WWPYCBW … “Working with People You Can’t Be With” Contents at a Glance – Virtual Collaboration is a Disaster – Telepresence Needs People Factors to Succeed – Building a 100% Virtual Business Virtual Collaboration is a Disaster One writer laments the disaster of virtual collaboration, arguing that (1) […]
The past couple of weeks I have been reminded of the power of planning a week-at-a-time, rather than just a day at a time. As one week draws to a close, say on a Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning, I have looked at the upcoming week and […]
Eric Mack, a colleague in California, is about ready to launch eProductivity for Notes, the ultimate implementation of the GTD methodology within the Lotus Notes environment. Just before he does, however, he’s offering a 24-hour pilot program for up to 100 people: “People in the pilot program tell […]
Put together a team of people to multiply the strength brought to bear on the task outcome at hand. As I’ve discussed earlier, strength is increased in teams through power, speed, breadth, and acceptance. Find others that have complementary skills, complementary experiences, and complementary perspectives that enable the […]
The heart of effective collaboration both in-person and when mitigated by technology is responsiveness, as measured in (a) time and (b) engagement. In terms of time, a face-to-face conversation “works” when the people in the meeting answer the questions they have been asked during the meeting, or take […]
I attended a meeting in the city earlier in the week, with about 20-25 people in attendance. There were four others with me in the city here, 15 or so people in another major city, one joining from a third city, and another one (or two?) from a […]
When you are with other people and can observe them over time, you build up a picture of their trustworthiness. If Sam says he’ll do something, do you believe him? The words are the same whether he does or doesn’t, but your perception of whether he really will […]
Go and visit your team members, even if they live on the other side of the world (actually, that’s all the more reason to do so). If you are working with others for a long period of time, say over 6 months, and the work is intensive (you […]
Disagreements among people are a good thing — really, they are — because they show that people are actually invested and interested. “Whatever” is the absolutely worst statement you want to hear during a discussion / debate, because it signals that the person speaking has decided to exit […]
There are many things that can throw a team project off-course. The goal posts can be shifted by the project sponsor; that’s clearly a signal that the shared vision needs to be expanded or revised. That will have flow-on effects throughout the remaining project phases. Sometimes the shifting […]
Michael Sampson 
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