Today we have a guest post by James Ware.  James is the co-founder of the Work Design Collaborative and the Future of Work program.

We all know there is a virtual explosion of distributed/mobile/flexible work occurring across theeconomy, including large organizations, small businesses, and free agents/entrepreneurs. In fact, our research suggests that fully 15% of the U.S. workforce now spends one or more days a week outside a corporate facility. We project that number to grow beyond 25% within five years.Yet managing mobile workers and distributed teams is an enormously difficult challenge. When your staff is working at great distances from each other, keeping them focused on their tasks and connected with each other and the larger organization often seems nearly impossible.

We've written previously about the "anywhere office" and the growing desire, if not need, of most knowledge workers to tune in and log on from anyplace at any time. But being connected technically is actually only a small part of the solution.

The most frequent objection we hear from managers concerned about the possible loss of shared knowledge and corporate culture when workgroups start operating more virtually is the fear of reduced accidental meetings at the coffee pot or in the hallways. They worry that distributed teams will suffer from a reduction in the serendipity that so often leads to important business breakthroughs--those unplanned, spontaneous conversations between people who don't interact normally in the course of doing their jobs.

More importantly, however, is the need to keep team members focused on common goals. One CEO several years ago posed essential questions about leadership of a distributed workforce:

"How do I know that our 5,000 employees spread out all over the globe are focused minute by minute on doing the things the company needs them to be doing? How do they know in the moment that they are making the decisions and taking the actions we want them to? And how do we know what they're thinking?"

There is no simple answer to this fundamental challenge, but here are four basic principles for connecting distributed team members with each other and the organization at large:

Use Highly Participative Approaches in Distributed Work Environments

People who are involved in decisions affecting their work are much more likely to go along with them. That doesn't mean that you have to get 100% buy-in before doing anything; just being asked about their views will go a long way towards satisfying most people, even if in the end their manager doesn't agree. It's primarily a matter of valuing staff ideas and acknowledging their individual perspectives.

Define and Publish Formal Policies and Procedures for Distributed Work

As soon as you allow employees to work remotely you are opening a can of worms, including legal issues, financial disputes, and potential misunderstandings. Legally, when an employee who is working at home trips over a rug and breaks an arm, is he or she eligible for workers' compensation? Who will pay for the home office furnishings, the telephone that is being used for work, or the Internet connection? And when is the employee expected to be accessible to other employees and management?

It is critically important to treat employees consistently--in all matters, of course, but particularly as they move into flexible work programs. Nothing will stir up employee anger or legal action more quickly than the discovery that some of them are receiving different levels of financial support or being held to different work schedules.

Establish Explicit, Tangible Measures of Individual and Team Performance

This is the single most important thing you can do to keep distributed team members aligned with company goals and each other. Formal performance and productivity measures (here are some tips on being a productive workshifter) serve several important functions:

• They establish clear guidelines and common expectations about how each distributed employee will be measured and rewarded.
  
  
• They help create an atmosphere of accountability in both directions and across the organization.
  
  
• They provide senior management with clear evidence of how cost-effective (or not) the distributed work arrangements are.
  
  
• They help shift the dominant management culture away from managing time spent on tasks to focusing on the results produced.
  

 "Managing by walking around," which was a common rule of thumb in the 1980's and 90's, has deep common-sense appeal in that it encourages managers to be visible and to interact regularly with their subordinates.  In that context, however, "interact" generally meant face-to-face communication (though it also often included peering, uninvited, over employees' shoulders to scrutinize their work).

But clearly that kind of interaction just can't happen in a distributed environment. It's absolutely essential to replace such close-in monitoring of employees' actions with a focus on the results they produce.

Develop Formal Agreements about Regular Interaction

One of the inevitable consequences of working in a distributed team is that members just don't see each other or their managers as often as they do when they are co-located. Yet we all know that more frequent interactions generally lead to higher levels of trust and greater comfort with other team members.

But with distributed teams frequent face-to-face interaction just isn't feasible. However, there are several critical points in the life of a team when being together in-person can make a huge difference:  at the very beginning, as the team converges on a design solution, and as it winds up its work and disbands.

For managers of distributed teams the bottom line is really very simple: Make the invisible visible for team members--be proactive in reaching out and paying attention to the personal/social side of your team's members, no matter where they are physically.

For more information on connecting and engaging distributed teams, read the full whitepaper.

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Steve Bristol and Allan Branch, the founders of Less Everything.  Our company uses both Less Accounting and Less Time Spent, two cloud based, small business applications that the duo has developed.  (Disclosure: I would make love to both of these apps if they were women, and Melissa would approve).  It led to a lot of great internal discussions regarding my proclivity towards cloud based business apps. 

I am a massive proponent of cloud based technology for a variety of reasons, but namely because that's where I feel we're headed so why not dive in head first now.  I decided to post a video talking about why I'm big on cloud computing, which cloud based apps I use, and of course why I feel these applications empower workshifting.

Cloud-Based Apps I use for my business:

Gmail - Mail Server
Google Calendar - Team Calendar
Google Docs - Collaborative Docs/Spreadsheet (Blog Post Backup)
Less Accounting - Easy Accounting Program
Less Time Spent - Track Time and Expenses on a Client Basis
Basecamp - Project Management System
Batchbook - Customer Relationship Management
Box.net - File Sharing and Collaboration
Protoshare - Website Wireframing Application (For Internal & Client Projects)
Yammer - Twitter for Business
Google Wave - Collaborative Workspace
TinyChat - Video and Chat for Multiple Users (Team Meetings)
ConceptShare - Collaborate on Design Direction

What cloud-based apps do you find useful for your day-to-day needs?

Today we have a guest post from Sean Ryan.  Sean is a research analyst with IDC focused on mobile enterprise software.

Mobility as a Service (MaaS), may be another buzzword for the road, but there is a very real shift underway towards adoption of SaaS-based solutions for mobile devices. This includes SaaS-based solutions with mobile client add-ons, such as the case with Salesforce.com for the BlackBerry and the iPhone. It also includes SaaS-based mobile middleware platforms that extend multiple enterprise applications to mobile devices, as is the case with vendors like Antenna Software and Spring Wireless.

Many factors are contributing to the MaaS trend, but here are a few of the biggest drivers:

• The flexibility of enterprises to easily scale up and scale down users based on an on-demand subscription pricing model.
  
  
• The ability for enterprises to start small, in terms of number of users deployed and cash outlay, with certain apps and then grow them across the organization. This equates to being able to run a pilot on your own terms without time constraints or an obligation to purchase a set number of seats at a given time.
  
  
• A lightweight client can often be provisioned down to devices over-the-air (OTA).
  
  
• The challenges unique to mobile deployments -- e.g., limitations of wireless connectivity, limitations of small form factors, and the variety of smartphone Oses -- are a real headache for already overburdened IT departments to deal with, as they require different skill sets as well as different management and security tools. It is much easier to farm this out to a vendor that specializes in mobility.
  
  
• It is becoming very difficult for developers to keep up with the array of mobile OSes that are viable candidates for mobile workers -- i.e., BlackBerry OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian (Nokia 60, etc.), iPhone OS, Google Android, and Palm webOS. Combine this with the multiple versions for each OS along with different hardware reference designs, and the complexity is overwhelming unless the company takes a draconian approach to drastically limit the types of devices it will allow employees to use. Again, a vendor specializing in mobility can do a much better job of staying on top of a rapidly moving, complex space. In most cases, the near real-time updating of OS versions, bug fixes, etc., can be included in the service-level agreement (SLA).
  

While mobility as a service is not widely deployed today in large enterprises, it is expected to grow rapidly in the coming year.

A recent IDC survey of 309 IT and business professionals for large enterprises in the United States and the United Kingdom, responsible for enterprise mobility purchase decisions, found that only 9% of organizations have already embarked on a large-scale deployment of mobile SaaS-based solutions (see pie chart). However, the same respondents indicated a growing acceptance of this delivery model for extending enterprise applications to mobile devices. Almost 40% of organizations plan to deploy a SaaS-based mobile solution in the next 12-18 months. Another 19.7% have already done a pilot and plan to roll out a larger deployment in the next 12-18 months. Furthermore, 15.5% of organizations have no plans to roll out any aspect of mobile SaaS-based solutions in the next 12-18 months, with another 8.4% that did run a pilot but have no plans to roll the solution out to other employees.

Of course, this does not mean that all on-premises solutions will be displaced, as many organizations will likely run on-premises solutions for certain applications that may need to be more customized or strategic in nature, or deal with data that is very sensitive, particularly if it is in a highly regulated industry. But, overall, the advantages of a SaaS-based model for mobile deployments align well with the needs of mobile workers and the IT departments supporting them.

Although slowed by the recession, executives are still watching closely the trends in the workshifting world. As we rebound many executives are being asked to answer the following question: How will we come out of the recession strong and how does flexible working play into our changing workforce definitions?

Clearly the demand for workshifting has been around for a while from the employee's perspective but the following 4 things are making it impossible for business executives to ignore the workshifting movement.

1. Womenomics
   
   I had the pleasure of speaking on a Webinar with Katty Kay, Washington Correspondent for BBC World News America. One of her newest projects with Claire Shipman is the book Womenomics which talks about the fact that women are demanding more flexibility in their work. Kay and Shipman go on to argue that women have more power than ever to demand this control over their schedules because companies that have proportionately more woman managers are also more profitable. Women want to work but gone are the days of 60 hour work weeks in the office, scrambling to find childcare and skipping the leisure time. The book offers many examples of how woman are leading this economy and to stay competitive and profitable, companies will need to offer woman the flexibility they are beginning to require.
   
   Katty and I cover this topic in a lot more detail in this Webinar recording.
   
   
2. Big Company Adoption
   
   Have you heard of ROWE? ROWE stands for "results-only work environment" and is Best Buy's workshifting program that says employees can work wherever they want, whenever they want, as long as they get their work done. This article in BusinessWeek does a great job of highlighting other big company's results from ROWE-type initiatives.
   
   IBM has about 40% of their workforce with not official corporate office and Sun Microsystems Inc. estimates that they save $400 million over six years in real estate costs by letting employees work from anywhere. The biggest driver for these large organizations out the gate is usually the facilities cost when they don't have to dedicate corporate space to each individual employee. But after rolling flexible working arrangements out, companies see the increased results because of higher job satisfaction.
   
   ROWE programs not only reduce costs but make for a more productive organization.
   
   
3. Gen Y
   
   I've talked about this before in a previous post so I'll just highlight briefly what's getting attention here. Whatever you choose to call the newest generation (Gen Y, Millenials, Screenagers, etc.), they all grew up with the internet. They're more comfortable with technology and less accepting of corporate norms like 9-5 or suit and ties. Gen Y has been struggling at the hands of this economy but coming on the rebound companies will have to employ flexible working arrangements in order to acquire and motivate this growing segment of the workforce. I'd also like to thank all of those who commented on my previous Gen Y post saying that this was an overall workforce trend (not just Gen Y). I agree that this demand comes from all the generations as technology becomes more intertwined with how we do business.
   
   
4. Social Media
   
   The power and growth of social media over the last couple years is astounding. Here's a fun little video showing the insane adoption and usage of social media from Socialnomics:
   
   
   
   
   The fact that so many of us are going to the Web to communicate and do business makes executives questions our traditional ways of doing business. We trust Wikipedia for information and use social media sites like Twitter to communicate as part of our jobs. This trend is only increasing and shows our acceptance of social media as a business communication tool.
   

So I'm not saying that all companies are going to have formal flexible working programs tomorrow. What I am saying is that the 4 items above are getting executive attention and companies will have to address workshifting in their workforce plans for the next 3 years. What else is getting executive attention from the workshifting world?

Photo by: AJ Leon

I've been having some troubles with my laptop's wireless card over the past couple weeks that have resulted in many (painful) hours of support calls. As most of you Workshifters can attest, there's nothing more frustrating than having IT issues that prevent you from connecting with the rest of your team and getting your work done. It's an isolating, maddening experience that, in my case, often results in a series of "troubleshooting" solutions that features numerous restarts (maybe it will just go away if I restart?), lots of whining and plenty of phone calls to my unassuming coworkers, husband and anyone else I can think of. Since this approach rarely works, I've spent my fair share of time on IT support calls throughout the first year of my Workshifting experience.

As Workshifters, we have to be more adept at overcoming IT hiccups than our office counterparts. This can be a challenge for those of us who aren't particularly tech savvy. I'd like to believe that I've gotten a little better at handling these challenges over the past year.

Here are some things that have helped me along the way:

7 Tips for Keeping Your Cool During IT Support Calls

1. Chances are, you'll be asked to shut down and restart your machine at least once during your support call. This can be a time-consuming process since many of us have configured our machines to automatically launch numerous programs when the computer is started. I recommend reducing these programs to the bare minimum in order to speed up the process. This will reduce the amount of time you and the technician are sitting around in silence, twiddling your thumbs. On PCs you can do this through your Start Up folder.
    
   
2. Try and isolate the problem to a specific component, such as your modem, certain software or your wireless router. For example, if you can't connect to the Internet, you can try and determine if you're having the same issue on another computer or if it's isolated to your machine. This will prevent you from having to sit through a support call with one service provider, only to have them tell you that it's not their product that's causing the problem.
   
   
3. Make sure you ask your support representative if they keep a record of the issue on file. This will prevent you from having to re-explain the situation over and over again if you're working with more than one person. Most companies do this, but it can't hurt to double check.
   
   
4. Keep a record of who you're talking to and when you've contacted them - this can especially come in handy when you're trying to resolve a service-related issue.
   
   
5. Many computer problems are related to cabling and connections. Before you delve into the IT support world, make sure all cables are connected firmly. After all, that's probably one of the first questions you're going to get. (See Ian Fortey's hilarious post "Why tech support sucks: a look behind the scenes" for more on this).
   
   
6. Before you pick up the phone to call support, make a list of the things you've tried to do on your own to resolve the issue. Also, make note of any error messages that may have popped up. Share this information with your technician at the beginning of the call.
   
   
7. Also, Google the problem (especially if it's a software problem).  Who knows? You might get lucky..

What about you? Is there anything that has helped you make it through support calls without losing your cool?

Photo by: paloaltosoftware

"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little,when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore." - Sir Francis Drake, 1577

"Should we be spending millions of dollars getting to Mars during a down economy?"  Recently a friend of mine tweeted out this question.  I answered in the affirmative, and was immediately challenged by good friend of mine in New York.  This tumulted into a regular 'ole 140 character style debate.  In summary, he appealed to the fact that so many in our country are unemployed and un-insured or under-insured.  This conversation got me thinking about the importance of poetry.  And particularly the importance of poetry in business.

(Let me just say, irrespective of your political thoughts on this issue, I assure you, my point is a philosophical one and not a political one.)

He's right.  Things are bad right now.  Maybe we should just shut down the whole freaking space program.  It's all a bunch of dweeby math geniuses with "Peter Pan" syndrome living out their Star Wars inspired childhood fantasies.  Isn't it?  I mean in times like these, there seems to be no pragmatic rationale that would lead us to look to the stars.  We have to fix the problems we have, we don't have time for that stuff. 

See what I did right there.  We always seem to relegate the idea of adventuring and pioneering and exploring to a subservient status.  They always have a seat somewhere, it's just never at the grown ups table.  But c'mon, they're noisy, they're messy, they're annoying, they're kinda weird and they don't understand the serious, the "real" issues.  The dreamers, the inventors, the explorers, the crazies...the poets... they still get to sit down of course, it's just at the clown shaped, water-colored kiddie table in the corner.  Until, that is, they discover America or turn on a light bulb or make men fly or help us easily connect with loved ones across the world in one click.

There is this false sense of maturity in business.  We can analyze, but we can't dream up something new, because that's a waste of time.  Especially during hard times.  During hard times, we're told to "hunker down" and "keep our nose to the grindstone" as if that will make it better.  As if focusing on the same problems will ever get us where we want to go.  As if the practicality of removing our eyes from the glitter of the horizon is somehow more sound and logical.  Someone has to keep dreaming, dammit!  Especially during the hard times.  I am completely cognizant that sometimes a storm may befall us and shift more of our focus on problems that need to be fixed now.  But if that's all we do, then we will never actually get anywhere.

No matter how tight your margins are now, no matter how close you get to missing your rent payment, no matter how slammed your back is against the wall NEVER underestimate the importance of conceptualizing new frameworks, anticipating new trends, exploring new methods, of dreaming and adventuring and pressing into the unknown and uncomfortable.  As workshifters, we have unique challenges, but in many ways, we are also pioneers.  We thought, "hmmm, maybe there is a different way to do this working thing", "maybe everyone else has been doing it wrong".  Keep doing that.  Keep questioning.  Keep challenging paradigms.  Yep, even in the hard times.

Recently, someone I desperately admire said, "this is business, there's no room for romance".  That is both incredibly disheartening and one of the dumbest things I have heard in all my life on this earth.  Business is not played in a vacuum, it isn't so damn special that it gets its own silo.  Exploring, adventuring, dreaming - that's all a part of life, and for most of us, its the part that makes it worth living.  Poetry is not only an element of business, it is the most important element.  

Since the beginning of time, the pragmatists have always laughed at the dreamers, at the poets, but for the most part, its the poets that inspire us and its the poets we remember.  Yes, we have to keep dreaming about Mars. Why? Because it's next.

Do you spend enough thinking about new ways to do old things?  Thinking about what the world will look like in 5 years, 2 years, 6 months and how you can prepare and capitalize on that?

Photo by: Diana Kimball

Workshifting is a state of mind, and for it to succeed, managers and employees need to change how they view productivity, time, loyalty and work-life balance. But technology can help, too. I like to say that technology has allowed us to get to the point where workshifting is possible (thanks, Internet). But technology is now also necessary to make workshifting work--to make it as productive as actually being there is.

To that end, here's a list of my favorite workshifting-friendly technology:

• A headset. This is the most important tool that I own. I spend a lot of time on the phone, with clients and in conference calls, and my neck and shoulders are grateful for my headset. More important, the headset lets me move around my office and my house while staying connected--allowing me to take full advantage of my remote location without sacrificing connectivity.
  
  
• Audio and web conferencing. Especially web conferencing, which allows me to share information and collaborate with colleagues and customers without having to travel. This is especially important for me, since I have three youngs kids and I hate to leave them. But I use conferencing as more than just a replacement for events and large group meetings; I use it to make what would otherwise be phone calls better. Web conferencing supports work-product collaboration in a way that's hard to do even when collaborators are in the same room. It's designed to enable document mark-up and sharing, which is even better than having two people work on the same document in the same room, on multiple or a shared PC.
  
  
• Instant messaging and (more important) presence. I use presence information to see who's available when, and how I can best reach them--important data when I can't literally see the people I'm working with. But I also use it to let my colleagues know when I'm not available--either by setting my status as unavailable or by simply logging off the system. That ensures that when I need to focus on work, I can--it's the virtual equivalent of a closed door (which, let's face it, is really the value of doors).
  
  
• The forward feature on my business landline that ensures my business calls are automatically forwarded to my cell phone, and its voicemail, when I'm away from the office or on a call. It's poor-man's find-me/follow-me, and it keeps managing my phone calls and voicemail much simpler.
  
  
• Social networking tools Facebook and Twitter. I use Facebook to stay in touch with colleagues, partners and customers on a personal level; it's amazing how much I learn about people, and that knowledge informs my business relationships with them. For starters, it gives me common ground in our conversations and interactions--a point of departure for opening a new discussion or request. But it also makes me more willing to help when asked, and more likely to get help when I need it. That's what friendly business relationships do, after all: grease the wheels. (Of course, they also make work more fun.) I use Twitter to be part of a very specific community--in my case, people who cover and/or care about unified communications and collaboration. Sending my thoughts into the ether and watching them get traction (or not), as well as following the cloud conversation to see what's top of mind right now keeps me connected to my market regardless of where I am or what I'm doing.
  

What tools make it possible for you to successfully workshift? And what would you love to have that you don't?

Photo by: Justin Levy

Recently I had two more team members that started workshifting full time.  One moved to San Francisco and the other to Oregon.  This can be a little bit like tearing off a Band-Aid.  The sting of reality can hit quickly.
 
The transition from a fully supported employee, with things such as a creative culture, big brain peers, office chatter and laughter, a gym, a kitchen, stellar IT support, etc., to a coffee shop or home office, can make for a rough landing.  As a manager, it's important that the person making the transition understand that it's not always as glamorous as it appears.
 
What I have found really helps is to team them up with other remote employees or at least make the introductions.  In the case of the San Francisco workshifter, she has a counterpart in the city and we happen to have an office there as well.  Based on her personality type, she should make a very easy transition.
 
For the Oregon workshifter, it's just the opposite.  No counterparts, no office.  In this case, it's worth it to take the time to let them know about the challenges people can face when they make the transition out of the nest.  The following withdrawal symptoms are fairly common:
 
1.  Lacking a sense of team and comradery
2.  Fear that the lack of "face time" will hinder their career
3.  Adjusting to conference call or web conferencing etiquette (inability to raise hand)
4.  Missing the corporate culture
5.  Lack of IT resources
 
To help with the transition, it always good to explain that the symptoms are normal and can vary depending on the person.  I know I sound like an advertisement for the latest anti-depressant, but it's true.  The best thing to do is to take the time to understand what type of person they are, and give them what they need.  It could be a call once a day or a regular video call so you can add a human element.  Scheduling regular visits to the office, even if they don't or can't make it, are very important.  It says to the workshifter that I value the relationship.
 
On that note, the importance of "face time" can't be underemphasized.  Depending on the person's level or job responsibility, it's good to visit the mother ship at least once a quarter.  If for nothing else, to reconnect with your peer group at a personal level.  Because at the end of the day, its all about trust, and the relationships that are being built.
 
What's your advice for someone about to leave the Corporate nest?

Photo by: biggertree
 

While sitting on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport I wanted to check in and share some of my inflight workshifting tips.  With all of the international travel that I've been doing lately, it has become essential to develop a method for working from the tiny confines of an airplane seat.

If you have trouble viewing this video, you can also catch it over on my Vimeo channel.




Do you fly a lot?  Make sure you check about these tips from Chris Brogan about what you can do pre-flight, inflight and once you land to help for smoother travels.

What are some of your inflight workshifting tips?

Imagine switching on your HDTV eager to watch a show at 9. There you are, popcorn in hand, only to find a blank screen. Then a voice comes on and says they're waiting for a few more people to tune in, "please stand by." Meanwhile, they offer a static page with the name of the program and a tacky graphic. A few minutes later the voice is back saying they're going to get started, but since folks are still tuning in, they'll wait a few more minutes before diving into the actual program. More static screens pop up, this time asking you to answer a few questions using your remote control. Four questions later, it's quarter past the hour, and you're starting to wonder why you tuned in in the first place.

Does this sound familiar? If you've logged on to any webinars recently, it probably does. In fact, the scenario I described in the last paragraph, sans popcorn, was from a webinar about doing great webinars. Over the next 45 minutes, more slides trickled by; none were in any way engaging. In between slides, the screen went blank. The voice, full of false enthusiasm, chattered on about the need for great content, an engaging personality, etc. To be honest, he sounded more like one of those slick morning radio personalities--the same sing-song style--the same Red Bull-induced zeal. Fortunately, the audio dropped out twice, so that limited the exposure.

To be fair, I'd tuned into this particular webinar because I'd just done one myself and frankly, was embarrassed by the performance. Lot's of technology glitches, awkward hand-offs between speakers, horrible audio, etc. It's not like I hadn't prepared. I probably spent 5 days preparing for it. It's not like we were using some unproven technology, I don't want to name names, but it was one of the big ones. It's not like I'd never done one before, I had. And it's not like I'm an inexperienced speaker, I've done hundreds of lectures and speeches.

"The least they'll accept is the best they've ever seen," my husband used to say in speeches about the future of technology. Largely, that's been true. Once you've played World of Warcraft, you're not going back to Donkey Kong. Once you've watched HD, you're not going to settle for less. So what's with webinars?

While I've seen dozens of inspirational or motivational speeches, I can honestly say I've never attended a webinar that was anything better than ho-hum. Heck, I'd even settle for one that made me feel like it was time well spent.

I've pondered the problem some and while I've come to no real conclusions, here are my thoughts:

• In spite of the big names in the business, the technology side of webinar delivery is clumsy at best. Uploading programs is pretty simple on most platforms, but voice inputs are clunky. Even prior testing doesn't ensure the sound will be good. Some platforms don't even give you the ability to talk to co-presenters "off camera," before the program starts. If you're in the habit of tuning into a webinar early, or staying late, you've no doubt heard speakers who didn't realize or have forgotten this. Oopsie.
  
  
• With all of the unknowns, why aren't more people pre-recording webinars to get them just right, and answering questions live?
  
  
• The voice and methods you use as a speaker, doesn't work on a webinar. Pregnant pauses that create anticipation at live events, are dead air when the audience can't see you. My reaction to the "radio voice" of the speaker I mentioned earlier notwithstanding, I wonder if some radio training would help webinar speakers. After all, engaging the unseen listener is what they do--some more effectively than others.
  
  
• Those of us who are used to public speaking, find it hard to be 'on' without the enthusiasm of a crowd. It's like practicing a speech--very uncomfortable and stilted. How do you replicate the roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd?
  
  
• Knowing your subject is only part of the battle. You also have to understand pacing, know how to engage, understand the technology, and if you're going to use them, know how to design interesting polls. Most importantly, you need to be able to create engaging graphics; ones that complement what you have to say without confusing or boring the audience.
  
  
• Most people, myself included, multi-task while listening to a webinar. Imagine giving a speech where the whole audience is surfing the web on their laptops or talking on their phones. I think part of the reason for this is that the webinars aren't engaging enough, but it may just be a function of a multitasking culture. Recognizing this, how do you deliver content that's easy to follow while they're doing other things?
  
  
• Part of the problem is obviously bandwidth. Once that increases, we'll no doubt see better production, but that's going to place an even greater emphasis on the artistic side of things. How will mere mortals cope?
  

Is it just me? Are there any ideas out there for how to give great webinars? Dare I ask, has anyone seen a really good one?

Photo by: Zelda Go Wild

Innovation is the offspring of necessity.

I've had the great privilege to visit many African countries, and I'll tell you what, there is no greater sense of innovation that I have witnessed than on this continent.  Most people are shocked whenever I say that, but it's actually congruent with our experience in the developed world.  The greatest innovations are usually created and architecting from inception with little or no capital.  The coolest apps typically commence as the visionary exploits of a few nerds that are broke, locking themselves in their basements, gleefully coding their life away fueled by diet coke and twinkies.

Typically, when people think of this continent, they think of the need.  There is indeed a lot of that.  However, its in the chamber of this need that creativity is no longer an option but a necessity.  What does this have to do with workshifting you ask?  Everything! Workshifters are notoriously dealing with tight budgets, razor thin margins and aggressive schedules.  If there is one lesson I have absorbed from the time I spent in Tanzania it is this, in order to extract the most of our creativity, in order to truly innovate, it is imperative that we challenge our concept of problem solving.

Here I share my thoughts while I was workshifting from Tanzania a couple weeks ago.  If you can't view this video, you can check it out on my Vimeo channel.


When a problem, issue or opportunity arises in the next week, ask yourself: 'How would I approach this if I had no capital?

Photo by: Wayan Vota

If you get paid to blog or you get free stuff and then blog about it, this applies to you.  The FTC revised their Endorsement and Testimonial Guides which take effect on December 1, 2009.  This also extends to all other forms of endorsement and social media.
 
First, I'm not a lawyer, but I am a marketer, blogger, vlogger, tweeter, and I work with a lot of influential bloggers (such as New Marketing Labs), podcasters and more.  So I really care about this stuff.
 
My personal take on this Ruling is fairly straight forward:
 
1.  If you act on behalf of an advertiser (you get paid), say so and be very obvious
2.  If you got something for free, and blogged a review, say so and be very obvious
3.  If your an advertiser you should be clear about your disclosure requirements, and monitor
4.  Be transparent and honest
5.  Read the Ruling, not complying could cost you $11,000 per violation
 
All in all it's common sense.  Disclosure is at the heart of credibility.  This is truly the media half of social media.  As our industry evolves and scales, it's no surprise that some regulation follows, and as far as disclosure is concerned, I think it's good for business.
 
AJ Leon has made Winston Churchill a popular reference on this blog, so I thought you'd enjoy the following quote
 
"We must take change by the hand or rest assuredly, change will take us by the throat."
 
If you want more information about the FTC Ruling, check out this article by Kelley Drye & Warren.

I would love to hear what you think about disclosure.  Is it good or bad for social media?  Does it represent a maturing of the industry?

Photo by: rversde23

Today Andrew Millard stops by from across the pond to help launch a new whitepaper concerning smarter commuting as part of the UK's third annual National Commute Smart week.  Andrew is the eCommerce Director of EMEA at Citrix Online.

The daily commute.  It's a thought that can send a chill down the spine of even the cheeriest soul.  Battling congested roads in rush hour, waiting on station platforms for delayed trains and squeezing onto packed buses.

If that's not bad enough, the evenings are starting to get colder and certainly darker, with the clocks going back recently, making the daily commute that bit harder.  

This week the UK's third annual National Commute Smart Week is taking place, with the aim of encouraging workers to reduce or even eliminate their daily commute to improve health, wellbeing and productivity.  

It's an initiative that peaked my interest and I was keen to find out more about the feasibility of introducing smarter, and more flexible, working approaches. So to coincide with Commute Smart Week, we commissioned some consumer research to uncover the real picture of commuting in the UK and pose the question: is there a 'smarter' way to commute?

How do UK workers commute?

The survey found that collectively, British workers spend around 26 million hours every single day commuting. While that works out to be an average of 49 minutes per person, there are one in ten of us who are travelling for a minimum of two hours every day.  

It can be a painful experience and when asked about the biggest frustrations with commuting, being stuck in traffic topped the list, with travelling in the darker winter months and the expense of commuting close behind. One in five Brits were annoyed about wasting time which could be spent more productively.

Given those results, it was no surprise to find that around two-thirds of us Brits want to reduce the time we spend commuting.

So what's the alternative?

It was clear from the research that British workers are frustrated by many aspects of their commute and that there is a real desire to improve or reduce their journeys. The people we surveyed were clear about the benefits of smarter commuting, particularly in achieving a greater work-life balance by reducing the amount of time wasted 'in limbo', neither at work or at home.

Many respondents identified ways smarter commuting could work in practice, such as working flexible hours so they could travel outside of peak hours, and working from home to avoid the commute altogether. Technology was seen as the great enabler, providing the tools to allow workers to connect with their workplace, colleagues and clients and carry out their job from any location.

Is it feasible?

Now I'm not suggesting that every business should rush to adopt smarter working practices just because workers are a bit frustrated with their commute. It's highly likely that businesses are placing even more value on a visible, highly productive and engaged workforce in our competitive and challenging economy.

But taking a more flexible approach, and utilising the widely available and low-cost internet tools that can enable this, could provide the key to businesses acquiring and retaining the best talent, improving staff morale and loyalty, and as a result, maximise productivity of their workforce.

By working together, employers and employees can gain a better understanding of each others' needs, assess the right approaches and test a range of options, which will help to transform the British workplace into a highly productive environment, while serving the work-life balance needs of employees.

You can download a whitepaper, revealing the full results of the Commute Smart research.

Photo by: raindog

Lately, my sister has been trying to convince her employer--a non-profit that supports freedom and democracy around the world--to allow its employees to work flexible hours, from anywhere (but most especially from home). She does project-based work that only occasionally requires direct input from co-workers--that is, she is the ideal candidate for workshifting. And still, she is having a tough time selling the idea upstairs.

In the process of making her case, my sister has come across an enormous amount of research about the value of workshifting (although to be fair, most of the studies don't call it that; see also, flextime, teleworking, etc.). Here's some of it:

• The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) reports that according to results of a 2009 study, "a full 84% of companies overall believe that flexible work arrangements in their organization boosts employee morale. That figure is up from 76% in a similar 2008 study conducted by i4cp. Correspondingly, the 2009 study showed that 78% of polled companies say flexwork options bolster retention rates, up from 64% the previous year."
  
  
• A 2008 report from Corporate Voices for Working Families notes that in their 2007 survey of senior-level executives at large corporations:

• "Respondents reported an overwhelmingly positive experience with flexible work strategies;"

• "More then 75 percent of the business executives interviewed define flexible work strategies as an alternate time or location arrangement; for instance, a nonstandard 40-hour workweek or working from home;" and
   
• "The respondents, by a ratio of 9-to-1, report that flexible work strategies have a positive effect on helping organizations reach business goals
  
  
• In a 2009 letter of recommendations submitted to the Senate Staff Working Group on Workplace Flexibility, Corporate Voices cites, "Our 50 partner companies [including Booz Allen Hamilton, HP, and KPMG LLP] understand that flexible work arrangements, for both salaried and hourly employees, contribute to more productive work environments, increased employee loyalty, reduced stress, and as a result, increased profitability and global competitiveness."
  
  
• IBM has seen a dramatic savings due to its support of telecommuting.  As of October 2007, according to a FinancialWeek article of that month, 40% of IBM's 355,000 employees are mobile workers. The magazine reports, "The company estimates that its mobile workforce reduces its real estate requirements by at least 2 million square feet, saving IBM about $100 million a year."
  
  
• Families and Work Institute (FWI) reports in their study The Impact of the Recession on Employers, "fully 81% of employers have maintained existing flexible work options during the recession and 13% have actually increased those options, while 6% have reduced them.
  

Even Michelle Obama is a believer in workshifting: Speaking at a Corporate Voices conference in May 2009, Obama stressed that her own personal experiences support Corporate Voices' research. The Washington Post reported that Obama said, "I found that as I've managed staff, the more flexibility and opportunities that I gave them to be good parents, the more commitment that they made to working with me, the less likely they were to leave because they wouldn't find the same sort of situation somewhere else." She added, "So this isn't just about family balance. This is about making work places stronger and more effective, and keeping and attracting the most qualified people."

As someone who's been workshifting for 15 years, I couldn't agree more--and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my sister is successful in her fight for the freedom to be happier, healthier and more productive!

As of October 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures place national unemployment numbers at 9.8%. These numbers are that much more pronounced and dire for young people. BLS says the unemployment rate has increased among 20-24 year olds by 50% since August 2008. In August of this year, roughly 15% of people in that same age bracket and 10% of 25-34 year olds were out of work.

Indeed, Generation Y, also known as the "'Net Generation" or "Millennials," face the toughest job market in decades. That's a tough pill for a group of young people who were raised during boom times and for whom invincibility has been a common and cohesive feeling.

These 76 million Americans born between 1979 and 1995 tend to have distinctive attitudes toward work, including where and when it ought to be performed.

• Sixty-three percent of Gen Y women placed the highest importance on accomplishing personal goals; 23% who stated professional goals were tops.
  
  
• Fully one-fourth of these women indicated that they would prefer to have flex scheduling and the ability to set their own work hours in lieu of a 10% increase in salary.
  

While unemployment has hit this 'Net cohort harder than others, they may bounce back faster than older workers would; as technology is their native tongue, which allows them to work remotely, saving employers money on overhead, sick pay and losses related to traffic and weather-induced delays for traditional employees.

Some companies are jumping on the remote working and flex-time bandwagon, with a program called "ROWE," or "results only work environment." Businesses on board with ROWE included Best Buy and Gap Outlet headquarters, and the City of Minneapolis. Workers at these companies "work wherever they want whenever they want, as long as the work gets done."

Under ROWE, "productivity isn't judged by how many hours someone puts in the chair but rather the quality and quantity of their work."  This attitude was echoed across all age groups in data from a survey conducted late last year by the polling company™, inc./WomanTrend for Citrix Online.  More than half (56%) of respondents revealed that they were never able to work remotely, also referred to as "Webcommuting," though nearly three-fourths (73%) of American employees wanted the ability to do so at their current or next job. Gen Y workers (those aged 18-29) were more likely than most to "never" be able to work from a location other than the office (60% vs. 56% overall).  In addition 18% of Gen Yers were willing to sacrifice up to 5% of their salary to work remotely, an astonishing figure considering the year-long economic downturn and bleak employment prospects for that age group.

Gen Y has grown up doing what they want from where they want, and being "forced" to commute and work from the same place at the same time each day belies both their flexibility and productivity.   However, in the aforementioned survey, 56% of 18-29 year olds said they were unable to work remotely as their "job functionality required them to be on site." This was the most of any age group. At the same time, 62% agreed, either "strongly" or "somewhat" with the statement "I would benefit from a fast and affordable way to meet over the Internet with colleagues located anywhere, and share our computer files, presentations and other information just as if we were in the same room." This indicates a strong desire to work from somewhere other than the office.

According to "career doctor" Randall S. Hansen, PhD , this newest crop of workers "has no interest whatsoever in working in a cubicle -- not because it is beneath them, but because they feel advances in technology should let them be able to choose to work from home, Starbucks, or anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection."

Another tremendous advantage of shifting work from a traditional brick-and-mortar to an alternative and more convenient venue for the employee (if not the employer) is that talent can be recruited from around the world, not just around the corner. Additionally, there is evidence that the type of flexibility achieved through Webcommuting increases employee satisfaction and retention. With Generation Y remaining informed and entertained, communicating and transacting on the computer, working seems the next natural step.

Photo by: Justin Levy

Having spent the past couple weeks, working in Africa, I thought it might be a good idea to post a quick video about what it is like to workshift from this continent.

There are definitely many more challenges compared to our workshifting in the developing world.  The infrastructure is weak.  The ISP's blow. And finding a shop with WiFi that can load Gmail would be like finding a bar of gold in your next bowl of Cheerios.  However, workshifting is possible in many areas because of the significant investment made over the past five years by mobile providers such as Zain, Safaricom and Vodacom.

On the border of Kenya, I recorded some of my thoughts on workshifting in Africa.

If you can't see the video below, you can also find it hiding over here.