Adding Value to the Platform: Franklin Covey and the Pocket PC

Table of ContentsBy The Most Revere..., January 2001

Before I had discovered the world of PDAs my closet was full of storage binders, each containing a year's worth of my life. I have always been a planning junkie particularly because I am administratively challenged. Ordering my world did not come naturally, so I faithfully filled out my appointments, tasks, record of events, and other forms daily. My Franklin Planner was a constant companion.

With the advent of the PDA generation, many of us threw away our leather binders and plunged headlong into organizing our world electronically with Psions, HP Palmtop PCs, Newtons and others. Sadly, we had to leave behind certain ways of doing things that were actually quite effective. This was my situation going from a Franklin Planner to various electronic organizers, including Windows Powered devices.

An approach to organizing your life

A planning system like Franklin Covey is not just a book of forms; it's an approach to organizing your life. Using the complete system, the FC team has introduced countless men and women to a way of getting their world in order. This is what made the transition to PDAs awkward for some of us. We were used to having certain forms and content available that fit the approach to life management we had been trained to implement. For example, the Covey system encouraged the user to distinguish between the various roles in his or her life. Each of these had a different set of tasks, values, and goals. The ability to discriminate these different expressions allowed the individual to bring about a planning balance for daily living. The aspects of planning no longer were targeted toward business environment alone. They were a whole life discipline.

While Franklin Covey and other companies had already entered the PC software market, the world of handhelds remained untouched by time management software until Franklin Covey developed the Franklin Planner software for the popular Palm OS devices. According to Todd Simons, Director of eHandheld Planner Business for Franklin Covey, Palm gave them a tool that could be used to bring portability to their electronic products. Unfortunately, those of us in the Windows CE world were left out of the picture, until now.

A Windows Powered Franklin Planner

In January 2000, I was surprised to see a picture of the Windows Powered Casio E-100 Palm-size PC in their online store. In addition to selling the E-100, they also offered a custom binder that lets you carry the Casio E-110 (and now the new E-125) along side the Franklin Planner (paper) system. Intrigued, I began to investigate what looked like a move by Franklin Covey into the world of the Pocket PC.

The Franklin Covey system finally found its way into Windows CE devices through an add-on software package titled "Franklin Planner for Microsoft Outlook." This program integrates the tools and concepts taught in the Franklin Covey "What Matters Most®" seminar with Outlook's personal management features. It also installs three major components of the Planner on the Palm-size and Pocket PC: the Master Task List (Screen 1), Prioritized Daily Task List (Screen 2), and the Daily Record of Events (Screen 3). While not as comprehensive as the Franklin Planners integration with the Palm OS, which also includes sections for Values, Roles, Mission, Goals, and the Weekly Compass, this was a good start.