Too many platforms?

Chris raises the question as to whether or not there are too many collaboration platforms out there in his recent post.  I was at an event last week where the social media expert speaking pulled out a database spreadsheet that listed every social network out “there.”  It was over 750 pages and I do not even know how many lines per page.  Granted, many are used one time only or experimental, but even a fraction of the number is overwhelming.  I agree with Chris’ point that many still go back to email to collaborate because it is easy and no thought goes into it.  So many people in businesses still give the response “I have a facebook account and do not even keep that up, how can I mess with this stuff at work?”  Everytime that question is asked of me I realize that the basic question is not answered for this person, which is “how can this help me work better, less and more efficiently?”  Rather than just throwing collaborative tools at people, we need to help them answer this question for themselves first and find the need to use something other than email.  Before you can tell folks to complete their profile and tag stuff we need to give them the WIIFM.  Otherwise it is fragmented and just something else to do.  Thanks for the blog Chris!

My Collaboration Practices

Recently Brett published a post called “My Personal Collaboration Rules”.  I loved the blog, and it made me think about my own collabortion practices and I did a little comparing in the process.

1. Capture Once– I loved that Brett put that first on his rules.  I have said many a time that the technology will not work for you if it doesn’t replace something or make your life easier.  Who wants to touch things twice?  Waste of time it is then!

2.  Touch it once- Brett called it Process Once– my mantra is “Touch it Once”  It does not matter to me if you are talking an email or cleaning a closet–touch it once. 

3. Resist printing– I must admit printing can be my downfall.  As much as I love the options technology affords me, I must confess that I still love paper at times for reading and for taking notes.  I am trying to clean up my act in this arena however; I am printing less and recycling more but I have a ways to go!

4. Don’t use email to collaborate, use it to communicate.  I really do love this one.  Email is great and I am not a proponent (like some) to do away with it.  BUT let’s use it correctly.  I do fall into the trap at times of collaborating with it; but am a believer in not using it this way.  Use IM,  wikis, blogs, shared workspaces, etc.

5. Links yes, attachements no.  Yes, yes, and yes!

6. Store in a searchable repository.  Sharepoint is a great solution for this along with EMC products.

7. Be a sharer not a hoarder- I think this is easier for some than others. BUT  hoarding information is getting you NO WHERE.  Be the go to person and seek out the go to people.  Stop feeling threatened by giving it away!  Give it away and see it explode!  Ideas blossom once they are out there.  You can’t possible know it all so why not give someone an opportunity to expand on your knowledge and you on theirs!

8. Use real time communication- web conferences, im, etc are great for getting stuff done fast!

Now my added practices:

9. Listen – even when you think you have it 100% correct, listen.  You will probably find out that you really weren’t 100% on and the other person has something worthwhile to contribute.  Afterall collaboration is about the meeting of the minds and ideas right?

10. GO for consensus— again the win/win and consensus mentality makes up Collaboration doesn’t it?  Open Source is a great example.  No one person has all the answers and by working on a collaborative decision by consensus you have the best of lots of worlds and no  one is a loser!

11. Offer up assistance and help.  You know what your niche is–offer it up.  When the tide is turned, someone will offer back to you their expertise.

12. Be a door not a wall.  What I mean by this is be a pathway to information rather than the person that is the block (we can’t, we won’t, etc.).  Keep your door open and let others in.
What about you?  How do you collaborate and keep the CQ going?

Happy Collaborating!

Collaboration comes in many shapes and sizes

I have been working on launching a new business over the last couple months.  It is definetly in start up mode but the collaboration I have been experiencing has been incredible.  I think since my focus has been in the technology end of things I have sometimes overlooked the basic, raw definition of collaboration which is “working together in a joint effort.”  I have reached out to people of all different expertises and have received sample PR Kits, Books, offers to try my product, offers to promote my product and on and on.  From the banker to my neighbor the response has been incredible.  I think it goes back to my main “soapbox” in the online collaboration world which is “it” (collaboration) comes from the inside.  If people aren’t willing to “work together in a joint effort” it doesn’t matter what “tools” you throw at them or implement.  The software is a tool, but collaboration comes from the heart and soul.  I am invigorated to be in the middle of a fantastic collaborative effort and to see and feel what that means when it comes from the inside out and from bottom to top rather than top to bottom.  Happy Collaborating!

Penny for your thoughts…

Betsy blogged on an article she read on the social effects of sharing “tidbits” of information via collaborative tools like Facebook, Twitter, etc.  I love the blog and the content from the article in the NY Times that she refers to by Clive Thompson.  I have previously blogged on the importance of allowing this type of information exchange and display.  Remote teams need to feel connected and need to know something about each other to feel loyal to one another and to begin to truly collaborate.  You probably chat with people you see day to day in the office, why not have some repor with those that are across the country and around the globe.  The summary is what I love; it states in conclusion that:

Clive Thompson’s article illustrates that ambient awareness can be achieved by frequent electronic contact, and can have positive effects on relationships.  This is especially relevant to virtual teams, who often struggle to enable personal contact among members.  But that contact is crucial for team building, trust, and cohesion.  We suggest moving away from the matter-of-fact, directive email that may be the typical communication between team members.  See if your team can gain a better, deeper connection among team members by developing communication in this new way.

Thanks to Betsy for the blog and thanks to Michael Sampson for directing me to this blog from his blog today!  Happy Collaborating

Is your company using Social Networking?

The more that I meet with clients and network, the more I realize the vastness of the implementation efforts of Social Networking that are out there.  Some have never heard of this (or think they have never heard of it until you probe a little more), some want to but don’t know where to start, some have the tools at their company but no one uses them at all or correctly, some have implemented with a bang and then fizzled and some are in there, doing it and doing it well.  I learn more and more every day on this journey!  Today, I want to ask for your comments and I would love to hear on specific questions…

• Has your company implemented a Social Networking Solution?
• Are the employees using it, shying away from it, testing the waters or going crazy using it?
• What tools and pieces are you using?
• What works and doesn’t work?
• Who are the “evangelizers” of it at your office?
• Do you see any benefit?
• Did anyone ask you what you wanted in the solution or did it just “appear” one day and you were told to use it?
• Is your performance appraisal linked into it– for instance you must have so many posts in a forum, or have your own blog, etc?

Just give me some feedback today.  I know what my opinions are BUT I find it fascinating to hear yours and it always amazes me to hear about the good, the bad and the ugly. It helps me to help you and my clients.  Happy Collaborating!

More than File Sharing

In Michael Sampson’s blog on 8/7 he brings attention to a blog regarding file sharing and collaboration tools.  These blogs ask “How did we get reduced to file sharing?”  It is correct that a primary issue and focus in many implementations was just simply “we cannot find stuff.”  BUT I have seen organizations and business units also use tools like SharePoint, eRoom, etc as the solution to lack of network drive space.  Many times, in a large organization, a busines unit is responsible for paying for their file share/server on the network.  If a business unit is short of funds or just simply doesn’t see the importance of having a storage solution with disaster recovery, folks simply save stuff on their c:/ drive and email files. 

When SharePoint and other solutions came on board, many organizations implemented them as a “corporate solution”.  When business units saw this, they viewed SharePoint, etc. as the “answer” to their storage problems.  With SharePoint being a corporate solution, the drive space was there for the taking!  No longer did they (the BU) have to figure out the storage problem, it was right there and corporate was begging the BU’s to use it, since they had invested in it, so it seemed to be a marriage made in heaven.

Unfortunatetly for these organizations, no one took the time to see what else SharePoint and other solutions could be used for.  No one did any analysis to see what gaps their were in other processes that these tools could resolve.  So, it got reduced to a storage and file share solution for many organizations.

It all goes back to analysis first, then figure out the solution.  Rather than installing the technology solution and then letting business units figure out for themselves how they will use it.  Identify the person with the need–then the solution.

Happy Collaborating!

Marketing Social Media Inside

One of the questions I get frequently is “how do we get the users to see that using Social Media inside our corporation is a benefit?”  There are many tactics, but one I use is in a way like writing a commercial.  Before you have your own inhouse testimonies, you need to create some. 

I like to write scenerios for different business units using a probable situation that collaborating with the tools will

1. save time
2. save money
3. result in a solution better than ever imagined

They are not difficult to come up with if you have done your analysis right.  Take the challenges that a user has, their suggestions that would improve the situation and incorporate them into a scenerio.  Post these, display them and run an “inhouse marketing” campaign using these as one of the pieces.  When you plan your implementation, if you have done it well, you have the communications/marketing piece included and this can be a component of that.  Once the momentum is going, you will have “real” testimonies from the users themselves.  At that point, incorporate those and ask if you can use their name and department so it becomes a personal, grassroots testimonial/evangalism program for your newly found collaborative solutions!  Happy Collaborating.

Telecommuting

In the July 25th print addition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle there was a great article regarding telecommuting.  Michael Dziak, COO of e-Work.com, Inc., was quoted as saying “Teleworking was a novelty in 1990, trendy in 2000 and now becoming very common. In 2015 it’s going to be a standard practice for everybody and if you don’t do this you’ll be in the Dark Ages.” 

Using technology of course is imperative for this—-BUT not just catching  a signal so that you can be on the internet.  The use of IM type tools insures that you are visible to others on your team and you in turn can see who on your team is available.  Do you and your team use this?  What about a virtual workspace to share documents and to collaborate on them?  Do you and your team use this?  How about a social networking tool where you can share what your expertise and experience is so others can seek you out?  If you and I are working on a similar project or initiative, do we know it?  Can we search on it?  As a manager how can you effectively manage folks you do not see sitting in a cube hour after hour? 

How about the trust part?  Communication? Getting to know one another?  Water cooler time and coffee breaks?  These are intregal parts of any team whether you are near or far from each other.  Do you  and your team use the tools mentioned above to connect with each other, build trust and loyalty?

I think whether it is telecommuting, a team that is spread across the globe or a team that sits next to each other, all of these questions are valid and should be acted upon.  Using collaboration tools to not only share knowledge and information but to also talk to one another in a quick efficient way AND also to find out something about each other–our background, interests, etc is all valid no matter what the team situation is.  The fact that a team is spread out geographically brings these issues to the forefront, but many of us have had teams that are close in proximity but still do not collaborate.

Collaborating is an attitude and must be desired to have it work no matter what your technology is.  It starts with a person then moves to the tool.  After that it doesn’t matter where my computer connects, I am connected with YOU!

Happy Collaborating!

Work yourself out of a job

Many of us have had the pleasure of working in an environment that has the “work yourself out of a job” mantra.  Years ago I had that experience and so have others I know.  We did not have blogs or wikis or even the internet then (I am dating myself). BUT what we did have was a spirit of collaboration and sharing.  Fear had not set in and we did not feel like the act of hoarding information made our job secured.  We did not want to hear that we could never leave because no one else would know what to do.  We wanted to prep the next person in behind us so that we could KEEP MOVING FORWARD also.  Hoarding information is a sure fire way to keep yourself stagnit in the workplace.  Collaborating, sharing, training is the way to be known as the “expert”, the ”go to person”,  the “team player” and the person most likely to keep moving on up!  Today we have blogs, wikis, and all kinds of tools that help us to collaborate.  BUT we first have to embrace the feeling of collaboration, the appreciation for what it can to for us and for others before we can ever tackle the tools that are out there.  What comes first the chicken or the egg?  What comes first a spirit of wanting to collaborate or the tool?  I say the spirit of collaboration makes the tool work; it is not the other way around.  Happy Collaborating!

Twitter

Do you Twitter?   I have a Twitter account but cannot say I Twitter.  I want to Twitter I just haven’t “gotten” it yet.  I read this blog today from Katie Hulmeth this morning at http://thatitgirl.blogspot.com/2008/05/tweetworking-twitter-networking-and-can.html.  GREAT blog on twitter and her experience with it.  It made we want to try it again, so I logged on and still not sure what to do with it or how to find people that are on it that I know or have something in common with.  I love social networking but this is alluding me.  I will keep trying and maybe this will be a new collaboration tool that will get me, but for now I am twittering alone– anyone out there??? or have advise on how to become part of this twitter world????  Just wondering about your expeiences with this.  Have a happy day collaborating in Twitter or whatever you use!