It's hard to believe, but only fifteen years ago almost no one used email in the course of a business day. Today, meanwhile, we can't imagine life without a mobile device that gives us instant access to multiple email accounts, wherever we might be.

Now it's time for a new technology that may have a similar impact on the way we conduct our professional lives. In a video at Harvard Business Online, Rita McGrath discusses total-recall systems with the potential to create a complete digitized record of your workday. "So imagine," she says, "[that] you're in a meeting, and every single thing you say—every joke, every contribution to brainstorming—can be captured and replayed in all its glory at some time in the future by people who weren't even there."

According to McGrath, we will "play" meetings just as we play DVDs—skipping the dull sections and zeroing in superior content. Total-recall systems can also help you determine what went right, or wrong, as you review a project. "You can construct an accurate, undisputed, transparent record of everybody … involved in making the decision."

You might find the total-recall concept unsettling, perhaps worrying about Orwellian intrusion or your affection for four-letter words. And, acknowledges McGrath, like any tool it can be used for good or ill.

Whatever your opinion, however, total recall is on the way—and your Marketing Inspiration is to implement systems and policies that make the most of its technology without hampering the open discussions that lead to great ideas.

More Inspiration:
David Reich: The Next Bailout?
Ted Mininni: CMOs Don’t Get Customer Service??? Yikes!
Cam Beck: How to Avoid the Perils of Blended Networks

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