Archive for October, 2009
Posted on October 3, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Clare Flynn asked:
If you are about to facilitate a workshop, whether internally or for clients, these top tips should help ou avoid the most obvious pitfalls and ensure you have a highly productive and creative session that every participant will enjoy
Get the brief right – projects often run into problems when you are not clear enough about the brief. Have you framed the right issue? What’s in and out of scope? At least half a day on this with the project team at the start of every project, will pay dividends later and avoid heartache from people having different assumptions and expectations.• Invest plenty of time in preparation. Ask yourself what you want to achieve at the end of the day – what will success look like and then work back from there so you can design it in.
Don’t try to cram too much in. Estimate timings and get someone else to look at them and challenge you – have you allowed enough/ too much for each element?
Make sure you have a good balance in the day of sitting and absorbing with moving and doing. How can you make things more interactive? At which points in the agenda is energy likely to flag? You need to think of ways to get people’s energy up again – a change of topic, of pace, of scene, of speaker, of type of activity.
The agenda is your road map but you must always be prepared to take a diversion if this is appropriate to deliver the objectives. You may find a particular exercise takes longer than expected but is yielding rich fruit. You may find an issue you expected to be tricky is easily resolved and does not need all the time you allotted. Participants can also throw unexpected “googlies” – a facilitator has to be flexible enough to accommodate these.
Think about the venue. Try if possible to go offsite. Look for an interesting and creative venue – natural light, ideally with somewhere nice outside for a bit of air at break times. Do you need space for breakouts? Talk with the venue before about room layout – if you are running a creative session avoid boardroom setups like the plague – chuck out those blotter pads and Imperial Mints! Replace with some funky notebooks and goodies – fruit and nuts if you want to be healthy, Celebrations or Haribo Mix if you want to make people fat and happy!
Get there early and check the room is right. What can you do to dress it and personalise it?
Do fabulous flip charts. Time spent on doing these well will pay off and the act of doing them is a great way to get yourself “in state”. Flip charts work much better than PowerPoint slides – they are less distancing, more immediate and feel much more tailored and personalised to the occasion.
Use music – again a great way to get in state and to signal to participants – upbeat for energisers and in breaks, more chilled for reflections and for small group exercises. You can also turn up the volume then cut it off to signal the session is starting up again.
Prizes can be fun to break the ice and get some competition going – depends on the group though – but in any event small jokey ones or stuff for people’s kids usually works well
Always start with an icebreaker of some kind – think about whether the participants know each other – in big companies they often don’t – or at least not well. They are probably a bit nervous about what is going to happen and this is a great way to get people laughing and relax
Spend plenty of time on the set-up. Short-cut this at your peril. This is how you create the atmosphere for the rest of the session and get everyone to agree about how they are going to BEHAVE. If you don’t do this upfront you will regret it all the way through the rest of the session. It is also key to reassure people and set some upfront expectations for the day.
Make sure you give people plenty of breaks – opportunity to stretch legs, use bathroom, take urgent messages, recharge energy – but try to avoid them going off with mobiles pressed to ears
Think about your OWN energy and your state. If you are feeling low you must make sure the participants don’t see it. Think about how you‘ll manage your state and keep yourself charged.
Check in with the participants as you go along. Make them feel it is OK to ask questions or signal if they don’t understand or disagree with something. Ask how their energy is. Be sensitive to the atmosphere and body language in the room and if you sense people flagging do something quickly to change their state (e.g. get everyone to change places, or do a few stretches, do a quick energiser, take a break)
Throw things back to the group – you don’t have to answer all the questions yourself. Ask what everyone else thinks (very useful when you haven’t a clue yourself! – it happens!). You can also ask them what they want to do at key points – or give them some choices, e.g. do you want to do this exercise all together or in smaller groups? Are you ready for a break now or do you want to press on?
You can give participants roles – for example someone to be the timekeeper, maybe someone as a Jargon Buster, someone to manage the environment, another to watch for mood and energy. This is particularly useful if you are facilitating solo.
Tell stories rather than giving lectures. People remember these better than factual descriptions or lots of “teaching”. Look for interesting anecdotes that will be relevant to the point you want to get across. If you can make the stories come alive by demonstration or by getting the participants to do an exercise – even better
Remember different people learn and absorb information in different ways – make sure your day has something for all of them – visual, aural, textual, kinaesthetic, etc
Remember that most of the answers lie within the group. Your role is to pull those answers out of them. They know more about their business than you do! Your role is to inspire, to challenge, to help build ideas, to manage the process, to keep everything on track and to steer them all to deliver the workshop objectives.
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
If you are about to facilitate a workshop, whether internally or for clients, these top tips should help ou avoid the most obvious pitfalls and ensure you have a highly productive and creative session that every participant will enjoy
Get the brief right – projects often run into problems when you are not clear enough about the brief. Have you framed the right issue? What’s in and out of scope? At least half a day on this with the project team at the start of every project, will pay dividends later and avoid heartache from people having different assumptions and expectations.• Invest plenty of time in preparation. Ask yourself what you want to achieve at the end of the day – what will success look like and then work back from there so you can design it in.
Don’t try to cram too much in. Estimate timings and get someone else to look at them and challenge you – have you allowed enough/ too much for each element?
Make sure you have a good balance in the day of sitting and absorbing with moving and doing. How can you make things more interactive? At which points in the agenda is energy likely to flag? You need to think of ways to get people’s energy up again – a change of topic, of pace, of scene, of speaker, of type of activity.
The agenda is your road map but you must always be prepared to take a diversion if this is appropriate to deliver the objectives. You may find a particular exercise takes longer than expected but is yielding rich fruit. You may find an issue you expected to be tricky is easily resolved and does not need all the time you allotted. Participants can also throw unexpected “googlies” – a facilitator has to be flexible enough to accommodate these.
Think about the venue. Try if possible to go offsite. Look for an interesting and creative venue – natural light, ideally with somewhere nice outside for a bit of air at break times. Do you need space for breakouts? Talk with the venue before about room layout – if you are running a creative session avoid boardroom setups like the plague – chuck out those blotter pads and Imperial Mints! Replace with some funky notebooks and goodies – fruit and nuts if you want to be healthy, Celebrations or Haribo Mix if you want to make people fat and happy!
Get there early and check the room is right. What can you do to dress it and personalise it?
Do fabulous flip charts. Time spent on doing these well will pay off and the act of doing them is a great way to get yourself “in state”. Flip charts work much better than PowerPoint slides – they are less distancing, more immediate and feel much more tailored and personalised to the occasion.
Use music – again a great way to get in state and to signal to participants – upbeat for energisers and in breaks, more chilled for reflections and for small group exercises. You can also turn up the volume then cut it off to signal the session is starting up again.
Prizes can be fun to break the ice and get some competition going – depends on the group though – but in any event small jokey ones or stuff for people’s kids usually works well
Always start with an icebreaker of some kind – think about whether the participants know each other – in big companies they often don’t – or at least not well. They are probably a bit nervous about what is going to happen and this is a great way to get people laughing and relax
Spend plenty of time on the set-up. Short-cut this at your peril. This is how you create the atmosphere for the rest of the session and get everyone to agree about how they are going to BEHAVE. If you don’t do this upfront you will regret it all the way through the rest of the session. It is also key to reassure people and set some upfront expectations for the day.
Make sure you give people plenty of breaks – opportunity to stretch legs, use bathroom, take urgent messages, recharge energy – but try to avoid them going off with mobiles pressed to ears
Think about your OWN energy and your state. If you are feeling low you must make sure the participants don’t see it. Think about how you‘ll manage your state and keep yourself charged.
Check in with the participants as you go along. Make them feel it is OK to ask questions or signal if they don’t understand or disagree with something. Ask how their energy is. Be sensitive to the atmosphere and body language in the room and if you sense people flagging do something quickly to change their state (e.g. get everyone to change places, or do a few stretches, do a quick energiser, take a break)
Throw things back to the group – you don’t have to answer all the questions yourself. Ask what everyone else thinks (very useful when you haven’t a clue yourself! – it happens!). You can also ask them what they want to do at key points – or give them some choices, e.g. do you want to do this exercise all together or in smaller groups? Are you ready for a break now or do you want to press on?
You can give participants roles – for example someone to be the timekeeper, maybe someone as a Jargon Buster, someone to manage the environment, another to watch for mood and energy. This is particularly useful if you are facilitating solo.
Tell stories rather than giving lectures. People remember these better than factual descriptions or lots of “teaching”. Look for interesting anecdotes that will be relevant to the point you want to get across. If you can make the stories come alive by demonstration or by getting the participants to do an exercise – even better
Remember different people learn and absorb information in different ways – make sure your day has something for all of them – visual, aural, textual, kinaesthetic, etc
Remember that most of the answers lie within the group. Your role is to pull those answers out of them. They know more about their business than you do! Your role is to inspire, to challenge, to help build ideas, to manage the process, to keep everything on track and to steer them all to deliver the workshop objectives.
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Posted on October 6, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Ian G Cook asked:
Do you remember the last time you attended the initial meeting of a new task force or project team at work? No one could agree on the goals. A couple of people complained about all their other work demands. Someone was pushing a personal agenda to become the team “leader.” After a couple of hours of struggle, with the “team’s” wheels totally spinning, you began to ask yourself why you were here.
In high performance organizations with project-oriented environments, ad hoc teams are becoming the norm. Examples are companies like Levi Strauss, ABB, and 3M.
Temporary teams differ from permanent teams. Most importantly, they have high demands placed on them to produce results quickly and then disband. Their mandate and authority (e.g. can they make final decisions? can they implement them?) are often unclear. And if the team is also cross functional, it will have complex goals affecting many parts of the organization and beyond.
And then there are the team members! They come with varying degrees of commitment, different agendae, functional backgrounds, perspectives, and loyalties. But they all wonder whether their efforts here will be rewarded at performance review time.
The ad hoc team faces a unique challenge. It must sort out its human dynamics issues early, get everyone aligned on a common mandate, and build the genuine commitment of all members to that goal quickly! These teams seldom have enough time to devote to the project. They need to get on with the task-asap! Yet, again and again experience has shown that when team members do not address the human dynamics part right at the beginning, team performance suffers seriously later on.
So, what should your project or ad hoc team do to maximize its performance? Its first meeting is crucial. Plan to invest just one day, up front, on its “process” issues. This initial session should be facilitated by a skilled person who is not a team member. As a guide, here is what my one-day “kickstart” program typically covers:
Purpose/mission
Why was the team created? What goals and deliverables (e.g. design a process to reduce wastage by 18%) are expected of it? Ensure that all members understand and accept these objectives and their related time-lines.
Champion(s)
To which manager, board or steering committee does the team report? What support has this champion promised? What information/updates do they expect from the team? How will the team liaise with the champion?
Team Members
What skills, knowledge, and experience do they bring? Identify and discuss each person’s hopes, desired benefits, expectations, concerns, and initial degree of commitment to the team. Make it OK not to be committed at the outset.
Operating Guidelines
Determine how leadership will operate within the team. Is there one leader? What is his/her role? How will the team make decisions? How often will they meet? How will they communicate amongst one another? What is expected of each member? Can someone miss a meeting? What happens if someone fails to meet a commitment?
Next steps
Now it is time to turn the group to its task. Here members start developing a plan of action and assign responsibilities. The day should end with this underway.
The above fills a very productive day. A facilitator will fast track the team to performance by:
1. providing structure and leadership
2. training members on group dynamics
3. helping them through the startup energy-draining issues around power
4. ensuring that they stay focused
A good facilitator will leave the team with tools and techniques to address interpersonal issues whenever they obstruct team performance downline.
What about your temporary teams? Can they afford a slow acceleration to maximum performance?
Create a video blog…instantly.
Do you remember the last time you attended the initial meeting of a new task force or project team at work? No one could agree on the goals. A couple of people complained about all their other work demands. Someone was pushing a personal agenda to become the team “leader.” After a couple of hours of struggle, with the “team’s” wheels totally spinning, you began to ask yourself why you were here.
In high performance organizations with project-oriented environments, ad hoc teams are becoming the norm. Examples are companies like Levi Strauss, ABB, and 3M.
Temporary teams differ from permanent teams. Most importantly, they have high demands placed on them to produce results quickly and then disband. Their mandate and authority (e.g. can they make final decisions? can they implement them?) are often unclear. And if the team is also cross functional, it will have complex goals affecting many parts of the organization and beyond.
And then there are the team members! They come with varying degrees of commitment, different agendae, functional backgrounds, perspectives, and loyalties. But they all wonder whether their efforts here will be rewarded at performance review time.
The ad hoc team faces a unique challenge. It must sort out its human dynamics issues early, get everyone aligned on a common mandate, and build the genuine commitment of all members to that goal quickly! These teams seldom have enough time to devote to the project. They need to get on with the task-asap! Yet, again and again experience has shown that when team members do not address the human dynamics part right at the beginning, team performance suffers seriously later on.
So, what should your project or ad hoc team do to maximize its performance? Its first meeting is crucial. Plan to invest just one day, up front, on its “process” issues. This initial session should be facilitated by a skilled person who is not a team member. As a guide, here is what my one-day “kickstart” program typically covers:
Purpose/mission
Why was the team created? What goals and deliverables (e.g. design a process to reduce wastage by 18%) are expected of it? Ensure that all members understand and accept these objectives and their related time-lines.
Champion(s)
To which manager, board or steering committee does the team report? What support has this champion promised? What information/updates do they expect from the team? How will the team liaise with the champion?
Team Members
What skills, knowledge, and experience do they bring? Identify and discuss each person’s hopes, desired benefits, expectations, concerns, and initial degree of commitment to the team. Make it OK not to be committed at the outset.
Operating Guidelines
Determine how leadership will operate within the team. Is there one leader? What is his/her role? How will the team make decisions? How often will they meet? How will they communicate amongst one another? What is expected of each member? Can someone miss a meeting? What happens if someone fails to meet a commitment?
Next steps
Now it is time to turn the group to its task. Here members start developing a plan of action and assign responsibilities. The day should end with this underway.
The above fills a very productive day. A facilitator will fast track the team to performance by:
1. providing structure and leadership
2. training members on group dynamics
3. helping them through the startup energy-draining issues around power
4. ensuring that they stay focused
A good facilitator will leave the team with tools and techniques to address interpersonal issues whenever they obstruct team performance downline.
What about your temporary teams? Can they afford a slow acceleration to maximum performance?
Create a video blog…instantly.
Posted on October 8, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Christian Fea asked:
To maintain a successful business, it is important to develop a strong and integrated marketing strategy. Some small business owners are hesitant to embark on a collaboration marketing strategy however; there are a few points to keep in mind that will make it a strategy with beneficial elements for your business.
Once you have decided to embark on a collaboration marketing strategy, there are challenges to working together, and it’s wise to be aware of these issues before you get started. Below are a few tips to keep in mind when weighing the pros and cons of collaboration marketing, and some challenges that may present themselves once you do begin the process.
Increase your bargaining power. When you collaborate with other small businesses, you may have a stronger base with which to negotiate with various suppliers. If you collaborate to buy products from a particular supplier, the increased volume of products that you will require as part of your collaboration may potentially drive down the price of the products than if you bought each of them separately.
Promote a product line. Creating a collaboration product line initially sounds a bit risky, but if done wisely, it can create a stronger base for each company within the product line. For instance, if you are a small company that makes t-shirts from organic cotton, you may have trouble raising awareness for your product because of a limited customer base. If you collaborate with other designers and clothing manufacturers who are also committed to organic supplies, you can create an “Organic Cotton” parent company product line, with your label and each of the other companies’ labels being sold under a collaboration heading.
Access a diverse customer base. By working with other businesses, you potentially open your customer base to your collaborators, and in return, gain access to the customer base of your partners. In this way you are potentially expanding your client base and the number of people you can reach with your products and services.
Lack of a common mission is a challenge within a collaboration marketing strategy. When forming a collaboration marketing partnership, it is important to be certain that you share common goals and the same mission. Even if you have a common end goal, you may have very different ideas about how to reach these goals. Differences in process are a potential benefit to collaborations because you will be exposed to the ideas and skills of another expert in your field, but these same differences can also be potential landmines for executing a common goal. Be certain you are on the same page with your partners and have a specific plan for your mission before you embark on collaboration.
As with the lack of a common mission, lack of a common commitment will also present it’s own set of challenges. When working with other businesses and forming a collaboration marketing platform, you’ll want to be certain that you partnered with owners who are as committed to hard work and success as you are. It is a common issue to have different levels of commitment among different people. Given this potential pitfall, you’ll want to be sure that you have equally dedicated collaborators, so everyone participates in an equal share of the labor involved in maintaining a successful collaboration.
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
To maintain a successful business, it is important to develop a strong and integrated marketing strategy. Some small business owners are hesitant to embark on a collaboration marketing strategy however; there are a few points to keep in mind that will make it a strategy with beneficial elements for your business.
Once you have decided to embark on a collaboration marketing strategy, there are challenges to working together, and it’s wise to be aware of these issues before you get started. Below are a few tips to keep in mind when weighing the pros and cons of collaboration marketing, and some challenges that may present themselves once you do begin the process.
Increase your bargaining power. When you collaborate with other small businesses, you may have a stronger base with which to negotiate with various suppliers. If you collaborate to buy products from a particular supplier, the increased volume of products that you will require as part of your collaboration may potentially drive down the price of the products than if you bought each of them separately.
Promote a product line. Creating a collaboration product line initially sounds a bit risky, but if done wisely, it can create a stronger base for each company within the product line. For instance, if you are a small company that makes t-shirts from organic cotton, you may have trouble raising awareness for your product because of a limited customer base. If you collaborate with other designers and clothing manufacturers who are also committed to organic supplies, you can create an “Organic Cotton” parent company product line, with your label and each of the other companies’ labels being sold under a collaboration heading.
Access a diverse customer base. By working with other businesses, you potentially open your customer base to your collaborators, and in return, gain access to the customer base of your partners. In this way you are potentially expanding your client base and the number of people you can reach with your products and services.
Lack of a common mission is a challenge within a collaboration marketing strategy. When forming a collaboration marketing partnership, it is important to be certain that you share common goals and the same mission. Even if you have a common end goal, you may have very different ideas about how to reach these goals. Differences in process are a potential benefit to collaborations because you will be exposed to the ideas and skills of another expert in your field, but these same differences can also be potential landmines for executing a common goal. Be certain you are on the same page with your partners and have a specific plan for your mission before you embark on collaboration.
As with the lack of a common mission, lack of a common commitment will also present it’s own set of challenges. When working with other businesses and forming a collaboration marketing platform, you’ll want to be certain that you partnered with owners who are as committed to hard work and success as you are. It is a common issue to have different levels of commitment among different people. Given this potential pitfall, you’ll want to be sure that you have equally dedicated collaborators, so everyone participates in an equal share of the labor involved in maintaining a successful collaboration.
Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress
Posted on October 9, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Allan Mackintosh asked:
Team Development – It’s on the Cards.
I am passionate about team development and have written several articles on the subject. I am totally convinced that teams who are developed properly results not only in the overall team being developed but this development will really enhance the performance of the actual individuals within the team. If all individuals develop and achieve their targets and goals then this ensures that the team itself achieves its own objectives, targets and goals. However I get very frustrated when I hear talk of team development because this is what it is in many ways – just ‘talk’. Many organisations and managers within those organisations talk a ‘good game’ when it comes to team development. They think that just by holding regular meetings and by keeping communication levels high, this will be enough to develop the team to its full potential. Some firmly believe that a night out at the pub or restaurant, having a few drinks and a meal will enhance team ‘bonding’ and hence make them more productive. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Having worked in, and alongside, many teams from professional sports teams through to sales teams and with executive boards, I know that without regular review of team results, processes and behaviours, teams will never get anywhere near their full potential. In fact look behind the scenes of many teams and you will find cliques, in-fighting, ‘back-stabbing’ and ‘corridor conferences’. The team visit to the restaurant will only enhance this, not change it! Of course these ‘behaviours’ will never come out within the regular ‘run of the mill’ ‘manager-run’ meeting either. This is not a healthy situation and certainly not one that will enhance either team or individual performance.
So, what are the challenges that managers face in developing their teams and what can be done to support them?
I interviewed a number of managers recently and the key challenges that they highlighted were:
Time. The pressure is on for results and team meetings were limited and agendas crammed with ‘business’ and ‘reporting’ items. No time was put aside within these meetings for team or individual development. Money. Cash is tight. The recession has caused training budgets to be slashed or ‘moved’ elsewhere. Bringing in external team development specialists or taking the team away for outdoor team development sessions won’t happen in the near to medium future simply because the money isn’t there at present. Training. As regards team skills such as leadership, performance coaching, and facilitation there are few training courses being run internally and although there are internal company resources such as books and videos, little attention is being paid to them due to challenge number one – time! There are numerous external courses but again time and money is limited.
So what is the solution to these challenges? It is recognised by all the managers that I spoke to that development of the team was vital if results were to be achieved and if a solution was found that could support the development of the team in a timely, cost effective, motivational and productive way then it would be well worth while looking at.
I got my ‘thinking cap’ on, and put down some key principles that would have to be adhered to if a suitable solution was to be created. These principles were:
The solution must be affordable and be a ‘no-brainer’ as regards cost. Any intervention must be able to work within limited time restrictions and be used within a regular business meeting. It should be easy to use and not reliant on external ‘experts’. Every member of the team must be involved and able to contribute. An action plan to move the team forward must be produced. It must be a motivational experience and hopefully a bit of fun!
The result was that I came up with a ‘team-cards’ product. Coaching cards have been used by coaches for several years now, whereby a coach will use a set of cards to get individuals talking about their situations and feelings. Typically, the individual being coached would pick a card, analyse the question, statement or picture and then relate their feelings, thoughts and comments. The cards are a catalyst to enable the individual to talk and talk freely. I asked my self the question. “Why can’t we use a card product for teams?” The answer to my own question was, as you’ve guessed, “Why not!”
So, I produced two sets of, what I call, ‘Team-Cards’. There is an ‘Original’ set composed of 52 questions about teams and there is a ‘Provocateur’ set which is composed of 52 fairly provocative statements about teams. The ‘original’ set is for newly established teams, with the ‘Provocateur’ set for more established teams who are more open to expressing their feelings and importantly more open to constructive ad direct feedback.
The rules are simple:
There must be a facilitator, a time keeper and an action taker. The facilitator does not need to be the manager, only someone who can effectively facilitate a group or team discussion. The individuals within the team must agree to be as open and honest and as constructive as they can. Time must be put aside within the meeting to enable the cards to be used effectively. 1.5 to 2 hours for a team of 6-8 is recommended. The facilitator shuffles the cards and asks a team member to choose a card. It is important that the team member picks the card as opposed to the facilitator dealing the cards. The team members must feel they have made the choice of card. The team member will then read the card’s question or statement and then answer the question or give their comments on the statement. All the questions or statements relate to critical aspects of team working. The facilitator will then encourage discussion and debate around the question or statement while the action taker records any development actions that arise from the discussions. This process continues until each member of the team has picked a card and commented on the question or statement. Tests have shown that a team of six persons will have two chances at picking and commenting on cards within a two hour session. The end result of a session will be that the team members will feel motivated because they have all contributed and had the chance to air their views and in addition a team action or development plan will have been constructed.
In team ‘test’ sessions run so far the feedback has been excellent. Time has been found in regular business meetings; individuals feel motivated; the Cards are very cost effective so there are no real budget implications; action plans have been constructed and overall the teams are ready to use the cards on a regular basis. And, yes not a ‘rope course’, human table football, or expensive team development consultant like me in sight!
Caffeinated Content for WordPress
Team Development – It’s on the Cards.
I am passionate about team development and have written several articles on the subject. I am totally convinced that teams who are developed properly results not only in the overall team being developed but this development will really enhance the performance of the actual individuals within the team. If all individuals develop and achieve their targets and goals then this ensures that the team itself achieves its own objectives, targets and goals. However I get very frustrated when I hear talk of team development because this is what it is in many ways – just ‘talk’. Many organisations and managers within those organisations talk a ‘good game’ when it comes to team development. They think that just by holding regular meetings and by keeping communication levels high, this will be enough to develop the team to its full potential. Some firmly believe that a night out at the pub or restaurant, having a few drinks and a meal will enhance team ‘bonding’ and hence make them more productive. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Having worked in, and alongside, many teams from professional sports teams through to sales teams and with executive boards, I know that without regular review of team results, processes and behaviours, teams will never get anywhere near their full potential. In fact look behind the scenes of many teams and you will find cliques, in-fighting, ‘back-stabbing’ and ‘corridor conferences’. The team visit to the restaurant will only enhance this, not change it! Of course these ‘behaviours’ will never come out within the regular ‘run of the mill’ ‘manager-run’ meeting either. This is not a healthy situation and certainly not one that will enhance either team or individual performance.
So, what are the challenges that managers face in developing their teams and what can be done to support them?
I interviewed a number of managers recently and the key challenges that they highlighted were:
Time. The pressure is on for results and team meetings were limited and agendas crammed with ‘business’ and ‘reporting’ items. No time was put aside within these meetings for team or individual development. Money. Cash is tight. The recession has caused training budgets to be slashed or ‘moved’ elsewhere. Bringing in external team development specialists or taking the team away for outdoor team development sessions won’t happen in the near to medium future simply because the money isn’t there at present. Training. As regards team skills such as leadership, performance coaching, and facilitation there are few training courses being run internally and although there are internal company resources such as books and videos, little attention is being paid to them due to challenge number one – time! There are numerous external courses but again time and money is limited.
So what is the solution to these challenges? It is recognised by all the managers that I spoke to that development of the team was vital if results were to be achieved and if a solution was found that could support the development of the team in a timely, cost effective, motivational and productive way then it would be well worth while looking at.
I got my ‘thinking cap’ on, and put down some key principles that would have to be adhered to if a suitable solution was to be created. These principles were:
The solution must be affordable and be a ‘no-brainer’ as regards cost. Any intervention must be able to work within limited time restrictions and be used within a regular business meeting. It should be easy to use and not reliant on external ‘experts’. Every member of the team must be involved and able to contribute. An action plan to move the team forward must be produced. It must be a motivational experience and hopefully a bit of fun!
The result was that I came up with a ‘team-cards’ product. Coaching cards have been used by coaches for several years now, whereby a coach will use a set of cards to get individuals talking about their situations and feelings. Typically, the individual being coached would pick a card, analyse the question, statement or picture and then relate their feelings, thoughts and comments. The cards are a catalyst to enable the individual to talk and talk freely. I asked my self the question. “Why can’t we use a card product for teams?” The answer to my own question was, as you’ve guessed, “Why not!”
So, I produced two sets of, what I call, ‘Team-Cards’. There is an ‘Original’ set composed of 52 questions about teams and there is a ‘Provocateur’ set which is composed of 52 fairly provocative statements about teams. The ‘original’ set is for newly established teams, with the ‘Provocateur’ set for more established teams who are more open to expressing their feelings and importantly more open to constructive ad direct feedback.
The rules are simple:
There must be a facilitator, a time keeper and an action taker. The facilitator does not need to be the manager, only someone who can effectively facilitate a group or team discussion. The individuals within the team must agree to be as open and honest and as constructive as they can. Time must be put aside within the meeting to enable the cards to be used effectively. 1.5 to 2 hours for a team of 6-8 is recommended. The facilitator shuffles the cards and asks a team member to choose a card. It is important that the team member picks the card as opposed to the facilitator dealing the cards. The team members must feel they have made the choice of card. The team member will then read the card’s question or statement and then answer the question or give their comments on the statement. All the questions or statements relate to critical aspects of team working. The facilitator will then encourage discussion and debate around the question or statement while the action taker records any development actions that arise from the discussions. This process continues until each member of the team has picked a card and commented on the question or statement. Tests have shown that a team of six persons will have two chances at picking and commenting on cards within a two hour session. The end result of a session will be that the team members will feel motivated because they have all contributed and had the chance to air their views and in addition a team action or development plan will have been constructed.
In team ‘test’ sessions run so far the feedback has been excellent. Time has been found in regular business meetings; individuals feel motivated; the Cards are very cost effective so there are no real budget implications; action plans have been constructed and overall the teams are ready to use the cards on a regular basis. And, yes not a ‘rope course’, human table football, or expensive team development consultant like me in sight!
Caffeinated Content for WordPress
Posted on October 9, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Maanasi RK asked:
Collaboration is a recursive process where intersection of common goals causes two or more people, or organizations, to work together. Sharing knowledge and building consensus can enhance an intellectual and creative endeavor. Social Media is all about sharing. Sharing information, news, photos, videos… the list goes on. It is also about learning, listening and empathizing.
Jessica Chapman of Room to Breathe emphasizes the importance of collaborating with associates, vendors, suppliers, and people in other industries that complement a business’s overall need for growth.
Collaboration is important for any business or organization. As Chapman points out, “In a great economy, collaboration is a really good idea to do. In a down economy where people are freaking out about money and not sure where things are going to come, collaboration is a necessity.”
Here Jessica talks about the traditional market. But in an increasingly technology-driven world, how does one connect, how does one collaborate? Especially when the need to connect is even more imperative due to current market conditions. At present, the market is highly customer-centric. A customer today knows a lot more about products compared to a customer a decade ago, primarily due to easy access to a vast number of resources and information online. A consumer decides to purchase only after he or she completes a detailed research on the particular product or service. Listening to customers, understanding what they need and seeking feedback is how collaboration begins. And this can be accomplished by making use of social media networks. By being present in places where customers visit to research products is the first step in a social media plan.
As Maki says, “Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels and it is a powerful strategy that will get you links, attention and massive amounts of traffic.
There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again.”
One needs to develop a strategy to build relationships with customers online. One needs to learn how to listen, empathize and connect with them. Having conversations are important. This leads to a better brand image for a company. Fuse lists the most important points to be followed while using social media and collaborating online:
· Social media networking takes time
· Strive to maintain legitimacy
· Create and maintain a conversation with your consumer
· Know when NOT to use social networking
When used wisely, a good plan can complement traditional channels and also build brand identity by focusing more on customers. In short, the most important activity for a company is to collaborate with the customer.
Caffeinated Content
Collaboration is a recursive process where intersection of common goals causes two or more people, or organizations, to work together. Sharing knowledge and building consensus can enhance an intellectual and creative endeavor. Social Media is all about sharing. Sharing information, news, photos, videos… the list goes on. It is also about learning, listening and empathizing.
Jessica Chapman of Room to Breathe emphasizes the importance of collaborating with associates, vendors, suppliers, and people in other industries that complement a business’s overall need for growth.
Collaboration is important for any business or organization. As Chapman points out, “In a great economy, collaboration is a really good idea to do. In a down economy where people are freaking out about money and not sure where things are going to come, collaboration is a necessity.”
Here Jessica talks about the traditional market. But in an increasingly technology-driven world, how does one connect, how does one collaborate? Especially when the need to connect is even more imperative due to current market conditions. At present, the market is highly customer-centric. A customer today knows a lot more about products compared to a customer a decade ago, primarily due to easy access to a vast number of resources and information online. A consumer decides to purchase only after he or she completes a detailed research on the particular product or service. Listening to customers, understanding what they need and seeking feedback is how collaboration begins. And this can be accomplished by making use of social media networks. By being present in places where customers visit to research products is the first step in a social media plan.
As Maki says, “Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels and it is a powerful strategy that will get you links, attention and massive amounts of traffic.
There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again.”
One needs to develop a strategy to build relationships with customers online. One needs to learn how to listen, empathize and connect with them. Having conversations are important. This leads to a better brand image for a company. Fuse lists the most important points to be followed while using social media and collaborating online:
· Social media networking takes time
· Strive to maintain legitimacy
· Create and maintain a conversation with your consumer
· Know when NOT to use social networking
When used wisely, a good plan can complement traditional channels and also build brand identity by focusing more on customers. In short, the most important activity for a company is to collaborate with the customer.
Caffeinated Content
Posted on October 10, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Leaftech asked:
Participating in an online collaboration project? Well, you might be wondering just how your ideas are protected, how they can flow from person to person, and who the heck makes sure that the Internet stays functioning in order to keep everyone on schedule.
Even people who are light Internet users at the best of times have probably come across the company VeriSign somewhere during their Web perusals. The most likely time for non-savvy browsers to have come across this company’s name is when a purchase has been made through the use of a credit card online; the VeriSign logo is probably something that you noticed in that last minute “is this really safe?” gut feeling check.
Well, there is a good reason that VeriSign has a presence on that credit card, confirm payment page; it is a company which provides some of the most vital security on the world market place today. You may have heard that Internet purchases are starting to overtake retail in North America, and a big part of the reason is the security provided by companies such as VeriSign. Here are some of the services that may be relevant to your online collaboration project that VeriSign provides:
Managed security: Firewalls, intrusion protection and detection, and warnings about system vulnerabilities can all be critical in protecting your project from hackers and viruses.
Authentication: For the use of online money transactions, in order to confirm that people with access are indeed collaborators on the project, remote access provision and validation.
Global and email security: VeriSign provides anti-spam, anti-phishing, and anti-virus protection for your email as well as a variety of consulting measure on issues of security.
So when it comes to the security end of things, you are probably sure to encounter VeriSign at some point on your project. But VeriSign is likely to show up in a number of other areas as well; they are a huge company that provides services in the following areas:
Communications: VeriSign operates a huge number of products and services that make instant, online collaboration possible. These services include VOIP, call routing, call directories, LNP, wireless LAN, and more. They also offer downloadable digital content.
Using the Internet! VeriSign is almost inescapable when it comes to using the Internet, and that includes online collaboration projects. The company operates the two biggest root name servers on the Internet (.com and .net).
So when it comes to your online collaboration project, VeriSign is bound to have a presence. In fact, for most projects the services the company provides are virtually indispensable.
Kansieo.com
Participating in an online collaboration project? Well, you might be wondering just how your ideas are protected, how they can flow from person to person, and who the heck makes sure that the Internet stays functioning in order to keep everyone on schedule.
Even people who are light Internet users at the best of times have probably come across the company VeriSign somewhere during their Web perusals. The most likely time for non-savvy browsers to have come across this company’s name is when a purchase has been made through the use of a credit card online; the VeriSign logo is probably something that you noticed in that last minute “is this really safe?” gut feeling check.
Well, there is a good reason that VeriSign has a presence on that credit card, confirm payment page; it is a company which provides some of the most vital security on the world market place today. You may have heard that Internet purchases are starting to overtake retail in North America, and a big part of the reason is the security provided by companies such as VeriSign. Here are some of the services that may be relevant to your online collaboration project that VeriSign provides:
Managed security: Firewalls, intrusion protection and detection, and warnings about system vulnerabilities can all be critical in protecting your project from hackers and viruses.
Authentication: For the use of online money transactions, in order to confirm that people with access are indeed collaborators on the project, remote access provision and validation.
Global and email security: VeriSign provides anti-spam, anti-phishing, and anti-virus protection for your email as well as a variety of consulting measure on issues of security.
So when it comes to the security end of things, you are probably sure to encounter VeriSign at some point on your project. But VeriSign is likely to show up in a number of other areas as well; they are a huge company that provides services in the following areas:
Communications: VeriSign operates a huge number of products and services that make instant, online collaboration possible. These services include VOIP, call routing, call directories, LNP, wireless LAN, and more. They also offer downloadable digital content.
Using the Internet! VeriSign is almost inescapable when it comes to using the Internet, and that includes online collaboration projects. The company operates the two biggest root name servers on the Internet (.com and .net).
So when it comes to your online collaboration project, VeriSign is bound to have a presence. In fact, for most projects the services the company provides are virtually indispensable.
Kansieo.com
Posted on October 11, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Kate Mercer asked:
How Familiar are these Situations to You?
- An organisation adopts a new strategy. While paying lip-service to the change, key staff are still resisting the new direction, complaining and hoping that things will go back to the way they were before
- A team regards itself as a group of individuals who ‘happen’ to report to the same person. Though they are each doing their own job effectively, the synergies, economies of scale and innovation that it was hoped would come from bringing them together are not happening
- A layer of management is taken out of an organisation to empower the next level of managers to make quicker decisions, interface directly with their own customers and produce enhanced results. However, they aren’t stepping up to the new challenge, and are waiting for direction and seeking permission, just as they did in the old structure
- Two functional heads whose roles require that they work together closely, clash to the extent that they do their best to avoid each other. When they do have to work together there is friction, resulting in inefficiency and poor outcomes
- Conflict and ‘fingerpointing’ are arising because team members are not clear on the exact boundaries of their roles, and tend either to ‘tread on each other’s toes’, or to miss targets and deadlines altogether because it is not clear who is accountable for their achievement
Sound Familiar?
Do you see similar issues in your own business? They cost hassle and sleepless nights. But have you ever stopped to calculate what they are really costing you? The real cost is a brake on business results which, if not tackled head-on, becomes permanent because it becomes the norm – ‘just the way things are round here’.
Typically, the knee-jerk reaction is to fire people, move them ’sideways’, re-structure, tell ‘them’ to get their act together, hope it gets better by complaining enough, put them on ’special measures’ at appraisal time, or call a ‘cards on the table’ meeting – all expensive, risky and ultimately ineffective.
What does not usually happen is that all the people concerned with the issue get together and surface it fully in a series of face-to-face conversations in which they explore in depth how things got to be this way, and agree new actions and behaviours which permanently prevent the issues from arising again. This approach to creating great, results-producing teams, in contrast to the knee-jerk response, is inexpensive, very fast, and if done properly always produces outstanding long-term results.
Why does the Approach Work?
The approach works because it creates a necessary forum, managed by a facilitator, to identify and surface issues that have not been expressed before. If the platform for doing this had existed before, organisational issues would have been resolved already, or would probably never have become problems in the first place! A valuable outcome of this approach is the creation of a long-term organisational process for dealing with team issues whenever they arise in the future – ‘just the way we do things round here’!
The second reason the approach works is that it is based on consistent research findings showing that, with very few exceptions, individuals are always capable of producing outstanding results given the right skills and mindset. If individuals don’t have the necessary skills, organisations are very familiar with the process of identifying and addressing skill gaps through training. However, people quite frequently still don’t produce the results they are capable of. This is because what gets in the way is not just their level of skill, but equally importantly their mindset and the groupthink in the team – this approach tackles these head on.
What Is the Key to Success?
The key to the approach’s success is the toughest bit: telling the truth. The experienced facilitator encourages participants to uncover and face up to key, relevant truths that will unstick the team and enable it to move on. They might otherwise shy away from these issues, leaving them forever buried from view, but causing unacknowledged blocks to progress. The team cannot do this without the impetus from an outside facilitator; it would be like doing brain surgery on yourself!
You may or may not have the ‘right’ strategy, the ‘right’ product, the ‘right’ appointment, the ‘right’ new computer system, but as a business leader, whatever you give your team to work with, you need their full, unconditional commitment. The process I outline uncovers very quickly any barriers in the way of every member of the team providing this, and leaves the team with a new ability to surface and resolve issues quickly and permanently in future.
Caffeinated Content
How Familiar are these Situations to You?
- An organisation adopts a new strategy. While paying lip-service to the change, key staff are still resisting the new direction, complaining and hoping that things will go back to the way they were before
- A team regards itself as a group of individuals who ‘happen’ to report to the same person. Though they are each doing their own job effectively, the synergies, economies of scale and innovation that it was hoped would come from bringing them together are not happening
- A layer of management is taken out of an organisation to empower the next level of managers to make quicker decisions, interface directly with their own customers and produce enhanced results. However, they aren’t stepping up to the new challenge, and are waiting for direction and seeking permission, just as they did in the old structure
- Two functional heads whose roles require that they work together closely, clash to the extent that they do their best to avoid each other. When they do have to work together there is friction, resulting in inefficiency and poor outcomes
- Conflict and ‘fingerpointing’ are arising because team members are not clear on the exact boundaries of their roles, and tend either to ‘tread on each other’s toes’, or to miss targets and deadlines altogether because it is not clear who is accountable for their achievement
Sound Familiar?
Do you see similar issues in your own business? They cost hassle and sleepless nights. But have you ever stopped to calculate what they are really costing you? The real cost is a brake on business results which, if not tackled head-on, becomes permanent because it becomes the norm – ‘just the way things are round here’.
Typically, the knee-jerk reaction is to fire people, move them ’sideways’, re-structure, tell ‘them’ to get their act together, hope it gets better by complaining enough, put them on ’special measures’ at appraisal time, or call a ‘cards on the table’ meeting – all expensive, risky and ultimately ineffective.
What does not usually happen is that all the people concerned with the issue get together and surface it fully in a series of face-to-face conversations in which they explore in depth how things got to be this way, and agree new actions and behaviours which permanently prevent the issues from arising again. This approach to creating great, results-producing teams, in contrast to the knee-jerk response, is inexpensive, very fast, and if done properly always produces outstanding long-term results.
Why does the Approach Work?
The approach works because it creates a necessary forum, managed by a facilitator, to identify and surface issues that have not been expressed before. If the platform for doing this had existed before, organisational issues would have been resolved already, or would probably never have become problems in the first place! A valuable outcome of this approach is the creation of a long-term organisational process for dealing with team issues whenever they arise in the future – ‘just the way we do things round here’!
The second reason the approach works is that it is based on consistent research findings showing that, with very few exceptions, individuals are always capable of producing outstanding results given the right skills and mindset. If individuals don’t have the necessary skills, organisations are very familiar with the process of identifying and addressing skill gaps through training. However, people quite frequently still don’t produce the results they are capable of. This is because what gets in the way is not just their level of skill, but equally importantly their mindset and the groupthink in the team – this approach tackles these head on.
What Is the Key to Success?
The key to the approach’s success is the toughest bit: telling the truth. The experienced facilitator encourages participants to uncover and face up to key, relevant truths that will unstick the team and enable it to move on. They might otherwise shy away from these issues, leaving them forever buried from view, but causing unacknowledged blocks to progress. The team cannot do this without the impetus from an outside facilitator; it would be like doing brain surgery on yourself!
You may or may not have the ‘right’ strategy, the ‘right’ product, the ‘right’ appointment, the ‘right’ new computer system, but as a business leader, whatever you give your team to work with, you need their full, unconditional commitment. The process I outline uncovers very quickly any barriers in the way of every member of the team providing this, and leaves the team with a new ability to surface and resolve issues quickly and permanently in future.
Caffeinated Content
Posted on October 14, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Carole DeJarnatt asked:
Do you have a roadmap to success? Are there any curves or bends you are not sure how to navigate? Have you considered joining or forming a mastermind group? Napolean Hill author of Think and Grow Rich wrote, “No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind.”
Some of the benefits of joining a group are:
~~Peer to peer network of individuals to brainstorm for advice and ideas
~~Set goals and create plans
~~Accountability from your network of peers
~~Articles and resources for greater success in business
~~Network with others of like-mindedness
Mastermind groups can be started around any type of group. The goals for the group are fairly common but normally set by the facilitator or agreed upon when formed. All the groups I belong are coming together to give and receive information from the others in the group.
I presently belong to a coaches mastermind group. My first meeting I attended I did not understand the format and did not participate to the fullest. One thing I learned though was that each person at the table had some of the same issues I did and were there to gain from experiences from others. We are not there to gain business from each other; it is all about the learning experience. Referrals may happen between some of the people who are attending, but that is not the focus of this group.
Last fall I had breakfast with a friend of mine. She is a small business owner who is struggling to find ways to market her business. She suggested we find others who were having the same problem and start a roundtable group. At the time I agreed but was in the midst of the holidays. Today I emailed her and wrote, “Let’s get started!” I believe in the power of a mastermind group and bringing multiple minds together to plan for greater things to happen.
I am now facilitating a mastermind group of small business owners local to our area. When first coming in the room some of the people are apprehensive and do not understand the concept or what it is about. After we had our introductions and I explained how it worked, we started tackling one of our first business problems and it opened the floodgate for everyone to relax and become a part of it. The group was started and we are launched.
I am sure as we progress there will be modifications along the way, but the greatest success will come from those who attend and participate. Membership is not for everyone. You have to be serious about building your business and be willing to share with and learn from other business owners.
Why not try a group yourself. There are several online and perhaps there are probably some local to your area also. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce. Some offer them as a benefit to their members. Learn from the experience of others and succeed in business.
Create a video blog
Do you have a roadmap to success? Are there any curves or bends you are not sure how to navigate? Have you considered joining or forming a mastermind group? Napolean Hill author of Think and Grow Rich wrote, “No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind.”
Some of the benefits of joining a group are:
~~Peer to peer network of individuals to brainstorm for advice and ideas
~~Set goals and create plans
~~Accountability from your network of peers
~~Articles and resources for greater success in business
~~Network with others of like-mindedness
Mastermind groups can be started around any type of group. The goals for the group are fairly common but normally set by the facilitator or agreed upon when formed. All the groups I belong are coming together to give and receive information from the others in the group.
I presently belong to a coaches mastermind group. My first meeting I attended I did not understand the format and did not participate to the fullest. One thing I learned though was that each person at the table had some of the same issues I did and were there to gain from experiences from others. We are not there to gain business from each other; it is all about the learning experience. Referrals may happen between some of the people who are attending, but that is not the focus of this group.
Last fall I had breakfast with a friend of mine. She is a small business owner who is struggling to find ways to market her business. She suggested we find others who were having the same problem and start a roundtable group. At the time I agreed but was in the midst of the holidays. Today I emailed her and wrote, “Let’s get started!” I believe in the power of a mastermind group and bringing multiple minds together to plan for greater things to happen.
I am now facilitating a mastermind group of small business owners local to our area. When first coming in the room some of the people are apprehensive and do not understand the concept or what it is about. After we had our introductions and I explained how it worked, we started tackling one of our first business problems and it opened the floodgate for everyone to relax and become a part of it. The group was started and we are launched.
I am sure as we progress there will be modifications along the way, but the greatest success will come from those who attend and participate. Membership is not for everyone. You have to be serious about building your business and be willing to share with and learn from other business owners.
Why not try a group yourself. There are several online and perhaps there are probably some local to your area also. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce. Some offer them as a benefit to their members. Learn from the experience of others and succeed in business.
Create a video blog
Posted on October 23, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Nahshon Mediros asked:
After the much-awaited high school class of 1985 reunion, you’ve caught up with the lives of your long-lost friends. Keep the momentum going and invite them to fun collaboration. Share photos and experience and just enjoy.
A Hang-Out In the WWW
Yes, you and your friends can hang out on the World Wide Web. No more AWOLs from work and incurring the wrath of the big boss. At home, you can chat with a group of friends and swap pictures, videos, and even maps to get to cool places for that grand getaways. That is, if you have group collaboration software to make your outings in the web fun.
All you have to do is use the email feature and organize your online group together. Schedule your meetings and get ready with the files or pictures you want to share. This is a great way to keep in touch with friends from high school and college without spending money on airfare, bus tickets, and hotel accommodations. A one-time investment on group collaboration software, which you can split equally with the group, will make it even more cost-effective.
A nostalgic trip back to those memorable schooldays can always spice up your day after a long grind at work. You can widen your network and find out where the class beauty and the football hunks are hiding. The more you invite, the merrier. It won’t cost you another penny to chat up long lost friends and they’ll love your initiative to create a virtual coffee shop.
All-Purpose Conferencing
With group collaboration software, you can organize webinars for your friends, and even use the technology for your sales pitch. You can help those waiting for a break by using the platform to sell their products to old classmates who may happen to be in league with the big time.
Here’s what you can do with your group collaboration software:
1. Show PowerPoint presentations of club project and activities.
2. Share files on project statistics.
3. Review files together and make those decisions.
4. Enjoy audio and video features.
5. You can share marketing tips and strategies in real time.
For the big meetings, all you have to do is get a webinar hosting service and additional features to cater to a bigger crowd. Just an advice – let somebody outside the group do the facilitation and moderation of the activity. You and the gang shouldn’t be encumbered with more work. You’ve got to enjoy yourselves and at the same time scout for business opportunities without having to worry about small details.
Take the Lead Now
Start collecting the email addresses of your classmates and ask people to contribute to your list of emails. When you have reached a critical mass base, send them emails detailing your plans. Try out a consensus using the group collaboration software – it’ll make the work faster and easier to do than counting hands.
Get more ideas from the group, then settle on the group collaboration software that fit your needs anytime and whatever group size. The returns will be more than you realize. Memories of the high school prom, those long exams, and the bloom of young love are memories to be lovingly cherished. So take those steps now.
Website content
After the much-awaited high school class of 1985 reunion, you’ve caught up with the lives of your long-lost friends. Keep the momentum going and invite them to fun collaboration. Share photos and experience and just enjoy.
A Hang-Out In the WWW
Yes, you and your friends can hang out on the World Wide Web. No more AWOLs from work and incurring the wrath of the big boss. At home, you can chat with a group of friends and swap pictures, videos, and even maps to get to cool places for that grand getaways. That is, if you have group collaboration software to make your outings in the web fun.
All you have to do is use the email feature and organize your online group together. Schedule your meetings and get ready with the files or pictures you want to share. This is a great way to keep in touch with friends from high school and college without spending money on airfare, bus tickets, and hotel accommodations. A one-time investment on group collaboration software, which you can split equally with the group, will make it even more cost-effective.
A nostalgic trip back to those memorable schooldays can always spice up your day after a long grind at work. You can widen your network and find out where the class beauty and the football hunks are hiding. The more you invite, the merrier. It won’t cost you another penny to chat up long lost friends and they’ll love your initiative to create a virtual coffee shop.
All-Purpose Conferencing
With group collaboration software, you can organize webinars for your friends, and even use the technology for your sales pitch. You can help those waiting for a break by using the platform to sell their products to old classmates who may happen to be in league with the big time.
Here’s what you can do with your group collaboration software:
1. Show PowerPoint presentations of club project and activities.
2. Share files on project statistics.
3. Review files together and make those decisions.
4. Enjoy audio and video features.
5. You can share marketing tips and strategies in real time.
For the big meetings, all you have to do is get a webinar hosting service and additional features to cater to a bigger crowd. Just an advice – let somebody outside the group do the facilitation and moderation of the activity. You and the gang shouldn’t be encumbered with more work. You’ve got to enjoy yourselves and at the same time scout for business opportunities without having to worry about small details.
Take the Lead Now
Start collecting the email addresses of your classmates and ask people to contribute to your list of emails. When you have reached a critical mass base, send them emails detailing your plans. Try out a consensus using the group collaboration software – it’ll make the work faster and easier to do than counting hands.
Get more ideas from the group, then settle on the group collaboration software that fit your needs anytime and whatever group size. The returns will be more than you realize. Memories of the high school prom, those long exams, and the bloom of young love are memories to be lovingly cherished. So take those steps now.
Website content
Posted on October 24, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle
Seavus Group asked:
BOSTON, MALMÖ, LONDON 16.07.2009 – After the successful introduction of the BETA vesion, Seavus Group proudly announced the official commercial release of Seavus Project Evolution. The results of the BETA testing period taught valuable lessons and set clear path for a successful commercial launch.
The team’s productivity in the past year resulted in delivering entirely new functionalities to Seavus Project Viewer, as well as in improvement of the existing ones. Seavus’ Viewer for Microsoft Project evolved in a powerful project collaboration tool, making major step towards collaborative project management.
In addition to the unique viewing functionalities of Seavus Project Evolution, the upcoming availability of the new features truly inspires team collaboration.
Project collaboration between project managers and team members is highly stimulated through task update, where team members update the task progress [actual work or percentage complete] and request approval from the project owner. This tool for task update is essential point in building a collaborative environment.
Issue tracking system prevents from or strongly minimizes perturbations in sensitive project flows. Issues can be associated with particular projects and tasks, and can be assigned to the responsible team member.
Creating and editing Wikis facilitates greater knowledge-sharing among the project team, and encourages project members’ participation and contribution to the project.
Seavus Project Viewer, MS Project Standard Add-in, Seavus Project Server and Seavus Web Client are elements of this suite.
The server is where both project managers and team members login to manage the task progress, track and report issues, and share knowledge through wikis.
A team member needs Seavus Project Viewer, and the Project Manager the MS Project Standard Add-in. Seavus Web Client provides you the freedom of accessing the projects from anywhere, and managing them same as if you were connected to the office network.
Both project managers and team members have the opportunity to work on a project in online and offline mode.
More extensive information can be found at Seavus Project Evolution’s Feature overviev on our website.
Designed for everyone included in the project work, Seavus Project Evolution eliminates the barriers to communication and knowledge-sharing.
Seavus Group welcomes you to experience the FREE TRIAL version now.
ABOUT SEAVUS Founded in 1999, today the Seavus Group is an innovative provider of information technology solutions, custom software development, project outsourcing and quality software products. Seavus is well positioned and highly experienced in providing project management products, enterprise-wide business solutions, system integration and support to our customers worldwide. Seavus’ headquarters are located in Sweden with offices in Macedonia, Serbia, Belarus, Latvia, USA, UK, and Netherlands. We currently have a staff of over 400 professionals.
With the Seavus global network of partners, resellers and distributors we are able to deliver high quality products and develop, deliver, implement and support projects around the world.
Kansieo.com
BOSTON, MALMÖ, LONDON 16.07.2009 – After the successful introduction of the BETA vesion, Seavus Group proudly announced the official commercial release of Seavus Project Evolution. The results of the BETA testing period taught valuable lessons and set clear path for a successful commercial launch.
The team’s productivity in the past year resulted in delivering entirely new functionalities to Seavus Project Viewer, as well as in improvement of the existing ones. Seavus’ Viewer for Microsoft Project evolved in a powerful project collaboration tool, making major step towards collaborative project management.
In addition to the unique viewing functionalities of Seavus Project Evolution, the upcoming availability of the new features truly inspires team collaboration.
Project collaboration between project managers and team members is highly stimulated through task update, where team members update the task progress [actual work or percentage complete] and request approval from the project owner. This tool for task update is essential point in building a collaborative environment.
Issue tracking system prevents from or strongly minimizes perturbations in sensitive project flows. Issues can be associated with particular projects and tasks, and can be assigned to the responsible team member.
Creating and editing Wikis facilitates greater knowledge-sharing among the project team, and encourages project members’ participation and contribution to the project.
Seavus Project Viewer, MS Project Standard Add-in, Seavus Project Server and Seavus Web Client are elements of this suite.
The server is where both project managers and team members login to manage the task progress, track and report issues, and share knowledge through wikis.
A team member needs Seavus Project Viewer, and the Project Manager the MS Project Standard Add-in. Seavus Web Client provides you the freedom of accessing the projects from anywhere, and managing them same as if you were connected to the office network.
Both project managers and team members have the opportunity to work on a project in online and offline mode.
More extensive information can be found at Seavus Project Evolution’s Feature overviev on our website.
Designed for everyone included in the project work, Seavus Project Evolution eliminates the barriers to communication and knowledge-sharing.
Seavus Group welcomes you to experience the FREE TRIAL version now.
ABOUT SEAVUS Founded in 1999, today the Seavus Group is an innovative provider of information technology solutions, custom software development, project outsourcing and quality software products. Seavus is well positioned and highly experienced in providing project management products, enterprise-wide business solutions, system integration and support to our customers worldwide. Seavus’ headquarters are located in Sweden with offices in Macedonia, Serbia, Belarus, Latvia, USA, UK, and Netherlands. We currently have a staff of over 400 professionals.
With the Seavus global network of partners, resellers and distributors we are able to deliver high quality products and develop, deliver, implement and support projects around the world.
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