Rating: 
Summary: Apply these ideas everyday
Review: I find it very helpful to have a mission statement on paper and to use it. Most people don't put much into their mission statement let alone apply it. I think his ideas on attitude are also key to making the plans on the paper come to life.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Desktop Product, But Synching a Nightmare
Review: I found the desktop-bound parts of this product to be usable and useful. I'm in Outlook for much of my day, so it's nice to have my day "pushed" into a Covey Framework.The developers of this product should have stopped while they were ahead, though (and maybe charged less for it, too!): The mobile features have obviously not been tested well. After installing the Pocket PC bits on my device, I immediately started having problems syncing my device: Any time I synched, pre-existing tasks were duplicated. After 2-3 tries, I had four copies of each of my Outlook tasks. The actual synchronization process was significantly slower and always hung at the end. After I removed the Covey bits from my device (and the associated synching bits from my desktop), everything returned to normal.
Rating:
Summary: I don't use everything on it, but what I use, I like
Review: I had always thought this software was costly and really overkill until I got my Pocket PC and wanted to get more out of it. I have used the Franklin Covey Day Planner and really enjoy how it has gotten me to prioritize my tasks and keep information at hand, and so finally caved and bought the software.
Plan Plus must be used with Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express), so make sure you have that on your computer before getting started.
First, several things I like about Plan Plus: it puts everything on one page-your calendar, a small monthly calendar where you can one-click to any day's schedule, a view of today's schedule, a look at your inbox/preview pane, and today's prioritized tasks. It's great. The prioritized tasks, for anbody not familiar with the Franklin Covey system, allows you to create new tasks (and have them recur), set due dates, and prioritize them (A=Must do, B=Normal priority, C=Not important) so that you can easily see what needs to be done. What most people don't always realize in life is that important tasks (i.e. long-term planning) are not always urgent, while some urgent tasks (email messages/ telephone) are not always important. I also enjoy being able to sync these tasks with my Pocket PC and take that wherever I go.
Things about Plan Plus that I don't really use. I don't use Power Notes, which allow you to write directly on the note and scribble anything you want. To be honest, I have yet also to really utilize the goals and compass aspects of the software.
I have never had Plan Plus make my computer crash, although my computer is relatively new (Pentium 4). It takes about five seconds to load, and another five seconds to call up all of my tasks. You decide whether that's too long for you.
In short, I like Plan Plus, and I'm glad I bought it, but at the regular price of $80, I'm not sure it's exactly a steal. If you can find a used copy or a discount, however, I think it's worth it in productivity and functionality.
Rating: 
Summary: Not ready for "Prime Time"... I hope they get it right soon.
Review: I have been a FC user for several years... Paper (Monarch), Palm, and Addon to Outlook... I was dissappointed when the original addon no longer worked for my new version of Outlook(2002). I purchased Plan Plus and like the concept of the planplus home where everything on one page. First problem I noticed, I could not print to priprinted pages correctly... In the old version I had an option to print to priprinted pages or I could print to blank pages.(strike 1). I use Exchange server 5.5 and have several hundred e-mails per day... after processing several e-mails in plan plus home I get an error saying my ost file in use by maximum applications, please close some applications to continue. (does not happen while precessing mail from my inbox) (strike 2). The print preview pain in plan plus home suddenly stopped showing any previews... Repair did not fix... I had to uninstall and reinstall to fix this problem, but 4 days later the problem came back. (strike 3)... All this time I am on the phone or chatting with support... every time they say level 2 will call me back later in the day of the next day... I am still waiting for the call back... come to find out, they only have one level 2 guy and he must be swamped... It is a shame when a time and task management company such as Franklin Covey does not return phone calls, rolls out products premature and does not spend the resources or create the plan to adaquately support the product. Other than that I have no complaints... Franklin Covey management I hope you are reading these comments and do something about it before you loose all your supporters... BTW, I hated to pay for Outlook addon to find it did not work in Outlook XP, then have to pay again to get Plan Plus... Will I have to pay again when the new version of Outlook comes out later in 2003?...
Rating: 
Summary: I love this software
Review: I have been using this software for the last month. I have Windows XP and outlook 2002 and have not had any problems installing it or using it. It does prompt you to create a back up of all your data so that you don't lose any of it. I did this but never had to use the back up as no problems arose. I love the Franklin Covey philosophy and have been a paper planner user for a couple of years now. This software makes it very easy to prioritize your tasks with letters and numbers and I found it very easy to use. The wizard is fantastic in helping you find what you value in life and then creating a missions statement. I love having all the fine tools of franklin covey in the outlook program that I love. I agree with a previous review, the goals area would be a lot easier to work with if it had 1 or 2 additional 'steps'. The way it is now, you have to break down your goals into separate 'categories' instead of having 1 main goal with several steps and within these steps have several additional steps. That is the only complaint I have about this software. I don't have a palm yet so I don't know about any sync problems. I recommend this highly for pc users.
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Summary: v3, when will Franklin Covey learn?
Review: I have tried several versions of this software over the past years with the latest being v 3.0. This includes installations on both Palm and Pocket PC PDA's. My experience is that this company does not know how to do quality control on software. I excused it on earlier versions but this has gone on too long. Synching with your PDA seems to create random problems including random duplication of tasks to deletion of tasks. These tools are supposed to save you time, not create more work.
I really do like Covey's approach to planning and I do (mostly)like the interface. There are some deficiencies on the interfaces but the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.
The bottome line - don't waste your money on this software.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor support
Review: I initially installed Plan Plus with no difficulties. After 10 minutes or so of 'playing around' to get to know it better, Outlook 2002 crashed with a message regarding Plan Plus and Add-in manager. After that it didn't work at all. I tried first to "repair" it, lwhich didn't work, and then uninstalled it, but the reinstall failed as well. I then tried to reach Franklin via the on-line chat, but after 15-20 minutes of waiting I gave up. I then sent Franklin an email, summarizing all the steps I had taken, as well as Outlook messages, but they never responded. My take is that Frankling does not consider robust software nor customer support to be either Urgent or Important. Steven Yarnell
Rating:
Summary: not quite ready for prime time
Review: I purchased PLAN PLUS because the description sounded wonderful. The program was billed as the successor to Franklin Planner for Microsoft Outlook. Installing the program resulted in a loss of all my Outlook data. Also, there were numerous script errors and the software would not work. The Goals Section was dated December 1999. I used on-line live help several times. At one point, I received a phone call for assistance from Franklin Covey. We were able to locate the missing Outlook data files, but the wait for service typically exceeded fifteen minutes. A couple of times, I was told that help was not available. Outlook, Plan Plus, and Internet Explorer were re-installed and repaired without success. I hope the problem is addressed so I may receive an update for my computer.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to install and functions without any problem.
Review: I purchased the program several months ago and, after consolidating my email accounts into outlook, have found the program VERY HELPFULL. When used as directed, this program has offered me time and task management support that is truly a cut above the rest.
Weekly planning has become a joy and my effectiveness as a Husband, father, and business owner has improved ten fold. Using this in conjunction with my Windows CE handheld device I have been able to get more done in less time.
For all those looking to simplify their life and improve their effectiveness, I challenge you to give up incorporating multiple time management tools into your routine like I once did, and put your trust in one system. Plan Plus will not disappoint you. It is a simple, solid, and complete program capable of all it is advertised to do.
My only regret is that it is dificult to create multiple users for this program. But, as many may already know or expect, this is a problem that stems from the limits of Outlook and not solely a fault of Plan Plus.
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I really appreciate Covey and what they're trying to do with this software, and I had very high hopes for it, but what a mess! I can hardly sync my Palm anymore, so data is either lost or deleted items keep reappearing and multiplying. How can I get to "First Things First" when I'm wasting hours and hours with this lousy, buggy software?!? The Covey folks really need to put their thinking caps back on and beta test the heck out of this thing before it sees the light of day. Don't buy PlanPlus yet unless you're willing to be the next guinea pig and have LOTS of time to waste.
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