Since starting at Citrix 5 years ago, I've internalized the company motto: "Work with anyone from anywhere." Although we've been using this saying for a long time, mobile technology has only recently caught up. I can still picture an image we used to use for marketing that showed someone working on a beach with a laptop, and I always wondered how many people actually got Wi-Fi access on the beach.

Fast-forward to today when tablets and smart phones are so prevalent that many of us carry 2 to 3 devices (I currently carry 3: iPhone, iPad, IBM ThinkPad). How do we stay connected when we're so distributed now? Mobile collaboration, or the ability to connect and collaborate anywhere, will become even more important over the next few years. Distributed work is not new, but these powerful electronics are increasingly pressuring us to communicate and make decisions at a distance. How do we adjust?

We recently announced that anyone can attend a GoToMeeting session from an Android device or iPhone. The whole process of launching these products got me thinking about how the way we interact will change, a realization that really hit me when I attended a GoToMeeting session from the dog park a few weeks ago.

First, we have to challenge our assumptions. Our communications are very unstructured, thanks in large part to email. We bounce ideas, send messages and make calls, but we've forgotten how to set up an agenda and bring people together for a successful meeting. I recommend you look through a new book titled Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli, published through Seth Godin's Domino Project, to learn more about how we've lost sight of efficient meetings. We need to get back in the habit of structuring collaboration around outcomes. Mobile work styles are great at creating flexibility for the employee, but not for agendas or results. We must define our interactions and what we want to get out of them.

A bigger theme we see with mobility is the idea of choice - you can choose where and what devices you want to work from. But choice must also extend to when you work. Some people assume the new mobile technologies mean employees can now work 24/7, but we must fight this assumption. Why do we like to be mobile? Because it gives us the freedom to control our lives. We can meet from a park, work on a business trip or share slides with someone in a different country.

Our challenge here is to set boundaries and stick to them. Use mobile collaboration tools to be more effective, to work from anywhere life takes you - but set a schedule of availability and abide by it.

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Dr. Seuss had a way of putting things just so. He said, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

He was absolutely right.

You have expertise, experience and a desire to make a difference. This makes you completely unique and uniquely important. If you don't put that powerful combination to use, things won't get better. They just won't.

Volunteering your time and talents in the service of others has many rewards. There are the tangible benefits of a completed volunteer project or effort, but there are also the more subtle rewards, like personal and professional growth, new connections and so on. Then there are benefits that are unique to a particular project. A community garden, for example, has been shown to reduce crime, educate urban youth about food production and generally increase quality of life for nearby residents. All in a day's work for a handful of humble vegetable seeds.

Here are some of the benefits of volunteering your time, expertise and passion:

• Professional Benefits
• Health Benefits
• General Benefits
• Surprising Benefits

For many people, choosing whether to work for a company has a lot to do with the company's policies towards community giving and volunteering efforts. Prioritizing a better world alongside business is right up there with salary, work-life flexibility and healthcare.

But what if you are a project-based contractor? You do the work, get paid and move on. The corporate community-giving opportunities aren't within the scope of your relationship. That just means you've got a little extra work to do.

When it comes to volunteering, I know my strengths and weaknesses. For example, I would never, ever volunteer to cook or bake - not just because I enjoy those activities about as much as a root canal but also because I wouldn't want to be responsible for a widespread health crisis. I also wouldn't volunteer to climb higher than 5 feet on a ladder. Or drive a large truck. But when there's an idea to flesh out or a story to get down on paper, my hand flies in the air.

As a writer, my volunteer workload often includes drafting letters for campaigns, composing articles and contributing to marketing efforts. Occasionally I customize writing workshops for community groups. But I'm also adept at digging in the dirt.

Digging in the dirt, as it turns out, can be useful in community development. I've been privileged to serve on the steering committee of a community garden startup - and mind you, this is no ordinary community garden. An empty swath of land now holds 24 raised garden beds, a large berry patch for community picking and 2 perennial gardens. The space has already served as an enticing backdrop for yoga workshops, garden tours, harvest dinners and one theatrical production.

If it sounds like I'm a proud mama of this project, it's because I am. It represents years of hard work from many committed volunteers, and I've given it some of my best ideas and expertise. I've also learned a number of valuable lessons that easily apply to other parts of my life - including my professional life. I helped make something out of nothing, and that feels good.

Where do you invest yourself and balance your time?

Photo Credit: Citrix Online

Google+, the latest and greatest social network, hit the Interweb about 4 months ago in a limited field trial. A select group of, oh, 25 million people or so were invited to poke around and check things out. Last month, Google+ opened its doors to the public at large, so now you only need a free Google profile to get started.

But why join another social network, you ask? Well, that's not an easy question to answer, but the web is all about choice. Providing a new way to connect, share and collaborate might just be a good thing. With privacy and sharing features that differ from Facebook's and a posting format longer than Twitter's, Google+ is quickly becoming a contender in the social media market. I've been looking at G+ through the lens of a workshifter lately, and I'm finding all sorts of benefits for those of us who work in online offices.

Expand Your Network

I'm meeting all sorts of new people on G+. Whereas it can sometimes be challenging to follow the fast-moving Twitter timeline, G+ offers many neat filtering options that let me streamline the way I see folks - kind of like putting a magnifying glass on my social feed. By dragging and dropping people into Circles, I can surf by interest (adding people to lists on Twitter takes more steps than I'm willing to bother with). Most people on Google+ spend a lot of time sharing great content like links and videos, meaning there's an opportunity to get involved in some fun conversations. Google+ also allows long-form posts and displays comments pretty well, so it's easy to follow the real-time updates.

Search Socially

Since Google+ is owned by, well, Google, the search functionality is powerful (and even more powerful now that the site is public). For example, I can search for "fiction authors" and find posts where users are discussing writers, or I can search for people who actually are fiction authors themselves. Because Google profiles can be really detailed, they are extremely searchable. Think of what this means for connecting with others you're interested in and what it means for them being able to connect with you - powerful stuff. If you spend most of your time working alone, you are better able to reach out and network.

Organize Your Interactions

The Circles functionality is fantastic. You can create groups for any number of interests and organize your information streams any way you like. You can have a feed for close friends and another for book club buddies. Then, you can read and share information with just those people. Not everyone who follows me on G+ may be interested in my latest course development techniques or my veggie lasagna recipe. Google+ lets me have different conversations with different groups, which is great for connecting with people who share our particular hobbies or industry.

Hang Out

Want to meet up with friends but can't get everyone together in person? Dump them all into a circle and invite them to a Google Hangout, a multi-way video chat that holds up to 10 people. Google recently added some new "Extras" that allow you to name hangouts, create shared notes and sketchpads, integrate Google Docs and share screens. It's all nicely consolidated on one screen, too.

Photo Credit: Magnet 4 Marketing dot Net

Today we have a guest post from Roger Courville. Roger is the principal analyst and Global Training Guy at 1080 Group, LLC. Roger recently completed a study and checklist on video conferencing and shares his top 4 surprising insights from the study.

The possibility of being able to see the person you're talking with while on the phone is not new - it's literally been decades since the first commercial services have tried to deliver on that promise.

What is new, however, is multipoint video conferencing that is affordable, portable and well-integrated with systems and processes already in use (e.g., computers and web conferencing). But now that it's so widely available, we need the skills to use it effectively.

To better understand what's necessary for successful video conferencing, 1080 Group conducted a global survey of nearly 1,200 professionals that focused largely on the "how" (for example, "What are people doing right that we can mimic?" and "What are video conferencing users doing wrong that we can avoid?"). As a complement to the survey, here are a few thoughts on the "why" behind the results.

There's more to video conferencing than saving money

It's easy to posit: Video conferencing "saves costs of travel" for your organization. Out of eight different values, cutting travel expenses was ranked second.

The winner, interestingly, was that video conferencing "allows us to show something that is not easily shown from a computer screen."

The take-away message: Saving money is important, but productivity is our top concern.

Your mileage may vary

Curious about how survey respondents were experiencing value, we dug deeper. What we uncovered were statistically different opinions about where value is derived. For instance, Europeans were much more likely to appreciate being able to communicate more frequently than their global peers were. In some cases the differences varied by industry, such as financial services' inclination towards being green.

Message: The value of video conferencing depends on your own communication or organization needs.

Not everyone gets it

When we investigated what prevents organizations from using video conferencing, we discovered that the biggest challenges were largely people-based. "Inability or unwillingness to use new technology" and "entrenchment of the current way we do things" took the top two spots by a wide margin.

Perhaps of interest, "expense that is difficult to justify" came in dead last. For many this isn't a surprise, but it's an important reminder that the bottom line does not drive everyone in an organization.

Message: Capitalizing on new value-creating opportunities in your organization may have a cultural element.

Personal leadership is critical

Finally, a number of insights pointed to the experiential nature of meeting and collaborating virtually. Sadly, some people disparage the communication medium because they see someone else use it unsuccessfully. By analogy, this is like saying, "PowerPoint is bad," instead of, "Some people use PowerPoint poorly."

When we compared how video conferencing leaders (those who initiate and lead video conferences) say they perform against how attendees rate those leaders, we noticed some differences. The main gripe for attendees was that leaders "have distracting mannerisms or gestures."

Message: Turn your leaders into good examples for others to learn from.

The bottom line

The expected growth for video conferencing use is staggering - our survey respondents anticipate 211 percent in the next year. Interestingly, even those respondents who already categorize themselves as active video conference users expect 63 percent growth, a strong testament that they believe there's untapped potential.

The good news for all: While meeting and collaborating via video conferencing might be different, it's not hard. The question for many organizations may be "Are we going to lead, follow or get trampled on?" as this momentous shift occurs.

Photo Credit: Citrix Online

I recently heard about the tardy policy enforced at a friend's former workplace. If she was late to the office twice in one week, she was publicly shamed at a team meeting, where the rest of the group would be told, "Susy is ineligible for the weekly recognition award because she was late twice this week." (Name changed to protect the guilty.)

I disagree not only with using humiliation as a means of punishment/motivation (it borders on being grounds for a hostile workplace lawsuit) but also with the practice of marking tardies when it just doesn't matter. Grown-ups should have more important things to worry about than beating the clock.

Why stress out your workforce over something that doesn't affect your business?

Sure, when you do shifts, like in a factory or a hospital, you have to arrive on time to keep the organization running smoothly. In those cases, productivity - and people's lives - may be adversely affected by tardiness. The assembly line must be staffed and the night nurse relieved on time, or problems will arise, no question about it. But in an office environment, does it really make a difference if Susy sits at her desk from 8 to 5 exactly, instead of from 8:05 to 5:05?

I feel pretty lucky to work in a performance-based environment. No one polices me to make sure I'm at my computer (either at the office or at home) at any certain hour. Instead, I'm required to account for my workload, deliver projects on time, be available for meetings and collaboration and help our company attain its business goals by doing the best job I can. I'm treated like an adult, instead of like a school child.

I remember the days of skipping breakfast and running yellow (okay, red) lights to get to work on time. I don't think my employer benefited from my racing into work panting and sweating; the time I saved getting to work "on time" was usually wasted cooling down and regaining my composure before I could concentrate on my tasks. And I remember feeling embarrassed if I was late for some reason - often a reason that was beyond my control - which could bring down my morale for the rest of the day.

I'm much happier workshifting

Now, I start work when I'm ready to start work. Sometimes I start early in the morning, and sometimes I start a little later in the morning. Sometimes I start when I have a meeting to attend - and I don't mind hurrying to be on time if that's the case, because people are depending on me. Sometimes I work and attend meetings from home, and sometimes I work and attend meetings at the office. In either work environment, and no matter what time I start, I get the job done.

I end my workday when I've done the day's work, sometimes early and sometimes late. I probably work late more often as a workshifter, but I don't mind because it's my own choice to do so; I take pride in finishing my work and reaching my goals on my own terms.

By its very nature, workshifting has to be performance based. When your manager isn't physically present, you have to be trusted to do your work, and you are judged by your work alone. You don't win points just for showing up - you win respect by showing people what you can do.

It takes some maturity to manage your time by yourself, but then, workshifting is for grown-ups, isn't it?

Photo Credit: alamosbasement

According to the Telework Research Network, productivity increases by 27 percent among those who workshift. This statistic should be of great interest to employers everywhere, as productivity, or the lack thereof, is one of the biggest challenges they face today.

Whenever you are responsible for a workforce, you encounter many varied obstacles to motivating your team sufficiently towards your established goals. New employees may be enthusiastic and dedicated, but it invariably doesn't take long before a certain amount of lethargy sets in, and productivity starts to drop. If the employees share a common workspace, then what's the problem? Is this some kind of condition that permeates from one workstation to another?

Many books have been written over the years about how to motivate employees and manage effectively, but perhaps these books are missing the most significant chapters. It's possible that the solution to low productivity in traditional office workspaces is to actually remove the workspace altogether. This is where workshifting can slowly but surely come to the rescue of floundering organizations.

The same research network that suggests that employees are considerably more productive when workshifting also suggests that employers can save up to $20,000 per employee yearly by eliminating the workspace. The savings are obvious: no more direct and overhead costs associated with each and every workstation. Furthermore, if the employees themselves are happier and more productive in their new environments, turnover will be reduced, meaning less hiring and training expenditures.

Companies that embrace workshifting have shown that employee attrition can be lowered by as much as 25 percent. To top it off, the new, more educated and informed employee tends to look for organizations that offer this kind of flexibility in the first place.

The writing is on the wall when you look at all these figures collectively. It's time to change the culture of oversight by trusting employees to be as productive as, or even more productive than, they were before. Whether we like it or not, productivity is always going to suffer if the employee is not as inspired or motivated as they could be.

When an employer actually gives an employee the freedom to workshift, trust that may have been missing before is established. This can, in turn, exponentially improve the relationship between both parties - each side stands to gain.

Photo Credit: thorinside

Having recently completed my largest assignment as a workshifter yet, I faced some familiar demons. Workdays of 10 to 12 hours had become a distant memory since I began setting my own time, managing my own workflow and balancing my professional boundaries, but that was not to last.

All of a sudden the lure of never-ending tasks, enormous deliverables, looming deadlines and firm work cycles (publish, find bugs, submit bug reports, receive bug fixes, test fixes, repeat) sucked me in with as much power as a new Dyson vacuum. Fed by sheer adrenaline, I was on site for days on end, caught in a confusion of worlds.

When had work eclipsed the ability to shift, be flexible and maintain a balance? I knew exactly when - the truth was inescapable. I had chosen to be part of an exciting project, graciously accepted the remuneration attached to it, knowing (on an unconscious level) that the project would take its toll. I also knew that, by definition, the project would have a distinct beginning and end. Whatever happened in between was, shall we say, part and parcel of the job.

What I did not know was that, at the culmination of this project, I would face the foreign sensation of not knowing how to transition back to the flexible, workshifting balance I had been striving to achieve. Simply put, I had lost my equilibrium.

After taking a few days to mentally recharge, I stepped back and assessed my situation. I realized that my problem was not really a problem, but rather a misperception. That workshifting balance I had been seeking was not as absolute as I had painted it to be. I discovered the following truths:

1. My workshifting balance will vary from time to time, client to client and project to project.
   
   
2. My best work can still be achieved despite a slightly imbalanced workshifting schedule.
   
   
3. There will never be an ideal one-size-fits-all formula for my schedule. Rather, I need to be open to receiving any size project and determining if the risks balance the rewards at that time in my life.
   
   
4. If I stay in the moment for each project, enjoy its components and derive energy from the people and tasks, then the project - regardless of its impact on my schedule - serves a very positive purpose.

What are your workshifting truths? How do you define and achieve that workshifting balance?

Photo Credit: Digitalnative

When we do the 9 to 5 thing in an office environment, our time isn't always our own. We're told when to show up in the morning, when to break for lunch (and how much time we're allowed), and told when it's acceptable to go home. While we're expected to manage our time in an efficient way, our tasks are often delegated to us with an expected timeline - so we know what we're up against.

When we're workshifters, our sense of time tends to go out the window. We have the advantage of starting work when we want, prioritizing how we want, taking breaks when we want, and finishing up when we want (deadlines notwithstanding). We have access to our office, our files and our emails at any time. We don't "have" to shut anything off. And this can make managing our time very challenging. How do you strike a balance between working all the time and shutting it down? How do you make sure you don't spend all day perusing your Google Reader when you should be working? Let's look at both sides.

I'm playing when I should be working

We've all done it - gotten sucked down the rabbit hole of Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and YouTube. It starts out innocently enough - we click one interesting link, and before we know it, we've followed the yellow brick road straight into the Land of Procrastination. The truth is, there's a lot of value to be derived from spending time on social networks, and reading news and blogs. It's professional networking, socializing, business development and training all wrapped into one. But it can get away on us if we aren't careful.

My best advice for managing your online time is to set a timer. I use the alarm on my iPhone, but you can use anything. How about setting up a playlist in iTunes that runs for 30 minutes? Then when the music runs out, it's time to move on. Setting a timer of any kind means you don't have to watch the clock, and you can fully immerse yourself until time is up. And to avoid the rabbit-holes (clicking one link after another and following the shiny objects until you forget what you originally set out to do), when you come across an interesting link, right click and open it in a new tab. DON'T look at it - finish what you were reading or watching. If you run out of time, save the link to a tool like Instapaper.com or Delicious.com, and the next time you have "Internet" time, hit those bookmarks first. Your online time will now have direction and focus.

I'm working when I should be playing

The flip side of this, of course, is that we workshifters, in our quiet, distraction-free environments, will tend to just work and work and work, often until well AFTER the cows come home. We feel the need to be "always on", just replying to that one more email at 10pm, or running up to the office to "quickly" double check on a client deliverable while our kids wait for us to watch Toy Story 3 with them. It's easy to be attached to your work when your work is right there with you. We also tend to stop taking breaks, to the point where 8 or 9 hours will go by and we'll notice we haven't gotten up from our chair, or had lunch, or a drink of water in all that time.

Again, setting timers can help with this. Set a timer for once an hour if you have to, to remind you to get up and move around, take a break, stretch, and get some water (most of us walk around in a state of partial dehydration, which is why we feel so tired all the time. Hydrate!). As for "after hours" working? Stop it. Unless you have a client deliverable due the next morning and you HAVE to work late (that happens to all of us once in a while), then stop. Turn off the computer. Turn off the email notifications, or put your phone away (lock it in a drawer if you have to). Go hang out with your spouse and kids. Go out with friends. Take the dog to the park. Watch something mindless on TV. The world will not end just because you're not workshifting in it for a while. And you'll come back to your desk the next morning feeling more refreshed and less stressed, I guarantee!

Good time management is achievable. It takes some time, and some effort, and above all, discipline. Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!

Photo Credit: dnnya

This week, Australia's fifth and final National Broadband Network (NBN) first release site was launched by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, and the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Penny Wong.

The site, located in Willunga, South Australia, joins the other four sites in Townsville (QLD), Brunswick (VIC), Kiama Downs/Minnamurra and Armidale (NSW) that will soon see the benefits of high-speed broadband access.

While many businesses across Australia have already embraced some form of teleworking, for many users, particularly those based in rural areas, high-speed Internet access has been a key barrier to enjoying richer video and web applications. The NBN rollout is removing this obstacle, meaning more Australians will now be able to enjoy the benefits of a telework lifestyle; increasing their workplace flexibility, allowing them to better balance their work and family lives, and giving people living in regional areas greater employment opportunities.

The demand for advanced broadband is clear - Willunga has seen the highest take up rate of any first release site, with more than 90 percent of residents signing up for a free fibre connection. To date, more than 650 trial users have been connected across Australia, with over 1800 customers receiving services over the NBN.



As the NBN deployment spreads across Australia, all businesses will benefit from using the many online collaboration tools available, helping them improve their efficiency and productivity while overcoming the issue of large distances by bringing people and organizations closer together.

While it will take some time for the NBN to become a reality for all Australians, as more communities get connected it's critical that businesses start preparing for the impact that this infrastructure will have on the way that they operate.

Collaboration services - such as video, web and mobile applications - now exist to help these workers stay in touch and get the job done. Whether you're outback or in the outer suburbs, market movements suggest we're on the brink of a boost in Australian flexible working. Today, it's not just about teleworking, but workshifting. The tools and opportunities are here today; it's just a question of how quickly businesses will embrace them.

Photo Credit: Talentless Clown

Have you ever tried to imagine what the future of technology will be like? Ignoring the perennial favorites (seriously, where's my flying car already?), nailing down those small-time changes that add up to a real culture shift is no easy feat. I recently got myself an HD webcam (to use in my GoToMeeting with HDFaces™ sessions), and it got me thinking about the future of workshifting tech. What's next? 3D? Holograms?

Turns out, 3D cams are already available, but you'll have to put up with those ever-popular goggles to see the full picture, losing any chance of being taken seriously in the process. So until we get holograms, we're stuck with good ol' HD, which I discovered in a recent meeting makes people look like bashful preteens when it comes to making good eye contact. I flick my eyes up to the lens, back down to the screen, back up, back down - and I wonder if I've been caught staring somewhere I shouldn't have (curse those off-camera distractions).

It made sense to me, then, that the next step for video conferencing is a technology that can further strengthen this visual human connection. But how? To answer that problem, I did what I always do when faced with a difficult question: I googled it. Here's what may be coming our way soon:

Potential video conferencing future # 1 - Periscopes

Have you ever used a periscope? Mirror magic lets you look somewhere and see something else. Now imagine having a mini-periscope covering your webcam and extending down to eclipse a portion of your screen. Sound weird? Well, apparently it solves the eye-contact problem. Despite its effectiveness, I'm having trouble picturing wide-spread adoption with this one, although the thought of periscopes popping up in cubicles like a sea of submarines does strike me as appealing.

Potential video conferencing future # 2 - Camera behind the screen

Take the webcam that sits on top and embed it into the middle of the screen. Then simply position the webcam video feed over the hidden camera and voilà - seamless eye contact! Seems like a simple concept, but as always, there are some pretty big complications. Light has to pierce through the Las Vegas glow of your screen to reach the camera lens. Apple's idea is to rapidly cycle the display between active and inactive, transparent and opaque, at such a rate that the camera can still get a good image while your eyes notice nothing.

Potential video conferencing future # 3 - LCD monitor-camera hybrid

Think outside the box with this one. Instead of having one central lens that collects visual information, try having thousands - as many sensors as there are pixels in your screen. That's Apple's other solution (surely another manufacturer must care about eye contact): weave in loads of light-sensitive receptors in-between the cells of an LCD screen and then combine the separate data feeds into one big picture. High-tech and futuristic, this solution is what I'd like to see. The image resolution would improve thanks to the larger "lens" - it'd be like looking through a window the size of your monitor.

Until the day when the people in my virtual meetings are projected as holograms onto my desk R2-D2 style ("Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi!"), I'll continue to eagerly make predictions about the future of workshifting tech. What do you think is coming next?

Photo Credit: Sean MacEntee

I live in Santa Barbara, but my new office is in Boston. This means I need to fly - a lot. "Frequent Flyer" is not a badge I ever wanted to earn, but here I am, 6-foot-3, trying to fold myself into a coach seat I'm pretty sure was meant for a toddler.

Let's take a step back to when I booked my first trip for this job. As I paid for my ticket online, I was offered all kinds of funny things: 4 more inches of legroom for a bazillion dollars, boarding on a blue carpet instead of a red carpet, more miles, more checked bags and so on. I didn't opt for any of the perks.

Since that day, I've flown to the East Coast about 7 times over an 8-week period, and, well, a funny thing started to happen. I really began caring about that stupid blue carpet and the extra legroom. I became one of those people that hovers around that blue carpet like it was Mecca. 

This is when it gets really good. There are all sorts of hidden perks you don't know about until you fly a lot. Now, my boarding passes always say "Zone 1 Boarding," no matter where I'm sitting on the plane. This is great because I know I'll have a place for my luggage. But wait, there's more!

Mysteriously, I became a "Premier Flyer," which means I can walk on the cool, blue carpet - booyah suckers! As if that isn't cool enough, I'm also automatically seated in an exit row when one's available. I proudly utter the words, "Yes, I'll help rip this door off the plane in the unlikely event of a water landing."

If you can possibly contain your excitement, there's even more! I've noticed on my last couple of flights that I'm the lucky guy with no one sitting next to me. Can you believe it? What I've figured out is that my rate of flying triggers a little algorithm that says, "Hey, this dude is Premier Man. Let's show him some love!"

I'm on a plane as I'm writing this post, and that little algorithm is my best friend right now. What other cool perks have you discovered that I have to look forward to?

Photo Credit: davipt