard Business Review, the US had a record-breaking 10.9 million vacant jobs at the end of July this year. Companies are doing everything they can think of, from promising big bonuses to offering full-time remote work in order to keep the staff they have, and fill empty positions.

Looking at demographics in the HBR study, employees aged 30 to 45 are more likely to leave their jobs this year than any other group. Whether they leave your industry entirely, or make a move to a competitor desperately trying to fill jobs and willing to pay a premium for experienced staff, resignations within this age group are up 20%.

Why CIOs Should Be Paying Attention

Why should you care about this? It’s not just the hassle of trying to fill empty positions. It’s because the 30 to 45 tranche of employees probably make up the bulk of your mid-level management. They’re the ones leading your day-to-day teams. They know the Standard Operating Procedures and the pain points in ongoing projects. They’re the ones making sure reports are reviewed and signed off before they go to clients.

And if they leave? Do you know where their clients’ contracts are? Or where the most recent templates and style guides are kept? Every time someone departs your company, even though they leave all their files and work behind them, something inevitably gets lost into a rabbit hole of subfolders and directories, email attachments and files that exist only on cloud apps, desktops and in chats.

Remote Work is Changing Content Management

In addition to the Great Resignation, CIO’s are dealing with another phenomenon: How we manage files, data and content has changed. The truth is, it was already changing before the pandemic. Employees putting in late nights and long weekends needed access to information from home in a way that desktop computers and local networks wouldn’t let them do easily. Companies were moving away from older servers and temperamental VPNs to more easily accessible cloud-based systems. 

With the sudden acceleration of remote work in the last two years, the need for streamlined content management system has never been greater. New staff don’t get the same sit-down face-to-face walkthrough to show them where everything is on the network anymore. And departing staff often put their laptop into a pre-paid box and ship it back to the office, never to be seen again.

If you’ll allow me a quick digression, I saw a TED Talk recently where the artist Brian Detmer talked about how reference books aren’t the ideal way to store information. They’re cumbersome and linear, in the same way that onsite data servers with their linear directories and subfolders are. Just like an encyclopedia, these systems work, but they’re structured based on old understandings of how we look up information.

Isn’t it time to find a better way to manage your content? If we’ve learned anything from the Great Resignation, it’s that relying on one person to know if the contract documents on the network are the most recent version puts your company at risk. Maintaining version control is a huge challenge for any company, and has only gotten harder now that we can’t pop our heads over a cubicle wall or walk down the hall to ask. 

How We’re Using AI to Tackle this at Charli

Solutions like Charli bring content and document management into the modern working world. Instead of linear data organization and obscure file-naming conventions, Charli uses artificial intelligence to understand content and extract valuable information such as metadata, summaries and highlights.  And uses intuitive tags and cloud-based filing to help make sure content and information is available at everyone’s fingertips.

Our goal with Charli is to make content relevant and available to teams when they need it and where they need it.  This is critically important in remote and hybrid work environments.  Over the past couple of years we learned from our customers that they value the AI in Charli, and that they want it embedded in more of their work apps such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. 

Charli brings the documents and content from each platform into a single virtual hub, so employees aren’t wasting time looking for information in many different places, and they don’t have to worry about important files vanishing into the “black hole” when their most important manager decides to become a freelance digital nomad and hike the Inca Trail.

If you’re struggling with content management, I’d love to hear what your biggest challenges are. And if you’re ready to set your enterprise up for success in today’s modern workplace, let’s talk about how Charli can help.

Is digital content chaos bogging down your business?

Give Charli’s *new* unified workspace a whirl.

If you haven’t heard from me for a while, it’s because we’ve been busy prepping for today...the release of an all-new Charli and its new unified workspace for digital content and cloud apps. (Read the official press release here).

This is a big moment for Charli!

First I’d like to give a HUGE pat on the back to our team who has worked so hard to bring this version to life. We saw (firsthand) a problem – that content chaos just keeps getting worse for teams, especially those who work remotely or within a hybrid model – and we brought our solution to life. This was no small feat and involved many hours of smart work and big thinking.

So, what exactly is new with Charli and how did we get here? Let’s dive in...

Content chaos is running rampant amongst distributed workforces

If you work as part of a team, you’re probably acutely aware of the challenges of content management. With more and more content being created, managed, and searched for every day (like documents, files, links, reports, databases, and so on), it’s a nightmare just thinking about how to wrangle it all.

Professionals spend waaaay too much time trying to hunt down the documents and information they need just to get their day-to-day work done.  They then have to package it all nicely and securely share it with team members, management, clients, and suppliers.

It’s not a new problem, but it’s a growing one. And, it’s a problem that hasn’t been adequately solved. In fact, current content management solutions on the market are very “backend”. There’s little out there to make management easier for the people who rely on it. And, there are even fewer options that offer seamless solutions for teams.

Content chaos is a very real problem, and it’s getting even worse with the introduction of new tools and platforms. Add remote and hybrid workers to the mix and it’s a jumbled mess of information everywhere. In fact, many of the professionals I speak with telling me that the challenge of tracking and managing documents is keeping them up at night.

Charli new unified workspace offers a better way

These challenges make up the driving force behind Charli. Our all-new unified workspace puts user experience first. It’s designed for professionals who create content, professionals who share content, and professionals who consume content. Each of these personas was considered when we were developing Charli.

At the core of Charli has always been – and still remains – sophisticated AI. You cannot “do” content management well without advanced AI. Our AI is not a bolt-on. It’s truly embedded AI, productized from beginning to end; and that knows how to handle the content. In the new Charli, content takes center stage.

What does the new Charli mean?

The changes we’ve rolled out are exciting. Our users will be able to do more both individually and as a team. Here are some of my favorite new features:

1. Actionable content. 

Content is rarely created by one person and filed away for life. Especially a distributed team setting, there are actions associated with most pieces of content. Some content needs to be reviewed, other content needs to be approved. Some content needs a to-read or BF reminder, while other content needs to be shared. Supported by process AI, Charli helps you easily take action on content.

2. Automated content summaries.

Charli can now do content summaries, thanks to GPT-3. This is a feature I’m really thrilled about. Let’s say you have a long report, but no time to read it. Charli can understand the content and create a TL;DR summary for you. You can also easily share the summary with others on your team.

3. So much more than simply a universal find.

Charli focused on the find function early, and we’ve mastered it. But content management isn’t just about searching for information across different cloud apps. It’s also about categorizing, organizing, sharing, and archiving content. This is where Charli shines and it’s how we’re differentiated from other solutions.

4. Collaboration station.

Our earlier version of Charli laid the groundwork for sharing. Now, Charli is tackling collaboration. This means not only can you share documents easily, you can also add notes and tasks to content. You can ask Charli to provide you with a report at the end of each week to see all of the content you managed, as well as the tasks associated with it. Charli makes it easy by marking off what you’ve done and reminding you about what you haven’t.

We’re taking our product to the next level and making it a truly powerful content management tool for individuals and teams alike. I’m excited to see it solve real-world productivity problems.

A big thank you to everyone who has helped Charli achieve this milestone and stay tuned for many more exciting announcements to come.

Want to give the new Charli a try? Head to our website at Charli.ai to sign up.

Why startups should solve a problem, not chase an opportunity

and other things I've been thinking about

Hey 👋

So moving is a nightmare (as many of you probably know all too well).

I won’t bore you with the details but I just had to endure a bit of a nightmare move that distracted me for the last few weeks. I’ve had very little time to read, reflect and write about what has been on my mind, but I’m back!

Last month, I came across an article by Brian Balfour that really resonated with me. (In case you haven’t heard of him, Brian is Hubspot’s former VP of Growth and the current founder/CEO of Reforge.) I haven’t had a chance with the move to write down my thoughts till now…

The article, titled Problem vs Opportunity First Approach, argues that there are two reasons why people start a company. The first is to solve a problem and the second is to go after a market opportunity. 

The starting point for solving a problem usually comes from personal experience (“I’m struggling with x and I figure I’m not alone”), whereas going after an opportunity usually originates from observing an unmet need in the market (“I noticed x trend is happening and I think there’s an opportunity here”). 

While neither approach is right or wrong, I agree with Brian’s hypothesis that most of today’s wildly successful companies are those that went after a problem. And that as a founder, it’s easier to find the stamina needed to be successful when you’re solving a problem rather than chasing an opportunity.

Let me explain using my own personal experiences.

At Charli, we started out because we saw an opportunity. For us, that opportunity was AI. As someone who loves tech, I was excited to develop our own AI that was interactive and that would bring specific capabilities to market in a new way. We were developing something we felt was missing from the marketplace.

I’ll admit that this posed challenges. We tried a few different approaches to find our product-market fit. But it never quite felt right. Instead of honing in on the true problem we were solving, we were dancing around it. Yes, Charli’s AI technology was – and always has been – something very special and unique, but we couldn’t quite figure out who our target market was or how best to apply the AI to them.

After considerable reflection, we decided to switch gears and instead go after a problem. 

That’s when everything in our company shifted. 

It was our moment of clarity. 

No longer were we trying to develop AI and fit it to the market. Instead, we had identified a very real problem and we were using AI to solve it. And that problem was content management.

Content management is something that has frustrated me to no end for years now. Why is it still so difficult to find what we’re looking for? Searching through emails, Google Drives, Dropbox, link clippers, and more, to find that one item you need...all of this takes considerable time. I’ve faced this problem on a daily basis while building my past companies while doing my home reno while running Charli, and so on. Finding, sharing, and managing content in today’s digital world is truly a hassle.

Once we honed in on this problem, everything fell into place. We’ve made some exciting changes to Charli as a result, and we’re getting a great response from our users. Rather than seeing Charli as simply an AI-driven content assistant, we now see it as a unified workspace for digital content and cloud apps. We know we’re on to something incredible, and I’m looking forward to sharing some big announcements with you in the coming months. 

Looking back on our journey, I completely agree with Brian Balfour when he says in his article, “Being a founder is a rollercoaster. When you are in a down moment, [your] source of energy and motivation is stronger when it stems from the problem vs the opportunity.” I also agree with him that going after a problem is more fulfilling and rewarding.

If you’re struggling in your business to find your product-market fit...or to keep your motivation up…or to progress to that next level of growth...or with any number of challenges, I highly recommend you revisit the problem you’re trying to solve. It might just be your golden ticket to success.

Say hello to Charli for teams

Introducing two new paid plans: Charli Pro and Charli Grow

Collaboration is the name of the game today. There are very few scenarios where we work in isolation. Yet, individual productivity is still easier to manage than team productivity.

Work has changed, our tools should too. 

At Charli, we’re changing that, we’ve designed a hub for modern teams who want to move fast.

We’re entering a new era of work, one that is more focused on the stuff that matters and less on the minutiae of admin work that plagues productive teams. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be rolling out some exciting features that help teams, departments and companies organize and share their content. 

Our goal? To enable people to work together and with their business content, seamlessly. With these new features, Charli will become a hub where everyone can find, share and manage the “stuff” that powers teamwork.

If you work in a team, here are some features to keep your eye on:

• Content Canvas - This feature is already live and ready to be used. Charli’s Content Canvas is unlike organizing information in folders because it allows users to bring together disparate forms of content -- from docs to links to images -- and display them on one beautiful, shareable canvas. This is helpful for teams because it keeps all content related to a specific project or client in one place.

• In-app Sharing - Coming soon, this feature will allow users to share content with others directly from within the Charli app. That means no more clicking between windows, tracking links, or searching for shared docs again. It’s quick and easy, and it allows the receiving party to do what they want with the content.

• Integration with the tools you already use - Is your team addicted to Slack? Heavily invested in Google Chat? Loving the Shift life? Soon you’ll be able to integrate with the apps you know and love so that while you’re working, you can send info directly to Charli in-app and enable better find capabilities across platforms.

With Charli for teams, it’s time to say goodbye to static, siloed content, and hello to smart knowledge management!

Stay tuned for more details about these exciting new updates, coming very very soon.

Hint: check the Charli blog tomorrow for the announcement

Why knowledge management is broken

And how AI can fix it...

Many of my articles until now have been focused on productivity at the individual level. This month, however, I’m switching gears to look at it from an organization and company standpoint.

Organizations suffer from many of the same productivity challenges as individuals do... except they’re compounded. The more people that get involved, the more opportunities there are for productivity breakdowns. This is the same for knowledge management.

What is knowledge management?

Established in the early 90s as a discipline in its own right, knowledge management is defined as the “process of creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization” and achieving organizational objectives by “making the best use of knowledge.”

While this concept sounds simple in theory, it is less so in practice. In fact, it could be that no organization -- from small businesses to enterprises -- has truly managed to crack the code on knowledge management. Knowledge management is simply broken.

Why is knowledge management broken?

When we look at the stats, we see that 19% of everyone’s workday is spent looking for “stuff”. That could be searching your emails, hunting for a file, or sifting through items on your desk. Moreover, 44% of the time, we can't find the information we’re looking for. That’s a lot of time wasted and a lot of frustration.

When we extrapolate this over a team, department, or entire business, the problem gets even more complex. Just as everyone has different working styles, they also have different knowledge management approaches. Some people are hyper-organized, others are barely holding it together, and everyone else in between has a different way of creating, sharing, using, and managing information. 

Throw the cloud in there, along with all the productivity platforms, and it’s easy to see how knowledge management can quickly get out of sync.  This can result in individual frustrations, organizational inefficiencies, business risks, and stress.

We’ve tried to fix this problem...many...many times

Centralizing and managing knowledge has been ‘solved’ many times over. When the category of Knowledge Management first emerged in the 90s, the discipline spurred many new technologies to ‘solve’ the challenges of managing knowledge within the enterprise. This included tools like enterprise asset management systems, document management systems, collaboration tools, enterprise portals, and workflow systems. 

As we moved into the 2000s and cloud storage became more widely accepted, the internet boom created more data, mounting an urgent need for tools that made it easier to find information.

Enterprise search emerged as another ‘solution’ to this problem. Enterprise search started in the 1970s primarily in academia but slowly made its way into the consciousness of business in the 90s. Many startups built businesses around enterprise search until the industry consolidated in the 2010s and Dassault, IBM and Oracle scooped up their flavor of enterprise search. 

If you go to any larger organization, they will likely have one of these enterprise search solutions but if you ask any employee how much they love using it...crickets. 

Why is the knowledge management challenge at a tipping point?

Despite the fact that we’ve tried to fix the problem with various solutions, I would argue that knowledge management hasn’t gotten better with technology, it’s only gotten worse. 

Plus, with more emphasis on collaboration, remote and hybrid teams, a tool for everything, we’ve grown the complexity of knowledge sharing exponentially. 

Remote work over the last year has highlighted this problem for every organization both large and small. . No longer can we lean over our desk and ask a colleague for a document. No longer can we walk to the company’s bank of filing cabinets and pull out the file we need. 

Now, we have to ask a colleague over Slack, try to use a half-baked global search tool, or explore with trepidation the cloud-based world of Google Shared Drives, Teams, or DropBox. Many times, we actually end up creating more content (like Slack messages, emails, etc) just to find where that one piece of missing content is. 

Yes, I think we’ve hit peak content chaos! 

With content siloed, some large organizations have tried to revive their old enterprise content management tools, but if you ask folks at these organizations how it’s going for them, you’ll probably hear “not very well”. 

More platforms, apps, and tools aren’t solving the problem. Instead, we’re in a situation where we’re creating lists in Notion to track Google Docs, and Google Docs to track workspaces in Notion.

How can AI fix these problems?

All of this to say: it’s time for a better approach. As someone who spends their days immersed in the world of AI, I see opportunities for this everywhere. Here are a few ways I think AI can do a better job than content management systems (or humans, for that matter) can at managing knowledge:

1. Embrace “find” versus “search” - I’ve written on this topic previously, but to summarize, AI has the capacity to ingest and understand huge amounts of data, paving the way for true “find” capabilities, versus merely “search” ones.

2. Break up with folder structures - Our brains have been conditioned to think and dream in folder hierarchies. That means, traditionally: A top-level folder, followed by sub-folders, containing even more sub-folders. Every document has its place, and it can only live in one folder at one time. It requires the cognitive ability to understand a document’s content and then put it in the right place. However, inevitably, not everyone sees eye to eye on the “right” folder structure, and each person has their own preferences or requirements for working. This is where AI is a game-changer. Even when information is spread across multiple platforms, AI enables organizations to pull together what’s needed, when it’s needed, and scrap traditional folder hierarchies.

3. Say hello to automation - Organizing content has typically been a very manual process. You must first read a document to understand it, then hunt to see if an appropriate folder exists to store it in, and finally, move the document to that location (or create a new folder first if none exists). This doesn't sound like a lot of effort, but it all adds up to time and brainpower wasted. AI changes this because it can scan the document’s content for you, generate appropriate meta tags to classify and store the document, and then quickly find it for you when you need it again. 

It’s exciting for me to see Charli moving in this direction of helping teams. Our AI will soon have the capabilities to mobilize smart knowledge management at the organizational level, making it a game-changer for organizations big and small. Charli will let individuals work as they prefer while keeping content organized, quick to find, and easy to share at the organizational level. 

👉 Stay tuned for more announcements on Charli for teams in the coming weeks.