Group Collaboration Software Online For Small Business and Startups
Posted in Business on 12/05/2010 10:51 am by
Matt Mansfield asked:
OK, time for me to have a “grandpa story moment”.
Remember the days when we all worked in one office? Bob and Mary and you all came in around nine and worked in your cubicles with easy access to one another. If you had a question, you could just get up and ask it of one of them and if you needed to meet, you would hop into a conference room and draw pictures on the white board. Ah, sweet memories!
Today, Bob, Mary and you still work in one office, but the three of you are never there at the same time. You are all off meeting with clients, managing vendors and working late nights at home to get it all done. You never have time to see each other because you are busy with your tasks and just trying to find a time for you all to get together is a task in itself.
You need to coordinate your activities just as you did in the old days. You need to ask each other questions and get the replies quickly. You need to whiteboard ideas and brainstorm solutions.
But how can you get this all done if you’re never in one place at the same time?! How can you effectively collaborate?!
The answer is easy: online small business software.
Need to ask questions and get quick replies? Use a collaborative space such as Teamwork PM.
Need to coordinate your tasks and assure you are all on the same page? Use project management software such as Clarizen.
Need to whiteboard and brainstorm even though you cannot be in the same room, or even online, at the same time? Use a mind mapping tool such as Comapping.
These are just a few examples of great online collaboration tools, but there’s an even bigger message about small business software online for you to take away from this article.
Another “grandpa story moment” (last one, I promise!):
Bob, Mary and you used to work on separate computers. Sharing files meant copying to a disk and then walking it over to the other person.
OK, time for me to have a “grandpa story moment”.
Remember the days when we all worked in one office? Bob and Mary and you all came in around nine and worked in your cubicles with easy access to one another. If you had a question, you could just get up and ask it of one of them and if you needed to meet, you would hop into a conference room and draw pictures on the white board. Ah, sweet memories!
Today, Bob, Mary and you still work in one office, but the three of you are never there at the same time. You are all off meeting with clients, managing vendors and working late nights at home to get it all done. You never have time to see each other because you are busy with your tasks and just trying to find a time for you all to get together is a task in itself.
You need to coordinate your activities just as you did in the old days. You need to ask each other questions and get the replies quickly. You need to whiteboard ideas and brainstorm solutions.
But how can you get this all done if you’re never in one place at the same time?! How can you effectively collaborate?!
The answer is easy: online small business software.
Need to ask questions and get quick replies? Use a collaborative space such as Teamwork PM.
Need to coordinate your tasks and assure you are all on the same page? Use project management software such as Clarizen.
Need to whiteboard and brainstorm even though you cannot be in the same room, or even online, at the same time? Use a mind mapping tool such as Comapping.
These are just a few examples of great online collaboration tools, but there’s an even bigger message about small business software online for you to take away from this article.
Another “grandpa story moment” (last one, I promise!):
Bob, Mary and you used to work on separate computers. Sharing files meant copying to a disk and then walking it over to the other person.
SharePoint – An Internal Communicators Guide
Posted in Business on 11/30/2010 01:36 pm by
Sarah Perry asked:
Microsoft SharePoint enables important documents and business processes to be stored in a central information hub. It can also be a powerful communication and collaboration tool. However, a SharePoint implementation can also have a disruptive and resource intensive impact on an organization if it is not managed effectively. During times of recession, it is all the more important to find ways to work smarter with less resource.
Follows these tips to maximize the value gained from your SharePoint implementation:
Think of SharePoint as a development platform…not a product
It is a common mistake for people to assume that SharePoint will give them what they want without customization. As a sophisticated software application, SharePoint has many different features and plug-ins which can be confusing. Deployments easily can go wrong if IT teams just turn on additional modules without considering the business case, requirements, and training needed to make them part of an ongoing business process.
The more comprehensive functionality available from SharePoint has to be built by an IT team (or a third party vendor) using SharePoint’s .NET development tools. Hence it is more appropriate to view SharePoint as a ‘development platform’ rather than an ‘out of the box’ product.
Representatives from various parts of the business will need to work together with the IT team from the very start of the project. The project team needs to clarify the business requirements and all technical and functional needs of the SharePoint implementation before starting the project.
Try these tips:
Use low cost, plug and play discussion forum tools to enable project teams to share and capture ideas as they crop up prior to, and during, a SharePoint implementation. External discussion forum channels can be simple to deploy, secure, low cost and available on a short term license basis.
Utilise company wide surveys to assess what’s working and what’s not with the existing Intranet and to gather information regarding the tools and resources people would like to see included on the new SharePoint Intranet. Consider using survey tools that can be pushed directly onto employee computer screens so do not get buried in email in boxes. Built in survey reminders can help drive participation which can ensure that all views are represented in the research…including the important but often ‘silent majority’ who perhaps do not have extreme views or agendas and would ordinarily be less motivated to participate.
Target staff surveys to specific groups of employees, for example, managers and heads of departments. Such individuals can be asked questions such as “what specific business value does / could your department derive from an effective Intranet?”, “How might this be quantified?” For example, a sales manager may say it is the number of accurate proposals that sales people are able to produce. This research will provide an important perspective to help you make the SharePoint implementation effective and also help you quantify its value at a later stage.
Start simply and take an iterative approach
Companies that get the SharePoint implementation right, often start simply, with many of the features disabled. Break a SharePoint implementation up into stages and leave the ‘bells-and-whistles’ until last.
For example:
1. Start by simply replacing the existing Intranet.
2. Add document management
3. Add forms management.
4. Add business process and workflow management
5. Start sharing business intelligence dashboards and enterprise reports
6. And so on.
Keep in mind your short term and long term objectives and work with IT while they download SharePoint. Clarify what is required of SharePoint now, what possible extras might be useful and what may be required in the future.
Try these tips
One of the keys to the successful implementation a new technology is to drive user adoption and regularly gather feedback to evaluate progress.
Staff Polls, surveys and discussion forums provide effective ways to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback from staff. Communicating the successive stages of an iterative SharePoint implementation needs to stay interesting for staff, so adopting an engaging and innovative communications campaign is essential. Promote your evolving SharePoint implementation through multiple channels and monitor readership to make sure you’re hitting the mark Short ‘news’ articles in Staff E-Mags can inform readers of new information and the availability of new tools, as well as allowing readers to click directly through to specific SharePoint pages. For project ‘wins’ that you want to profile with more impact, try using digital signage on screensavers. An image is worth a thousand words. For example, an image of a deck chair on the beach with relevant text and a click through link is a powerful and engaging way to notify staff that leave forms are now available via SharePoint. For messages that need high cut through, consider using Desktop Alerts or Scrolling News feeds on staff computer screens
Fill gaps in functionality
By taking what comes bundled in SharePoint, companies can end up compromising on critical functions compared with best-of-breed tools. Light-weight web 2.0 tools such as wikis and blogs appear to be late addition ‘throw-ins’ with functionality that appears to be considerably less than you might expect.
SharePoint does not provide any ‘push communications’ channels. The closest it gets is ‘e-mail alerts’, that are auto generated and can be easily become buried in inboxes, and RSS feeds, that require staff to opt in. Often due to high work loads or a lack of interest, emails have low cut through and staff fail to subscribe to RSS feeds meaning that important updates may never reach them.
Push Communications channels form an important part of an internal communications strategy. This is particularly the case for urgent or important messages that need high cut through.
Try these tips
Augment SharePoint with other functionality:
Use plug and play’ social media channels specifically built for secure employee communications. Select channels that are low cost, easy to use and require very little IT resource to deploy, customize and implement. Some web 2.0 channels can send automated desktop alerts to moderators which will achieve significantly higher cut through (and faster response) than SharePoint’s email alerts. Use RSS tools that allows administrators to push out existing RSS feed sources, via an on screen news ticker (or news aggregator), to targeted staff groups. Hence for important RSS feeds you can remove the step within SharePoint requiring users to opt in. o Snap Desktop Alert provides a means to push out urgent or important communications to targeted staff groups. This desktop alert format bypasses email and pushes content directly onto employee’s computer screens with configurable persistence and recurrence options and helpful reporting features.
Clarify Governance
It is important to clarify the roles and responsibilities for managing a SharePoint site. For example; what are the respective roles of Corporate Communications and IT? Who should ‘own’ the site? Who should be empowered to manage the site? A content management strategy should be developed by a team of representatives from key business areas and cover areas such as:
The metrics for content creation Policies regarding when to use, and when not to use, SharePoint The balance be between user generated content, and general ‘corporate’ content Who will manage what content? How? Levels of moderation for different parts of the site How will cross-functional content be managed and monitored? How much time should staff spend surfing and posting SharePoint content?
Try these tips
Use hosted discussion forums as a quick and easy way to discuss and evolve the governance of SharePoint.
Manage Content
For a successful SharePoint implementation, good site administration and content management are essential. A site administrator needs to manage content, carry out periodic evaluations and act as a facilitator in sustaining participation. An administrator will also need to decommission parts of the site that are no longer required.
SharePoint has relatively light-weight content management capability, additionally, collaboration tools within SharePoint can add user generated content to the chaos. A proliferation of ‘team spaces’ can also serve to create too many silos. The search interface of SharePoint is also considered by some to be weak.
Try these tips
Not all content needs to be delivered by SharePoint. This is particularly the case for content that may have a short ‘shelf life’ due, for example, to it being associated with a specific campaign or project. Prioritize content and think about its ‘shelf life’ and purpose. Does it really need to be on SharePoint or will it simply add to the chaos?
By eliminating non essential content or content with a short shelf life, the search results from SharePoint are more likely to return useful information.
Emags are an excellent way to distribute short shelf life content (e.g. news and admin updates). Chose a format that allows users cato submit their own articles Desktop Alerts and News Tickers can provide message cut through for urgent business updates.
Provide good training and support
Some internal communicators describe SharePoint as ‘clunky and not intuitive’. To ensure you maximize the value derived from SharePoint, it is important to provide adequate training and support to staff. Training for the IT team and administrators can be expensive and time consuming (probably at least a one week ‘boot camp’). Selected ‘power user’ staff will also require 2 to 3 days of training. Even at the departmental level it is useful to get a few people trained in how to use web parts. Once SharePoint becomes available to the wider staff population, they will also need training on how to use the various features that have been enabled on SharePoint. Think twice about launching a site if you can’t provide this sort of effort and resource in terms of training and support.
Try these tips
Implement a discussion forum as quick and easy means for people to ask questions in an appropriate online ‘helpdesk’. If the format allows it, nominate moderators for each ‘helpdesk’ and set them up to receive desktop alert notifications when new questions are posted (note that SharePoint content alerts are email based which can have low cut through rates and associated response times). Moderators can answer questions directly or point the person to information sources where an answer can be found. Each specific question should be tagged and searchable, meaning that past questions and answers can be easily located in an evolving repository of knowledge.
Use Staff Quizzes as a means to run a SharePoint education program. Business and product focused quizzes can contain links to the Intranet allowing users to research each question before they answer.
Drive adoption and usage
Employees don’t typically seem to like using SharePoint. It’s not intuitive and not particularly exciting. SharePoint pages are often dull and boring. There are some options for making pages more exciting, but pages tend to end up looking similar regardless of customization. In addition, due to SharePoint’s sheer complexity, an implementation can seem to go on forever and users can start to believe that glitches will never be ironed out.
Effective communication is key to acceptance, adoption and effective usage of SharePoint’s features by staff. Changing how people work takes effort. Employees need to be engaged in order for them to use SharePoint effectively.
Try these tips
Liven up the perception of SharePoint by using a range of dynamic ways to promote the site and drive participation:
Digital sigage on screensavers can raise awareness of new information on SharePoint by turning employee screensavers into dynamic interactive bill boards. An image is worth a thousand words. For example, an image of a graduation cap with some relevant text and a click through link is a powerful and engaging way to notify staff that online, self-paced training programs are now available on the Intranet. Staff E-Mags can deliver news updates in a readable and engaging format which include hyperlinks back to SharePoint content (or other information rsources) Ensure any electronic communications channels contain click-through hyperlinks links and therefore act as promotional tools to stimulate interest and drive the usage and value of SharePoint. News feeds, desktop alerts, interactive staff quizzes and surveys can be engaging ways to drive traffic to SharePoint content.
Allocate sufficient budget…and watch the hidden costs
Costs can easily expand with a SharePoint implementation so beware of what you are getting into. There are three levels of SharePoint:
1. Basic version of SharePoint which comes free with Windows server, allowing organizations ‘try before they buy’
2. Paid version (License fees vary depending on the type and size of an organization)
3. Premium version designed to deliver features such as search.
You may end up paying more than you initially anticipate due to confusion about what features reside within the different SharePoint versions and license fee bands. Additionally you may need to buy SharePoint add-ons which were not previously considered or budgeted for.
Other things that can blow out overall project pricing include:
Implementation costs Customization costs Systems integration costs
Try these tips
You can augment SharePoint with inexpensive tools that do not require IT resource for them to be set up and managed. This allows you to try concepts out, test uptake and evolve the approach without the need for ‘big project’ budget, resource or timeframes.
Elsie
Microsoft SharePoint enables important documents and business processes to be stored in a central information hub. It can also be a powerful communication and collaboration tool. However, a SharePoint implementation can also have a disruptive and resource intensive impact on an organization if it is not managed effectively. During times of recession, it is all the more important to find ways to work smarter with less resource.
Follows these tips to maximize the value gained from your SharePoint implementation:
Think of SharePoint as a development platform…not a product
It is a common mistake for people to assume that SharePoint will give them what they want without customization. As a sophisticated software application, SharePoint has many different features and plug-ins which can be confusing. Deployments easily can go wrong if IT teams just turn on additional modules without considering the business case, requirements, and training needed to make them part of an ongoing business process.
The more comprehensive functionality available from SharePoint has to be built by an IT team (or a third party vendor) using SharePoint’s .NET development tools. Hence it is more appropriate to view SharePoint as a ‘development platform’ rather than an ‘out of the box’ product.
Representatives from various parts of the business will need to work together with the IT team from the very start of the project. The project team needs to clarify the business requirements and all technical and functional needs of the SharePoint implementation before starting the project.
Try these tips:
Use low cost, plug and play discussion forum tools to enable project teams to share and capture ideas as they crop up prior to, and during, a SharePoint implementation. External discussion forum channels can be simple to deploy, secure, low cost and available on a short term license basis.
Utilise company wide surveys to assess what’s working and what’s not with the existing Intranet and to gather information regarding the tools and resources people would like to see included on the new SharePoint Intranet. Consider using survey tools that can be pushed directly onto employee computer screens so do not get buried in email in boxes. Built in survey reminders can help drive participation which can ensure that all views are represented in the research…including the important but often ‘silent majority’ who perhaps do not have extreme views or agendas and would ordinarily be less motivated to participate.
Target staff surveys to specific groups of employees, for example, managers and heads of departments. Such individuals can be asked questions such as “what specific business value does / could your department derive from an effective Intranet?”, “How might this be quantified?” For example, a sales manager may say it is the number of accurate proposals that sales people are able to produce. This research will provide an important perspective to help you make the SharePoint implementation effective and also help you quantify its value at a later stage.
Start simply and take an iterative approach
Companies that get the SharePoint implementation right, often start simply, with many of the features disabled. Break a SharePoint implementation up into stages and leave the ‘bells-and-whistles’ until last.
For example:
1. Start by simply replacing the existing Intranet.
2. Add document management
3. Add forms management.
4. Add business process and workflow management
5. Start sharing business intelligence dashboards and enterprise reports
6. And so on.
Keep in mind your short term and long term objectives and work with IT while they download SharePoint. Clarify what is required of SharePoint now, what possible extras might be useful and what may be required in the future.
Try these tips
One of the keys to the successful implementation a new technology is to drive user adoption and regularly gather feedback to evaluate progress.
Staff Polls, surveys and discussion forums provide effective ways to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback from staff. Communicating the successive stages of an iterative SharePoint implementation needs to stay interesting for staff, so adopting an engaging and innovative communications campaign is essential. Promote your evolving SharePoint implementation through multiple channels and monitor readership to make sure you’re hitting the mark Short ‘news’ articles in Staff E-Mags can inform readers of new information and the availability of new tools, as well as allowing readers to click directly through to specific SharePoint pages. For project ‘wins’ that you want to profile with more impact, try using digital signage on screensavers. An image is worth a thousand words. For example, an image of a deck chair on the beach with relevant text and a click through link is a powerful and engaging way to notify staff that leave forms are now available via SharePoint. For messages that need high cut through, consider using Desktop Alerts or Scrolling News feeds on staff computer screens
Fill gaps in functionality
By taking what comes bundled in SharePoint, companies can end up compromising on critical functions compared with best-of-breed tools. Light-weight web 2.0 tools such as wikis and blogs appear to be late addition ‘throw-ins’ with functionality that appears to be considerably less than you might expect.
SharePoint does not provide any ‘push communications’ channels. The closest it gets is ‘e-mail alerts’, that are auto generated and can be easily become buried in inboxes, and RSS feeds, that require staff to opt in. Often due to high work loads or a lack of interest, emails have low cut through and staff fail to subscribe to RSS feeds meaning that important updates may never reach them.
Push Communications channels form an important part of an internal communications strategy. This is particularly the case for urgent or important messages that need high cut through.
Try these tips
Augment SharePoint with other functionality:
Use plug and play’ social media channels specifically built for secure employee communications. Select channels that are low cost, easy to use and require very little IT resource to deploy, customize and implement. Some web 2.0 channels can send automated desktop alerts to moderators which will achieve significantly higher cut through (and faster response) than SharePoint’s email alerts. Use RSS tools that allows administrators to push out existing RSS feed sources, via an on screen news ticker (or news aggregator), to targeted staff groups. Hence for important RSS feeds you can remove the step within SharePoint requiring users to opt in. o Snap Desktop Alert provides a means to push out urgent or important communications to targeted staff groups. This desktop alert format bypasses email and pushes content directly onto employee’s computer screens with configurable persistence and recurrence options and helpful reporting features.
Clarify Governance
It is important to clarify the roles and responsibilities for managing a SharePoint site. For example; what are the respective roles of Corporate Communications and IT? Who should ‘own’ the site? Who should be empowered to manage the site? A content management strategy should be developed by a team of representatives from key business areas and cover areas such as:
The metrics for content creation Policies regarding when to use, and when not to use, SharePoint The balance be between user generated content, and general ‘corporate’ content Who will manage what content? How? Levels of moderation for different parts of the site How will cross-functional content be managed and monitored? How much time should staff spend surfing and posting SharePoint content?
Try these tips
Use hosted discussion forums as a quick and easy way to discuss and evolve the governance of SharePoint.
Manage Content
For a successful SharePoint implementation, good site administration and content management are essential. A site administrator needs to manage content, carry out periodic evaluations and act as a facilitator in sustaining participation. An administrator will also need to decommission parts of the site that are no longer required.
SharePoint has relatively light-weight content management capability, additionally, collaboration tools within SharePoint can add user generated content to the chaos. A proliferation of ‘team spaces’ can also serve to create too many silos. The search interface of SharePoint is also considered by some to be weak.
Try these tips
Not all content needs to be delivered by SharePoint. This is particularly the case for content that may have a short ‘shelf life’ due, for example, to it being associated with a specific campaign or project. Prioritize content and think about its ‘shelf life’ and purpose. Does it really need to be on SharePoint or will it simply add to the chaos?
By eliminating non essential content or content with a short shelf life, the search results from SharePoint are more likely to return useful information.
Emags are an excellent way to distribute short shelf life content (e.g. news and admin updates). Chose a format that allows users cato submit their own articles Desktop Alerts and News Tickers can provide message cut through for urgent business updates.
Provide good training and support
Some internal communicators describe SharePoint as ‘clunky and not intuitive’. To ensure you maximize the value derived from SharePoint, it is important to provide adequate training and support to staff. Training for the IT team and administrators can be expensive and time consuming (probably at least a one week ‘boot camp’). Selected ‘power user’ staff will also require 2 to 3 days of training. Even at the departmental level it is useful to get a few people trained in how to use web parts. Once SharePoint becomes available to the wider staff population, they will also need training on how to use the various features that have been enabled on SharePoint. Think twice about launching a site if you can’t provide this sort of effort and resource in terms of training and support.
Try these tips
Implement a discussion forum as quick and easy means for people to ask questions in an appropriate online ‘helpdesk’. If the format allows it, nominate moderators for each ‘helpdesk’ and set them up to receive desktop alert notifications when new questions are posted (note that SharePoint content alerts are email based which can have low cut through rates and associated response times). Moderators can answer questions directly or point the person to information sources where an answer can be found. Each specific question should be tagged and searchable, meaning that past questions and answers can be easily located in an evolving repository of knowledge.
Use Staff Quizzes as a means to run a SharePoint education program. Business and product focused quizzes can contain links to the Intranet allowing users to research each question before they answer.
Drive adoption and usage
Employees don’t typically seem to like using SharePoint. It’s not intuitive and not particularly exciting. SharePoint pages are often dull and boring. There are some options for making pages more exciting, but pages tend to end up looking similar regardless of customization. In addition, due to SharePoint’s sheer complexity, an implementation can seem to go on forever and users can start to believe that glitches will never be ironed out.
Effective communication is key to acceptance, adoption and effective usage of SharePoint’s features by staff. Changing how people work takes effort. Employees need to be engaged in order for them to use SharePoint effectively.
Try these tips
Liven up the perception of SharePoint by using a range of dynamic ways to promote the site and drive participation:
Digital sigage on screensavers can raise awareness of new information on SharePoint by turning employee screensavers into dynamic interactive bill boards. An image is worth a thousand words. For example, an image of a graduation cap with some relevant text and a click through link is a powerful and engaging way to notify staff that online, self-paced training programs are now available on the Intranet. Staff E-Mags can deliver news updates in a readable and engaging format which include hyperlinks back to SharePoint content (or other information rsources) Ensure any electronic communications channels contain click-through hyperlinks links and therefore act as promotional tools to stimulate interest and drive the usage and value of SharePoint. News feeds, desktop alerts, interactive staff quizzes and surveys can be engaging ways to drive traffic to SharePoint content.
Allocate sufficient budget…and watch the hidden costs
Costs can easily expand with a SharePoint implementation so beware of what you are getting into. There are three levels of SharePoint:
1. Basic version of SharePoint which comes free with Windows server, allowing organizations ‘try before they buy’
2. Paid version (License fees vary depending on the type and size of an organization)
3. Premium version designed to deliver features such as search.
You may end up paying more than you initially anticipate due to confusion about what features reside within the different SharePoint versions and license fee bands. Additionally you may need to buy SharePoint add-ons which were not previously considered or budgeted for.
Other things that can blow out overall project pricing include:
Implementation costs Customization costs Systems integration costs
Try these tips
You can augment SharePoint with inexpensive tools that do not require IT resource for them to be set up and managed. This allows you to try concepts out, test uptake and evolve the approach without the need for ‘big project’ budget, resource or timeframes.
Elsie
Use These Tools to Make Virtual Teamwork Easy
Posted in Business on 11/15/2010 05:32 am by
Sandra J Klocinski asked:
Today’s work teams often span the globe. Fortunately, there are many online collaborative work tools that can make outsourcing, telecommuting and collaborating on projects quick, easy and affordable.
Collaborative work tools include everything from email, calendaring and text chat to virtual workspaces, project management devices and online conferencing capabilities.
Today’s work teams often span the globe. Fortunately, there are many online collaborative work tools that can make outsourcing, telecommuting and collaborating on projects quick, easy and affordable.
Collaborative work tools include everything from email, calendaring and text chat to virtual workspaces, project management devices and online conferencing capabilities.
Age of Connectedness – Collaboration is Your New Career Safety Net
Posted in Business on 11/10/2010 05:51 pm by
Dee McCrorey asked:
In the new world of work collaboration is now more important to your career than ever before. How you learn to manage three key areas: People, Technology & Tools, and Decision-Making will differentiate you in business.
Leveraging all three will not only keep you ahead of the curve at work, but will help you remain competitive in the ever-shifting marketplace.
Collaboration and People
If the “Great Recession” has taught us anything, it’s that value creation will come through innovation. However, the rules of innovation have changed and will translate differently in the workplace than in years past. Your innovation value is now based on your ability to generate creative ideas and to partner with others who can help to extend your reach.
This is where your “connecting” skills will come in handy. Professionals who are known for introducing people, e.g., “You really need to meet Alice because you’re both in the same field…”, connect people because they take the concept of six degrees of separation to heart.
Their relationship management mastery lies in their ability to recognize the synergy between people and opportunities. If possible, you’ll want to have at the least three connector types in your network.
Collaboration Using Technology & Tools
Collaboration in the new world of work requires access to the right technology and the right tools in order to apply them to the right situation. Working anytime, anywhere whether you’re on site, working remotely in your home office, at a cafe, airport, or bookstore means that you’re using tools such as your Smartphone, desktop, laptop, notebook or even your television set to connect and collaborate. More remote workers are using video cameras to enhance their collaboration experience with co-workers, customers, partners, and vendors.
With emerging technologies entering the marketplace at a faster clip, it has become imperative that you frequently add new tools to your toolbox and learn new ways of using technologies, if you expect to remain competitive in the fast-moving marketplace.
When was the last time you learned how to use new technology or a new tool? You might have the right tool, but just haven’t taken the time to learn how to effectively use it. It’s time to get past any techno-phobia you might have and join the fun!
Social media and social networking applications provide you with additional tools for growing your social capital at work. Now more than ever, learning and leveraging social and collaborative technology will help you build and sustain your personal brand in the office and in the marketplace. You cannot afford to be perceived as a slow adopter of high-impact technologies.
Collaboration and Critical Decision-Making
Collaboration and the new world of work represent the type of work you’ll be doing, how you’ll be doing it and the way you’ll be doing it. Consider these three building blocks as part of your decision-making foundation, particularly when making high-profile or high risk decisions with bigger payouts.
Smart decision-making in business today requires that you know where to conduct your research, how to complete your due diligence faster, and know what’s needed in your analysis in order to make a sound decision.
The trick is really no trick at all. It’s about asking for help from Subject Matter Experts (SME) who know more about what you don’t know, but need to know.
These individuals become part of your safety net of advisors and decision communities that provide you with the trusted resources you need to make those tough decisions at work. This safety net becomes critical for the economic ups and downs, such as what we’re going through now, or when you experience a career setback-something that happens to us all.
In the new world of work collaboration is now more important to your career than ever before. How you learn to manage three key areas: People, Technology & Tools, and Decision-Making will differentiate you in business.
Leveraging all three will not only keep you ahead of the curve at work, but will help you remain competitive in the ever-shifting marketplace.
Collaboration and People
If the “Great Recession” has taught us anything, it’s that value creation will come through innovation. However, the rules of innovation have changed and will translate differently in the workplace than in years past. Your innovation value is now based on your ability to generate creative ideas and to partner with others who can help to extend your reach.
This is where your “connecting” skills will come in handy. Professionals who are known for introducing people, e.g., “You really need to meet Alice because you’re both in the same field…”, connect people because they take the concept of six degrees of separation to heart.
Their relationship management mastery lies in their ability to recognize the synergy between people and opportunities. If possible, you’ll want to have at the least three connector types in your network.
Collaboration Using Technology & Tools
Collaboration in the new world of work requires access to the right technology and the right tools in order to apply them to the right situation. Working anytime, anywhere whether you’re on site, working remotely in your home office, at a cafe, airport, or bookstore means that you’re using tools such as your Smartphone, desktop, laptop, notebook or even your television set to connect and collaborate. More remote workers are using video cameras to enhance their collaboration experience with co-workers, customers, partners, and vendors.
With emerging technologies entering the marketplace at a faster clip, it has become imperative that you frequently add new tools to your toolbox and learn new ways of using technologies, if you expect to remain competitive in the fast-moving marketplace.
When was the last time you learned how to use new technology or a new tool? You might have the right tool, but just haven’t taken the time to learn how to effectively use it. It’s time to get past any techno-phobia you might have and join the fun!
Social media and social networking applications provide you with additional tools for growing your social capital at work. Now more than ever, learning and leveraging social and collaborative technology will help you build and sustain your personal brand in the office and in the marketplace. You cannot afford to be perceived as a slow adopter of high-impact technologies.
Collaboration and Critical Decision-Making
Collaboration and the new world of work represent the type of work you’ll be doing, how you’ll be doing it and the way you’ll be doing it. Consider these three building blocks as part of your decision-making foundation, particularly when making high-profile or high risk decisions with bigger payouts.
Smart decision-making in business today requires that you know where to conduct your research, how to complete your due diligence faster, and know what’s needed in your analysis in order to make a sound decision.
The trick is really no trick at all. It’s about asking for help from Subject Matter Experts (SME) who know more about what you don’t know, but need to know.
These individuals become part of your safety net of advisors and decision communities that provide you with the trusted resources you need to make those tough decisions at work. This safety net becomes critical for the economic ups and downs, such as what we’re going through now, or when you experience a career setback-something that happens to us all.
Collaboration in the Workplace – The DNA of Teamwork
Posted in Business on 10/30/2010 03:14 pm by
Sheryl Sever asked:
The Web 2.0 revolution is changing the way information is exchanged and allowing individuals, businesses, and communities to connect and share resources, ideas, and solutions like never before. Collaborative expertise is the new key competency for business success.
Fostering a work culture that values and cultivates collaboration is the DNA of team building. As One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard discovered, in a teamwork environment, people understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively. People recognize and assimilate the belief that “none of us is as good as all of us.”
In America, many of our institutions such as schools, our family structures, and our pastimes still emphasize winning, being the best, and coming out on top. Workplaces that exemplify and reward teamwork are not yet the norm.
Organizations, however, are working on valuing diverse people, ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. As part of the social transformation that we see taking place globally, collaboration, co-creation and cooperation seem to be values that are being more readily embraced and promoted in organizational development.
Having consulted many senior managers, educational, and organizational leaders over the past 13 years, I’ve included here my Ten Tips for Building Terrific Teams as a quick guide to cultivating successful teams, encouraging creativity and innovation, and attaining optimal results within your business or organization.
TEN TIPS for BUILDING TERRIFIC TEAMS
1. Communicate Clear Expectations.
It is crucial that team members know why they are working together, and how their role, functions, and outcomes contribute to the bigger picture and overall success of the organization, its clients and coworkers. As a leader, how clearly you communicate the overall vision, mission, and values of the organization will be the power driving the team forward.
2. Have an agenda with objectives at team meetings.
Allow time for progress updates, discussion, brainstorming, and action plans. It can be particularly beneficial if the meeting facilitator is trained in Cross-Cultural Awareness, or Marshall Rosenberg’s Non-Violent Communication practices. Using these techniques will help keep a diverse team cohesive and focused, encourage everyone’s participation, and can easily diffuse and transform stagnation. Change, creativity and solutions are not birthed in a static environment. Are necessary concerns and misunderstandings raised and properly addressed on your team?
3. Include your consultants and independent contractors in your brainstorming meetings.
One of the biggest mistakes some organizations make is to not include consultants and independent contractors in staff meetings, project updates, long-term goals and vision. You will get a lot more mileage from your consultants when they are included in discussions and sessions affecting your organization’s direction and growth. Consultants are typically natural networkers and wealth of resources. They can easily be a powerful contributing factor to your organization’s long-term success and expansion.
4. Cultivate an atmosphere where team members can appreciate the diversity of talent on the team, not just in skill set and areas of expertise, but from a whole person perspective. If the team is working on a long-term project consider investing in the Myers Briggs assessment, DISC or Enneagram training for the workplace.
5. Have a rewards or recognition program in place.
Giving public recognition on the company intranet, newsletter, or in a staff meeting, or rewarding high-performers with gift certificates to a spa or event, are just a few low-cost, no-cost ways to acknowledge team members for a job well done.
6. Build fun and shared occasions into the organization’s agenda.
Hold potluck lunches; take the team to a performance or cultural event. Host dinners at a local restaurant, (include your associates’ families) or plan an outdoor event such as hiking, bicycling, or even river rafting.
7. Encourage collaborative leadership models within your workplace.
Move away from traditional, hierarchical leadership models that are deadening to the human spirit and that can create separation, distrust, and a competitive environment. Focus on cooperative models for team performance. Rotating facilitators at your weekly or monthly meetings is one way to begin this shift. Appointing co-managers to lead a project is another effective strategy.
8. Create opportunities for giving and receiving feedback.
In his recent US tour, the Dalai Lama continually emphasized the importance of dialog, along with education and training opportunities in our increasing diverse and complex society. How well trained are you and your people in examining assumptions, active listening, asking for clarification, and other non-defensive communication models that make it safe for you and your associates to express needs, be heard, and enthusiastically create innovative solutions with and for each other?
9. Provide resources.
One of the surest ways to create chaos and diminish motivation, performance, and morale is to expect people to perform without the tools and resources they need to deliver outcomes they are proud of. Be sure everyone has the basic information and tools they need to perform, including healthy, ergonomic workstations.
10. Form a Green Team at work.
Help your people raise their awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment. By allowing others to take leadership and responsibility, passion takes hold. A green team can be very motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.
It takes teamwork to make the dream work!
Jennifer
The Web 2.0 revolution is changing the way information is exchanged and allowing individuals, businesses, and communities to connect and share resources, ideas, and solutions like never before. Collaborative expertise is the new key competency for business success.
Fostering a work culture that values and cultivates collaboration is the DNA of team building. As One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard discovered, in a teamwork environment, people understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively. People recognize and assimilate the belief that “none of us is as good as all of us.”
In America, many of our institutions such as schools, our family structures, and our pastimes still emphasize winning, being the best, and coming out on top. Workplaces that exemplify and reward teamwork are not yet the norm.
Organizations, however, are working on valuing diverse people, ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. As part of the social transformation that we see taking place globally, collaboration, co-creation and cooperation seem to be values that are being more readily embraced and promoted in organizational development.
Having consulted many senior managers, educational, and organizational leaders over the past 13 years, I’ve included here my Ten Tips for Building Terrific Teams as a quick guide to cultivating successful teams, encouraging creativity and innovation, and attaining optimal results within your business or organization.
TEN TIPS for BUILDING TERRIFIC TEAMS
1. Communicate Clear Expectations.
It is crucial that team members know why they are working together, and how their role, functions, and outcomes contribute to the bigger picture and overall success of the organization, its clients and coworkers. As a leader, how clearly you communicate the overall vision, mission, and values of the organization will be the power driving the team forward.
2. Have an agenda with objectives at team meetings.
Allow time for progress updates, discussion, brainstorming, and action plans. It can be particularly beneficial if the meeting facilitator is trained in Cross-Cultural Awareness, or Marshall Rosenberg’s Non-Violent Communication practices. Using these techniques will help keep a diverse team cohesive and focused, encourage everyone’s participation, and can easily diffuse and transform stagnation. Change, creativity and solutions are not birthed in a static environment. Are necessary concerns and misunderstandings raised and properly addressed on your team?
3. Include your consultants and independent contractors in your brainstorming meetings.
One of the biggest mistakes some organizations make is to not include consultants and independent contractors in staff meetings, project updates, long-term goals and vision. You will get a lot more mileage from your consultants when they are included in discussions and sessions affecting your organization’s direction and growth. Consultants are typically natural networkers and wealth of resources. They can easily be a powerful contributing factor to your organization’s long-term success and expansion.
4. Cultivate an atmosphere where team members can appreciate the diversity of talent on the team, not just in skill set and areas of expertise, but from a whole person perspective. If the team is working on a long-term project consider investing in the Myers Briggs assessment, DISC or Enneagram training for the workplace.
5. Have a rewards or recognition program in place.
Giving public recognition on the company intranet, newsletter, or in a staff meeting, or rewarding high-performers with gift certificates to a spa or event, are just a few low-cost, no-cost ways to acknowledge team members for a job well done.
6. Build fun and shared occasions into the organization’s agenda.
Hold potluck lunches; take the team to a performance or cultural event. Host dinners at a local restaurant, (include your associates’ families) or plan an outdoor event such as hiking, bicycling, or even river rafting.
7. Encourage collaborative leadership models within your workplace.
Move away from traditional, hierarchical leadership models that are deadening to the human spirit and that can create separation, distrust, and a competitive environment. Focus on cooperative models for team performance. Rotating facilitators at your weekly or monthly meetings is one way to begin this shift. Appointing co-managers to lead a project is another effective strategy.
8. Create opportunities for giving and receiving feedback.
In his recent US tour, the Dalai Lama continually emphasized the importance of dialog, along with education and training opportunities in our increasing diverse and complex society. How well trained are you and your people in examining assumptions, active listening, asking for clarification, and other non-defensive communication models that make it safe for you and your associates to express needs, be heard, and enthusiastically create innovative solutions with and for each other?
9. Provide resources.
One of the surest ways to create chaos and diminish motivation, performance, and morale is to expect people to perform without the tools and resources they need to deliver outcomes they are proud of. Be sure everyone has the basic information and tools they need to perform, including healthy, ergonomic workstations.
10. Form a Green Team at work.
Help your people raise their awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment. By allowing others to take leadership and responsibility, passion takes hold. A green team can be very motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.
It takes teamwork to make the dream work!
Jennifer
DIY Marketing is Suicide For the Growing Business – Time to Revisit C-Level Outsourcing
Posted in Business on 10/29/2010 02:00 am by
Paula Pollock asked:
Virtual staff has hit the mainstream now. First it was outsourcing, then off-shoring and now virtual teams are de rigueur in many growing companies. People are located everywhere and with all the fantastic collaboration tools available today, even executives are becoming virtual. Hiring CMOs and CFOs are not requirements during the business growth phase. Some firms hire because they assume that’s the only way they can get talent. But when your goals move from establishing your brand to turning a profit, there are ways you can rent the professionals you need if you know where to look.
Pay to Play: Some companies think they can get great talent just for offering equity share. I don’t need to tell you that 100% of nothing is nothing. Professionals will only accept this deal by knowing (read: hard numbers and facts) that they will gain handsomely. I get these offers myself usually from someone who is outside the U.S. and doesn’t understand our market. It’s better to hire someone part-time than make promises that you can’t keep.
Rent-A- CMO: We saw this trend emerging years ago. Companies need part-time and interim marketing executives and departments. As your business grows, you can no longer “wear all the hats” and “heard all the cats” yourself. You need to focus on the areas where you can make a difference and drive revenue. The marketing you have done in the past to get you here: letting the print shop manage your brand, having your son run your website and writing your own copy, needs to step up considerably to get you there.While some of this could continue, you need someone focused solely on the marketing direction managing the projects and holding everyone accountable.
Rent-A-Marketing Department: Another trend that’s emerging beyond the expensive confines of the agency world is what I’ve coined VMD or Virtual Marketing Department. In addition to the CMO focusing the campaigns and direction, project managers drive deadlines across multiple team members as needed – all outside of your place of business. The trend is away from Do-It-Myself and moving towards Just-Do-It-For-Me.As we specialize in marketing, both online and traditional we have the right people to make it happen. Why spend days – even weeks – looking for talented copy writers, blog writers, project managers, graphic designers, web talent when you could have the entire department managing to your goals? There are affordable options for all sizes of growing business.
Making sure you get just what you need and not paying for more is what smart, growing businesses do. The days of squandering six figure salaries on figureheads are over. Everyone needs to produce. Once you get to the mid-market you can’t afford to play with DIY marketing. The time you take to enjoy updating your own website or writing your own copy can be better done by a professional, in less time and more effectively. This leaves you more time to work with clients and focus on larger sales. Don’t play at your business. Take it seriously or you can’t expect anyone else to.
Ask About the Pollock Marketing Group’s VMS – Virtual Marketing Services.
Lori
Virtual staff has hit the mainstream now. First it was outsourcing, then off-shoring and now virtual teams are de rigueur in many growing companies. People are located everywhere and with all the fantastic collaboration tools available today, even executives are becoming virtual. Hiring CMOs and CFOs are not requirements during the business growth phase. Some firms hire because they assume that’s the only way they can get talent. But when your goals move from establishing your brand to turning a profit, there are ways you can rent the professionals you need if you know where to look.
Pay to Play: Some companies think they can get great talent just for offering equity share. I don’t need to tell you that 100% of nothing is nothing. Professionals will only accept this deal by knowing (read: hard numbers and facts) that they will gain handsomely. I get these offers myself usually from someone who is outside the U.S. and doesn’t understand our market. It’s better to hire someone part-time than make promises that you can’t keep.
Rent-A- CMO: We saw this trend emerging years ago. Companies need part-time and interim marketing executives and departments. As your business grows, you can no longer “wear all the hats” and “heard all the cats” yourself. You need to focus on the areas where you can make a difference and drive revenue. The marketing you have done in the past to get you here: letting the print shop manage your brand, having your son run your website and writing your own copy, needs to step up considerably to get you there.While some of this could continue, you need someone focused solely on the marketing direction managing the projects and holding everyone accountable.
Rent-A-Marketing Department: Another trend that’s emerging beyond the expensive confines of the agency world is what I’ve coined VMD or Virtual Marketing Department. In addition to the CMO focusing the campaigns and direction, project managers drive deadlines across multiple team members as needed – all outside of your place of business. The trend is away from Do-It-Myself and moving towards Just-Do-It-For-Me.As we specialize in marketing, both online and traditional we have the right people to make it happen. Why spend days – even weeks – looking for talented copy writers, blog writers, project managers, graphic designers, web talent when you could have the entire department managing to your goals? There are affordable options for all sizes of growing business.
Making sure you get just what you need and not paying for more is what smart, growing businesses do. The days of squandering six figure salaries on figureheads are over. Everyone needs to produce. Once you get to the mid-market you can’t afford to play with DIY marketing. The time you take to enjoy updating your own website or writing your own copy can be better done by a professional, in less time and more effectively. This leaves you more time to work with clients and focus on larger sales. Don’t play at your business. Take it seriously or you can’t expect anyone else to.
Ask About the Pollock Marketing Group’s VMS – Virtual Marketing Services.
Lori
5 Collaboration Tools For 2010
Posted in Business on 10/29/2010 12:01 am by
Shanie Matthews asked:
As the first days of 2010 quickly slide by, it is hard to believe that we are already ten years into the new millennium. It just seems like yesterday when my husband and I were riding up the 20-person funitel lift at Squaw Valley, in Lake Tahoe, California for the New Year’s count down. Some of our friends thought we were crazy for being anywhere near a mechanical device for fear of the Y2K computer scare. It’s a shared joke now.
For me, 2009 was amazingly inspirational and trying at the same time. Much was learned. Some of the biggest lessons had to do with collaboration. So, in light of the first decade of the 2000 millennium winding itself down and a fresh way to communicate the time period (twenty – ten), I thought it would be only fitting if I share five of my favorite cooperation tools.
1. Laying the foundation.
In the beginning of a project it is important to establish three aspects of the business that will be created. Writing out the Mission Statement, Code of Ethics and Core Values is a positive step in avoiding confusion later. It also helps everyone that is involved be accountable for their role and actions in the organization.
2. Have open communication that supports growth.
A collaboration is a group effort. A fantastic part about working together is the different ideas that will be presented by the various personalities involved. In so saying, it is then a vital aspect of collaboration that members voice concerns, ideas and opinions…as long as it is done in a respectful manner that inspires positive productivity. Complaining just to complain or belittling someone’s thoughts is not only a waste of time, but it also slows done the voice of inspiration. Constructive criticism brings greatness.
3. Take advantage of today’s technology.
It is so amazing the price, efficiency and easy-ability of keeping in touch now-a-days. Working together no longer requires living in the same town, huge phone bills, or the loss of trees for volumes worth of paperwork. Technology truly is a gift to global collaboration.
4. Work from a values-based business perspective.
If you work from a place of good, people are drawn to your efforts. A great example of this is Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. Giving should be a part of all businesses created, because, really, if it wasn’t for the people–whether client or associate–a company would be nothing.
5. Include environmental thinking.
The more people that I collaborate with, the more environmental-friendly personalities I come in contact with. It is truly inspirational. And it reminds me that it is not too expensive, out there or unrealistic to create businesses that are completely and totally green. In fact, collaboration assists us in helping Mother Earth. Our collective genius as a globe has the solutions. The great part of working together is that we as a group can change those aspects of life that must evolve. We can hold ourselves accountable in not only how we treat each other, but also in how we protect the planet.
May we move through 2010 with the ability to advance our thinking and activate the lessons from the past.
Robin
As the first days of 2010 quickly slide by, it is hard to believe that we are already ten years into the new millennium. It just seems like yesterday when my husband and I were riding up the 20-person funitel lift at Squaw Valley, in Lake Tahoe, California for the New Year’s count down. Some of our friends thought we were crazy for being anywhere near a mechanical device for fear of the Y2K computer scare. It’s a shared joke now.
For me, 2009 was amazingly inspirational and trying at the same time. Much was learned. Some of the biggest lessons had to do with collaboration. So, in light of the first decade of the 2000 millennium winding itself down and a fresh way to communicate the time period (twenty – ten), I thought it would be only fitting if I share five of my favorite cooperation tools.
1. Laying the foundation.
In the beginning of a project it is important to establish three aspects of the business that will be created. Writing out the Mission Statement, Code of Ethics and Core Values is a positive step in avoiding confusion later. It also helps everyone that is involved be accountable for their role and actions in the organization.
2. Have open communication that supports growth.
A collaboration is a group effort. A fantastic part about working together is the different ideas that will be presented by the various personalities involved. In so saying, it is then a vital aspect of collaboration that members voice concerns, ideas and opinions…as long as it is done in a respectful manner that inspires positive productivity. Complaining just to complain or belittling someone’s thoughts is not only a waste of time, but it also slows done the voice of inspiration. Constructive criticism brings greatness.
3. Take advantage of today’s technology.
It is so amazing the price, efficiency and easy-ability of keeping in touch now-a-days. Working together no longer requires living in the same town, huge phone bills, or the loss of trees for volumes worth of paperwork. Technology truly is a gift to global collaboration.
4. Work from a values-based business perspective.
If you work from a place of good, people are drawn to your efforts. A great example of this is Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. Giving should be a part of all businesses created, because, really, if it wasn’t for the people–whether client or associate–a company would be nothing.
5. Include environmental thinking.
The more people that I collaborate with, the more environmental-friendly personalities I come in contact with. It is truly inspirational. And it reminds me that it is not too expensive, out there or unrealistic to create businesses that are completely and totally green. In fact, collaboration assists us in helping Mother Earth. Our collective genius as a globe has the solutions. The great part of working together is that we as a group can change those aspects of life that must evolve. We can hold ourselves accountable in not only how we treat each other, but also in how we protect the planet.
May we move through 2010 with the ability to advance our thinking and activate the lessons from the past.
Robin
Web Collaboration and Teamwork Equals Success
Posted in Business on 10/25/2010 03:05 am by
Nahshon Mediros asked:
Get those customers through real time web collaboration. With a palette of appropriate tools, you and your team can boost sales. You’ll have satisfied customers who wont hesitate to recommend you to their friends.
Web Collaboration, What Is It All About?
If you attend a meeting, you expect the following:
1. a prepared agenda.
2. presentation of reports.
3. 100% attendance.
4. discussions.
5. proper documentation of the proceedings.
You can expect the same from web collaboration and more. You can use voice and chat features, or whatever is best to facilitate your sales pitch. You can use either the Internet or your telephone system to respond to your customer’s queries.
In spite of this amazing technology that allows talking to clients in different locations on the globe and sharing your graphs or PowerPoint presentations in real time, you still need the old stand-by – teamwork. Good teamwork will ensure that your web collaboration system is the most efficient there is in the corporate neighborhood.
There’s No “I” in Teamwork
You’ve heard of this rallying pitch. True, there is no I in TEAMWORK. A team of workers are unified through collaborative and organized efforts to get things done properly and fast. When there’s a scheduled web collaboration with clients or suppliers, get things going with your team.
When you call the meeting, let everybody put in their two cents’ worth of ideas and discuss the viability of their proposals. Outline the agenda and the objective so all discussions won’t get out of track. When everybody has an idea of what they are supposed to do, when to do it, how to do it, and with whom to coordinate with, the cogs of the wheels will work efficiently.
If you’re the team leader, make sure that you get the team well-motivated. This is the key to a successful endeavor. Being the team leader does not mean that all you have to do is order people around. You’ve got to dirty your hands too. When the team members see this in you, they’ll work even harder, a sign that they recognize your role as a working head of the team.
You have to foster the principle that everybody is good as everybody else. This kind of teamwork environment with the right people at the right tasks is the winning combination that will make any job, big or small, excellently executed.
Everybody in Place for Web Collaboration
Since web collaboration requires the sharing of web pages, your team must be ready with the necessary materials for presentation. You can work on the PowerPoint presentation if you have the know how to manipulate the program to result in a striking and well-balanced showcase.
Somebody good at Excel sheets can prepare the financial report, another who has the expertise of understanding the collaboration software can show the team how it works. The writers in the group can prepare the necessary content and videos for live desktop streaming. You can say that everybody at their post are doing their jobs well.
When the big day arrives to convince the client that your product is superior, affordable, and is exactly what they need, you’ll cinch the sale in real time. Why? Everything has been done the right way, and smartly too. That’s why web collaboration and teamwork should work together.
Carol
Get those customers through real time web collaboration. With a palette of appropriate tools, you and your team can boost sales. You’ll have satisfied customers who wont hesitate to recommend you to their friends.
Web Collaboration, What Is It All About?
If you attend a meeting, you expect the following:
1. a prepared agenda.
2. presentation of reports.
3. 100% attendance.
4. discussions.
5. proper documentation of the proceedings.
You can expect the same from web collaboration and more. You can use voice and chat features, or whatever is best to facilitate your sales pitch. You can use either the Internet or your telephone system to respond to your customer’s queries.
In spite of this amazing technology that allows talking to clients in different locations on the globe and sharing your graphs or PowerPoint presentations in real time, you still need the old stand-by – teamwork. Good teamwork will ensure that your web collaboration system is the most efficient there is in the corporate neighborhood.
There’s No “I” in Teamwork
You’ve heard of this rallying pitch. True, there is no I in TEAMWORK. A team of workers are unified through collaborative and organized efforts to get things done properly and fast. When there’s a scheduled web collaboration with clients or suppliers, get things going with your team.
When you call the meeting, let everybody put in their two cents’ worth of ideas and discuss the viability of their proposals. Outline the agenda and the objective so all discussions won’t get out of track. When everybody has an idea of what they are supposed to do, when to do it, how to do it, and with whom to coordinate with, the cogs of the wheels will work efficiently.
If you’re the team leader, make sure that you get the team well-motivated. This is the key to a successful endeavor. Being the team leader does not mean that all you have to do is order people around. You’ve got to dirty your hands too. When the team members see this in you, they’ll work even harder, a sign that they recognize your role as a working head of the team.
You have to foster the principle that everybody is good as everybody else. This kind of teamwork environment with the right people at the right tasks is the winning combination that will make any job, big or small, excellently executed.
Everybody in Place for Web Collaboration
Since web collaboration requires the sharing of web pages, your team must be ready with the necessary materials for presentation. You can work on the PowerPoint presentation if you have the know how to manipulate the program to result in a striking and well-balanced showcase.
Somebody good at Excel sheets can prepare the financial report, another who has the expertise of understanding the collaboration software can show the team how it works. The writers in the group can prepare the necessary content and videos for live desktop streaming. You can say that everybody at their post are doing their jobs well.
When the big day arrives to convince the client that your product is superior, affordable, and is exactly what they need, you’ll cinch the sale in real time. Why? Everything has been done the right way, and smartly too. That’s why web collaboration and teamwork should work together.
Carol
Importance of Collaboration Solutions
Posted in Business on 10/08/2010 12:17 pm by
Rama Krishna asked:
Taking into view today’s stiff competition and time driven business culture, to survive one needs to keep up with the increasing technology demands with cutting-edge industry leading collaboration solutions that take care of the entire business communication requirements. Here are few tips to help you choose the right kind of business collaboration solution that suits your unique organization requirements.
Collaboration Solutions Cover Three Distinct Levels of Business Interactions
Collaboration solutions are designed to deal with three distinct levels of business interactions namely electronic communication, electronic conferencing, and business collaboration management.
Using numerous inbuilt tools, collaboration solutions facilitate instant secure electronic communication via email, voice mail, instant messaging, and web publishing, etc. Electronic conferencing tools serve as comprehensive electronic meeting systems with video conferencing, data conferencing and application sharing capabilities. Collaborative management tools such as electronic calendars, knowledge management systems and project management systems help to manage group interactions and activities.
Using an Online Collaboration Solution
To use an online collaboration is easy. Without expensive hardware, software or maintenance you can conveniently make use of online collaboration solution by just logging and inviting the persons with whom you want to collaborate. Since online collaboration solutions are delivered via the Internet, all you require is just PC and Internet. Since the application runs on the provider’s secure network there are no specific security concerns. You can easily customize the application to just those features that you specifically require and then begin collaboration from anywhere across the globe anytime.
Five Tips to Pick the Right Kind of Collaboration Solution
Just five simple issues to keep in mind while choosing an online collaboration solution:
Taking into view today’s stiff competition and time driven business culture, to survive one needs to keep up with the increasing technology demands with cutting-edge industry leading collaboration solutions that take care of the entire business communication requirements. Here are few tips to help you choose the right kind of business collaboration solution that suits your unique organization requirements.
Collaboration Solutions Cover Three Distinct Levels of Business Interactions
Collaboration solutions are designed to deal with three distinct levels of business interactions namely electronic communication, electronic conferencing, and business collaboration management.
Using numerous inbuilt tools, collaboration solutions facilitate instant secure electronic communication via email, voice mail, instant messaging, and web publishing, etc. Electronic conferencing tools serve as comprehensive electronic meeting systems with video conferencing, data conferencing and application sharing capabilities. Collaborative management tools such as electronic calendars, knowledge management systems and project management systems help to manage group interactions and activities.
Using an Online Collaboration Solution
To use an online collaboration is easy. Without expensive hardware, software or maintenance you can conveniently make use of online collaboration solution by just logging and inviting the persons with whom you want to collaborate. Since online collaboration solutions are delivered via the Internet, all you require is just PC and Internet. Since the application runs on the provider’s secure network there are no specific security concerns. You can easily customize the application to just those features that you specifically require and then begin collaboration from anywhere across the globe anytime.
Five Tips to Pick the Right Kind of Collaboration Solution
Just five simple issues to keep in mind while choosing an online collaboration solution:
5 Steps to Make Project Management Easier
Posted in Business on 09/18/2010 07:25 am by
Indu Priya K asked:
Do you want to impress your client? Does project management cost you more than development? change it. There are many theories of project management. Some of them are rigid, some are fluid. Now I will tell you 5 most important steps to be followed in getting your projects done smoothly. These methods are most suitable for small business owners, entrepreneurs and virtual assistants.
First you need to identify that time, people, materials are the 3 resources to be managed in order complete a project in a definite scope of quality, cost and time. Managing a project becomes difficult if you fail to follow it in a strategic way. We need to properly utilize Time, People, Materials in order to complete the project in estimated time, cost and quality.
Ok, let me explain the 5-step strategy for a successful project management.
When you are ready to start a project, take time to brainstorm solution options for your project. Put them on a paper.
Plan your project: Depending on the resources and time availability, prepare a plan.
Divide and Rule: Divide the number of weeks of project duration into days. Divide the number of days into hours. Divide and assign tasks within the allocated hours.
Start Executing: Start executing the plan. Executing the plan is the most important step. See that you execute the plan as you planned.
Track the status: Track the status on a daily basis. Communicate with your employees on daily basis regarding the status updates. If anything goes wrong while executing the plan, re-plan for the pending tasks so as to complete the project in time.
Use advanced collaboration tools: Use advanced collaboration tools to implement the project management successfully. Collaboration tools save your time and money in executing your projects. I personally recommend a Collaboration Software called Collaber. I use this project management software to share files, documents and chat with my clients.
Phillip
Do you want to impress your client? Does project management cost you more than development? change it. There are many theories of project management. Some of them are rigid, some are fluid. Now I will tell you 5 most important steps to be followed in getting your projects done smoothly. These methods are most suitable for small business owners, entrepreneurs and virtual assistants.
First you need to identify that time, people, materials are the 3 resources to be managed in order complete a project in a definite scope of quality, cost and time. Managing a project becomes difficult if you fail to follow it in a strategic way. We need to properly utilize Time, People, Materials in order to complete the project in estimated time, cost and quality.
Ok, let me explain the 5-step strategy for a successful project management.
When you are ready to start a project, take time to brainstorm solution options for your project. Put them on a paper.
Plan your project: Depending on the resources and time availability, prepare a plan.
Divide and Rule: Divide the number of weeks of project duration into days. Divide the number of days into hours. Divide and assign tasks within the allocated hours.
Start Executing: Start executing the plan. Executing the plan is the most important step. See that you execute the plan as you planned.
Track the status: Track the status on a daily basis. Communicate with your employees on daily basis regarding the status updates. If anything goes wrong while executing the plan, re-plan for the pending tasks so as to complete the project in time.
Use advanced collaboration tools: Use advanced collaboration tools to implement the project management successfully. Collaboration tools save your time and money in executing your projects. I personally recommend a Collaboration Software called Collaber. I use this project management software to share files, documents and chat with my clients.
Phillip