This post is the second in our 3-part series called "Building Trust at Work", with Chris Brogan. Chris is president of Human Business Works, providing business, communications and emerging technology strategy for mid- to large-sized businesses. He blogs regularly at chrisbrogan.com.

Bestselling author Charles H. Green wrote the book on trust. His seminal work with David Maister, The Trusted Advisor, taught countless business professionals how to go beyond simply booking billable hours with clients to instead provide them much, much more. He, along with Andrea Howe, recently released The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook, which further explores the concept of how leaders in organizations work with trust. So who better to talk with about how to build trust at work than Charles? After all, trust is one of the core elements behind successful efforts to launch remote and distributed employee programs.

According to Green, there are 4 pillars of trust. Through his work in surveying many leaders and stakeholders from companies of varying sizes and industries, he's discovered that workshifting success takes credibility, reliability, intimacy and low self-orientation.

Credibility

Credibility makes sense without much explanation. If you aren't very credible (people won't take your word for things), then there's not enough trust to allow you to work on a project-centric basis. To repair credibility, simply make small commitments and keep them. If you miss a commitment, own up immediately, and then take extra steps to do even better.

Reliability

Reliability is also clearly important. If you're being counted on to do the work, do it. But the way we express reliability is another matter altogether. Sometimes, we feel that being responsive - answering email within a few minutes - is the same. It's not. That just means you're easily distracted from your important work.

Other times, leaders feel that "butts in chairs" is the only measure of reliability. That's equally as wrong. The goal here is to build up trust by delivering within certain parameters and by keeping that level of quality going. If credibility is about doing what you say you'll do, then reliability is about doing it in a way that people can count on.

Intimacy

Intimacy is a strange word when thinking about work relationships. In this case, it's a mix of being attentive to details (an intimate relationship with the work at hand) and to the needs of the people related to the project.

If your boss needs morning email briefs to feel comfortable, then intimacy would suggest that you know to help by sending these along without being asked. If you're working remotely, you miss some of the "hallway chatter," so your role is to know what's being said anyway through inquiries to team members. Though you need all 4 pillars according to Green, intimacy strikes me as being one of the most crucial.

Low Self-Orientation

Having low self-orientation is one of the areas where people could use more improvement. The idea is that one must be a team- and goal-oriented individual. If you're to be working remotely and with less supervision, doing your best work from afar with the needs of the company in mind will garner you the trust of your employer and teammates. By focusing on the success of the team and the project, you're demonstrating a strong level of trustworthiness that isn't easily faked - and that becomes gold to the leadership at hand.

The 4 pillars of trust, as Green laid them out, make a great deal of sense for people seeking to build a strong relationship between leadership, team members and remote workers. It's a powerful mix of metrics to consider. If you're worthy of high marks in all 4, you'll likely do well.

Today we kick-off a 3-part series called "Building Trust at Work" with Chris Brogan. Chris is president of Human Business Works, providing business, communications and emerging technology strategy for mid- to large-sized businesses. He blogs regularly at chrisbrogan.com.

To better understand the dynamics of trust at work, I reached out to people who I believe have improved trust between leaders and employees. One such person was my friend Daniel Pink, bestselling author of many books, including the motivation-minded Drive and the powerful Free Agent Nation. In our conversation, Dan and I agreed that leadership isn't about control.

Leaders of any size organization must come to realize that the age of "measuring butts in chairs" is over for most companies. The new method is to measure via output and responsiveness. In both cases, the emphasis is no longer on controlling potential productivity pitfalls for employees (such as blocking access to the Internet) but, instead, on equipping and educating employees to encourage a high level of autonomous output.

It's a difficult shift. I've now run 3 distributed companies in a row, where my employees are scattered all over the place and working on their own timetables. There are days where even I have that nagging feeling of "Is anyone besides me even WORKING today?" But when I measure based on output, I don't have to worry about whether the person took a 3-hour coffee break. Deadlines are deadlines, and the employee is either able to successfully deliver work or not.

The shift, instead of causing anxiety, affords a certain level of excitement when you realize that leaders who learn how to measure production and output rather than hours clocked will succeed in this new business environment of constant flux. The opportunities are incredible, because this affords a great deal of flexibility in hiring (you can hire based on skill, not locale) plus a very viable perk (working from home or remotely is a highly sought-after benefit, which helps with retention).

But how do you earn trust? First, it's a two-way street. Employees have certain needs with regard to trusting their leadership.

• If I'm going to work from home, you can't forget me. (This is a big fear of remote employees.)
• If I'm working remotely, you have to realize that it might take a little while to respond. This doesn't always equal "slacking off." Sometimes it means "head down in the work."
• If you're allowing me to go mobile, then help me by making any meetings or collaboration easy (with the right tools).

On the other side of the coin, if you're looking to build trust with your leadership, consider the following:

• Be explicit about how and when you'll respond and when you'll be "heads down" in your work. When you work in person, visual cues speak loud enough. When you work remotely, silence feels like inactivity, but senseless chatter will waste everyone's time.
• Never miss a deadline. If you're working remotely, you are being measured on delivery. Let no excuses get in between you and success.
• Make it exceptionally easy for people to share and contribute to your work. If people are waiting on you, it gums up the works.

Learning how to trust your employees with their work is a big and powerful opportunity to change (improve!) your business. Though not every role works well remotely, more positions succeed at workshifting than you'd imagine.

Check back next week for the 2nd part of our "Building Trust at Work" series.

Today we have a guest post from Brian Solis. Brian is a principal at Altimeter Group, a research-based advisory firm. Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of emerging media on business, marketing, publishing, and culture. Solis' latest book is titled, The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way You Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolution. For more information, please visit www.briansolis.com.

In a post Occupy world, organizations everywhere should contemplate the themes that flooded the undercurrent for one of the greatest consumer uprisings in history. There's much to learn from the events that might have started in Wall Street to protest high unemployment and corporate greed, the prevailing tenets driving for new opportunities quickly spread to 2,773 Occupy communities in over 82 countries.

While the inspiration for the insurrection is diverse and deeply personal, one thing is clear, everyday people have had enough and collectively, the frustration and discontentment with the state of the economy, socioeconomic equality, and overall consumer disregard by business and government boiled over into a worldwide statement that screamed for action and transformation. We are witnessing the end of business as usual to say the least.

It's just a matter of time until, in its own way, the driving principles of Occupy take aim at your business or industry. To be honest, whether we realize it or not, the sentiment that contributes to disgruntlement is not new. Signs have been posted everywhere. And now with social media, these symptoms are avoidable only through old world customer service infrastructures or worse, process blindness. Business isn't changing because of social media, it's changing because consumer expectations are evolving. Either way, each play a part in heralding what I refer to as Digital Darwinism, an emerging phenomenon when technology and society evolve faster than the ability to adapt.

Listen. Learn. Engage. Adapt.

Today, no company is too big to fail nor too small to succeed. The outcome is driven by an organization's ability to adapt to market conditions and customer expectations. It's not a new concept. But what is new is the tremendous journey that organizations must embark upon to get there.

Most business models are rigid, focused on operations, efficiencies, growth opportunities and P&L. This view has worked well for decades. However, now in a new era of digital influence, connected customers, and customers in general, are clamoring to be heard and to become part of the business ecosystem. As a result, leaders must embrace new methodologies, technologies, and systems to engage stakeholders and work together to build a new framework that upgrades the dynamic for stakeholder engagement and collaboration and the resulting experience now and how it's reinforced over time.

This requires nothing less than the establishment of a dedicated taskforce with an exact mission of transformation. The primary charter is to establish a course for evolution by aligning stakeholders and decision makers around collaboration and decision-making initiatives. It's not an overnight process. What we are talking about is retrofitting or in some cases re-architecting the foundation to compete in the years to come.

This is done through a four-step rigor that begins internally to have an impact inside and outside the organization. And, as a champion for new possibilities, everything begins with you.

1. Listen - Use new media tools to listen beyond keywords and sentiment. Observe trends, insights, and opportunities to improve experiences.
2. Learn - Build a procedure, with roles and responsibilities, and a path around discovery and innovation. Translate activity into actionable insights and ensure that a two-way path connects business lines and functions back to the market through direct engagement or the improvement of products and services.
3. Engage - The state of businesses are no longer created, they're co-created through shared experiences. Stakeholders, including customers and employees, must realize that you're listening and learning. Engagement is the key to steering and shaping experiences through collaboration. Doing so invests the cultivation of a meaningful community and ultimately loyalty.
4. Adapt - Customers don't always know what they want. But, they do know what they don't want. Everything gleaned from steps one through three reveal everything about how an organization can adapt to earn relevance as part of its everyday business practice. Processes, systems, technology, it's all rooted in the ability to not just move and react to customer revolutions, but eventually lead them.

This is an opportunity to re-examine relationships with customers and employees to not only avert potential crises, but steer more positive engagement and experiences as part of standard business practices - a new "business as usual" if you will. It starts with listening and learning and culminates with engagement and adaptation.

This is why your role is more important then ever before. Everything you know and everything you're learning will help your business or organization mature, increase in relevance, and deliver more significant experiences. The end results are preference, increased loyalty and advocacy, and ultimately connectedness. It's how you demonstrate the opportunity and the path forward that count for everything. This is your time...

Be sure to tune into Brian's webinar with Citrix where he will discuss this and more on Wednesday, January 18th at 11 a.m. PST / 2 p.m. EST.

Register here: http://t.co/Sw4EqQTF

When I first gave up my office environment for the life of a digital nomad, one of the earliest things I noticed was how flexible my time had become. I loved my newfound freedom! However, I soon discovered that I didn't seem to be getting quite as much accomplished as I had when I was confined to a relatively controlled office environment. Fortunately, I realized my error fairly quickly. I had given up not only my office but also the structure it provided - including the structure of a regular schedule.

But all was not lost. By making one simple adjustment, I was able to get my schedule back under control and my productivity back on track.

The issue I had was that I wasn't setting my weekly schedule up for success. As much as we need to find time to meet with clients and prospects, we also need time to focus on getting deliverables out the door. My mistake was that I was scheduling meetings in a haphazard manner - as someone would request a meeting, I would fit it in wherever I saw a space on my calendar. As a result, I would find myself having to rush out to meetings almost every day of the week!

Meetings are a disruption. If you are trying to focus on work and then have to dive into a meeting, it takes you out of your flow, and it is really hard to get back to it once the meeting is adjourned. So, I started to slot days in my schedule just for meetings.

Now, when I set up meetings, I try to set a few in the same day, my Meeting Day. Regardless of whether the meetings are taking place virtually or in person, having them all together means I can just focus on the meetings that day. I know I am not going to be super productive on anything else on those days, but that is okay - I have another day in the week set aside for just focused work time, so I don't worry!

Additionally, you can use that extra time between meetings to run errands - especially the ones you have been putting off. You are out and about anyway, so you might as well get to the bank while you're at it!

This is just one simple change that you can make today that will change your productivity in a huge way. Set yourself meeting days and stick to them. When someone asks when you are available, try to slot them in on your meeting day. Then, on the days when you need to focus, you can shut off the world around you and just get stuff done.

Photo Credit: nicholasjon

Workshifters come in many varieties, and the 2 flavors with which I am most familiar are the freelance contractor and the full-time employee who works from home.

In either case, your time is your money. The hours you attach to any given task or project have a value - the time you could be spending on another task. In other words, the opportunity cost of doing Project A is equal to the financial compensation lost for not doing Project B or to the intrinsic benefits sacrificed by not just taking time for yourself. From this perspective, it's easy for workshifters to understand what our time and efforts are worth.

It's not so easy for employers and clients, however. In fact, they are on the opposite side of this 2-way mirror. This is particularly true in the case of employers, who may view workshifters as commodities. What's in it for them to allow this employee to workshift - how much will it cost them? What flexibility does the workshifter have (that these employers do not), and how much does that devalue what the workshifter is really worth? Call it workshifter discrimination, if you will.

To allow an employee the flexibility to workshift, possibly at the exclusion of other employees (assuming telework is not regularly allowed at this company), there has got to be:

• Strong justification
• Inherent trust
• Positive tangible or intangible returns/results

Businesses are not charities, after all.

So what's a workshifter to do about not only proving worth but also maintaining flexibility? For me, the key is building a case for the value of my work - full-time, part-time or anything in-between. But how do I build such a case?

Be prepared

Know not only the absolute value of your contributions but also their relative strength when compared against anyone in a full-time, 9-to-5 position. Could they do what you do regardless of their schedule?

Be your own judge, jury and legal counsel

Look at the facts. What have you been able to accomplish that others have been given the same opportunity to do, yet failed in their attempts?

Know your limits and own them

Recognize the value you place on both your output and your flexibility. Perhaps you do not need to be paid more, but you are not willing to accept less either. If you reach an impasse with your employer, be very sure that you're willing to walk and take the value of your skills with you.

What is your workshifting work worth?

Photo Credit: treehouse1977

As a nation, Australia has one of the world's most carbon-intensive economies, producing more than 20 tons of CO2 per person - ahead of the United States, Canada and even Saudi Arabia. In October, Australia caught up with much of the rest of the world by putting a tax on carbon dioxide production. The Australian Lower House has now passed all 19 carbon tax bills, which means Australia's 500 largest corporations will pay $23 for each ton of carbon they produce. 

The full implications of this milestone legislation still remain to be seen, but we expect the price of most goods and services to rise - from electricity and gas to groceries and transportation. To soften the blow, the Government has promised a "Household Impact Compensation" that should leave 9 out of 10 households better off, but the overall message is clear: carbon will cost.

Australian airlines across the board have expressed concern over the impact of the carbon tax - in fact Australia's regional airlines believe it will force them to cut services to small and regional town centers, leaving many workers locked in relatively remote locations. Meanwhile, bigger airlines like Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin say they will have no choice but to increase ticket prices to cover the cost.

For those working in regional Australia, a further rise in the cost of travel and gas is an unwelcome addition to the already high cost of living in Australia. Mercer Corporation's annual survey shows that the cost of living in Australian cities has been quickly rising over the past year, with 6 cities now in the top 100 globally.

However, the carbon tax debate has also galvanized the community, with many weighing the cost of living and transportation on the one hand and strong environmental action and sustainability on the other. It's got me thinking - are we on the brink of a workshifting climate change here in Australia?

Workshifting is a perfect alternative to physical travel, benefiting employees and employers alike. From a business point of view, it is a cost saving that also results in increased productivity and efficiency. For employees, it represents flexible working and a greater work-life balance.

Today, collaboration products allow remotely located workers to stay in touch and connect almost as well as if they were physically in the same office. With today's technology, all that is required is an Internet-enabled computer and a telephone. Coupled with the planned rollout of 28 new fiber locations by the National Broadband Network, bringing high-speed Internet and the prospect of workshifting to thousands more Australians across the country, this could be the last boost Australians need to make remote work popular - the tools already exist; it's just a matter of doing.

Photo Credit: kirantr

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

Today we have a guest post from Lisa Reeves, general manager and vice president of the Access & Cloud line of business at Citrix Online.

Today's workforce is more mobile than ever. And being this mobile, we're able to keep business moving even when Mother Nature isn't on her best behavior. But did you know that according to the Insurance Information Institute, 40 percent of businesses affected by a natural or man-made disaster never reopen? In this age of mobility, that number is far too high.

For example, if a business employs teleworkers and they are set up before a disaster occurs, a business can decrease or avoid inoperability during and after a disaster. (Not to mention the many environmental benefits of teleworking such as cutting down on road congestion, energy demand and business efficiencies.)

So, without going into a full detailed business continuity disaster preparedness plan, why not start small with a mitigation strategy? Ready? Here are a couple things to consider:

1. Connectivity - Have available communications through an internet service provider or direct dial phone line as well as the needed equipment at both ends to establish and maintain communications. In light of a disaster, every company should be prepared with a backup location such as satellite offices, available space in another facility, or various locations where employees can carry out essential functions - even allow employees to work from home if safe to do so.
   
   
2. Proper mobility tools - The ones you'll need are a smartphone, a PC , Mac or tablet, and a webcam.
   
   
3. More mobility beyond gadgets - Once you've got the right tools, get the web-based software that allow employees to work from anywhere and stay productive - tools like instant messenger, video conferencing, and online collaboration will suffice for even the bare bones operations. You can also use tech to keep you informed and safe.

If you empower your workers with the flexibility to access company resources from wherever their work takes them, your business will be prepared, no matter when Mother Nature rears her ugly head.

Photo Credit: shuttersparks

Are you a consultant who workshifts between your home office, the library resource center and the orthodontist waiting room? Afraid you might flub an important detail or miss a deadline because your day is consumed by work for 2 or more (distinctly different) clients? Then this article's for you.

Tips for managing concurrent client programs

1. Maintain separate writing tablets or Moleskines - Wherever it is you like to jot down meeting notes and to-do lists (many of us still prefer old-school paper), it helps to keep things for Client A separate from Client B. When you maintain separate hard copy "bibles," you prevent taking a bunch of notes about your financial management client in the middle of the notes reserved for your software start-up client.
   
   
2. Designate one color Post-it pad for each client - Lower your eyebrow, pal - colors are valid organizational criteria. I love little punches of color, even with mundane things like office supplies. Second, I like the way I can easily scan the frame of my monitor (my favorite stickum surface) for orange slips when I need a WordPress logon for Client A and for blue slips when I want the call-in numbers associated with Client B. As a visual learner, the color theme is processed more efficiently in my head than regular handwriting. 
   
   
3. Separate file folders in different colors - This might go without saying, but file folders can really help compartmentalize all the project trappings. I like to jot client phone numbers and email addresses on the outside of the folders - you never know when you might need to go Betamax because your system or cell phone is on the fritz!
   
   
4. Separate online calendars - I use Gmail calendars for personal appointments and, along with Tungle, for work-related meetings and due dates. While the central Gmail calendar keeps me in tune with each day's agenda, I use the "copy to [additional] calendar" function to single out appointments associated with individual clients. When needed, I can zip up an account of the time spent on calls or in meetings within each calendar as either backup to an invoice or as part of an assignment's progress report. There's no need to look things up and then manually create another document if a question arises. The calendar layout also helps add visual context to each client touchpoint (often triggering memories of billable time spent together).
   
   
5. Use the Pomodoro Technique to allocate time well - It's all too easy to let time slip away from you when engrossed in research for a project. Before you know it, it's 3:30 PM, and you still have tasks due for another client. Consider using the Pomodoro Technique to avoid sinking too much of your days' time into single tasks related to just one client.
   
   
6. Use Dropbox to centralize documents - Dropbox is a service I simply adore for its simplicity and ease of use. It allows me to work with clients and subcontractors to share files via the cloud for fast collaboration with version control. It's also a great way to deliver large finished projects without fussing over thumb drives or CDs.
   
   
7. Refer to your accounting software often - When you're running your own business, a couple of things can happen. You may enjoy the actual client work but despise the operations and administration side (avoidance is not a good management technique). Don't let your aversion to the "business" side of business keep you from looking at P&L statements. Quarterly tax payment mandatories aside, you should check things monthly to ensure that values are aligned: you're charging appropriately for your work , and remittance is being made in a timely fashion. If not, consider revisiting your terms and fee schedule for problematic or slow-to-pay clients. For me, Freshbooks makes this easy.

Working on concurrently running programs for separate clients demands your different skills and talents - bring variety to your day (possibly one of the very reasons you went out on your own, eh?). With deliberate organization and careful planning, workshifters can be their own boss, achieve their ideal work/family balance and deliver top-notch results to clients.

How do you manage your client workload?

Photo Credit: ideali

Two recent surveys by the Small Business Authority make for interesting reading. Perhaps not surprisingly, uncertainty about the U.S. economy has been identified as one of the top three challenges facing small businesses, fueled by ongoing concerns about the growing U.S. debt and deficit (46%) and over-regulation (35%). Economic uncertainty is once again seen as the greatest obstacle to hiring more employees (55%).

Contrast this with another finding which revealed that 71% of small business owners had never heard of cloud computing. It went on to show that of the 29% of those questioned who had heard of cloud computing, 74% could not describe just what cloud computing is. Not surprisingly, many small and mid-size businesses are apparently still struggling to understand its relevance to them.

How are these two situations related? Well, with business confidence wavering, shrewd executives should be looking for ways of running their operations more efficiently. Taking advantage of new cloud-based computing solutions might well prove to be highly beneficial, enabling organizations to free up capital, with more predictable associated operating costs, enabling organizations to just pay for what they use.

Cloud computing can be very simply viewed as on-demand computing services delivered by third parties over the Internet. Historically, in order to do tasks such as word processing, a business needed to buy a computer and license the relevant application that was installed on the device, often known as a server. The application was invoked through another computer (or client) and the user created the necessary files, which in turn were stored either on the client or on another computer on the office (local area) network. Backups of files, particularly data files, had to be made, so that if the computer storage failed, the user did not lose all their data - those precious digital letters, presentations, models and other documents upon which they, and their business, depended. All of this required upfront capital outlay - the business had to pay for these assets before they could use them - only to witness them depreciate over time. For larger businesses, it often became necessary to hire people with expertise in these systems just to fix things when they went wrong and to help keep everything running efficiently.

With cloud computing, organizations no longer have to own the servers, the storage, the networks and the applications that they once had to purchase in order to be able to undertake business. All that is now required is browser-based access to the Internet from any preferred device (desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet). A wide range of both free and subscription-based services are then immediately available on-demand to the user. No additional hardware or software needs to be purchased upfront, and the business essentially pays for the services it uses. Files can be stored locally or in the cloud on the service providers' computers where they are professionally managed. Furthermore, there is no need for the business to require dedicated IT support staff to help maintain these systems.

So all your stuff can now live in the cloud. Instead of having to go to work in your office, (whether it be a home, remote or official location), where most of your stuff still physically resides, you can now go to work in the cloud - your own office but now residing in the Internet. It's cheaper, arguably more secure, and typically accessible 24x7; best of all, it allows you to focus on your business and not on the technology needed to run it. Instead of owning computers on which to work, you simply have a device from which you can access your own personal cloud. All the stuff you need to digitally work or play is always at your disposal on your preferred devices, enabling you to do what you want, as you need. With your office in the cloud, you may not even need all that physical office space that was once so necessary and you can save on commuting related costs. So, welcome to your new office in the cloud - the place to be as the economic climate becomes increasingly stormy!

Photo Credit: dannykboyd