One of the best sessions I attended at this year's Techshow was the session on collaboration tools with Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Here are some of the tidbits I picked up from their presentation:
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The current economic downturn will make it easier to make a 'business case' for collaboration: collaboration tools save money, time and other resources;
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Collaboration requires collaboration - you may need to compromise on tools in order to get others to participate. It's no good to choose the 'best' tool, the most 'pefect' tool, or the tool YOU want if the tools don't get used;
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Before choosing a particular collaboration tool, ask: WHY do you want to use a particular tool? What is it that you want to accomplish? [These are the first questions I ask my clients when they tell me they want to undertake anything in their practice. You must know the purpose for everything];
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Internal (within the firm) and external (with clients, etc.) collaboration require different tools/approaches: when you change the context, re-evaluate the tool;
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Create a 'fail fast' mentality: try tools, but if they don't work, move on fast!
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Never underestimate ability of people to bypass firm procedures if they need to get something done [provide staff with tools they need to do their jobs; beware: if you don't they might use 'unapproved' tools instead];
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Email isn't the best collaboration tool, but the difficulty is in getting people to use other tools;
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Use inexpensive incentives or small penalties to get people to use collaboration tools [Any time clients ask me how to get staff or others to do something, I invariably answer with some form of what I call, "incentives and consequences"];
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"The perfect is the enemy of the good" [if a tool works well and accomplishes the purpose, don't change tools or keep searching for new ones simply because there 'might' be something 'better' available];
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When you select collaboration tools, make sure the tools either: improve an existing system or implement a new system that is measurably better than the system it replaces;
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Don't forget to use multiple backups, and be sure you know where your backup is geographically located;
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Don't leave your collaborative documents in an online space such as GoogleDocs - download to your computer or server and delete from the online system;
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Don't require people to go different places for the same information or require them to duplicate their entry of data - use programs that synchronize with one another;
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Consider your clients when using collaboration tools - don't assume you know what their experience is - use client surveys to ask them;
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Tell clients up front about risks and special concerns using collaboration tools;
Some specific collaboration tools that were mentioned during the presentation:
www.gotomeeting.com: online meeting capabilities
www.mozy.com: online backups
www.acrobat.com Adobe Connect Now- free online meetings for up to three people; can include video, audio, chat and more
www.WebEx.com: Screen-sharing capabilities - everyone sees what you see
www.Meebo.com: Web based tool that combines different connections so all of your connections show up in one place, allowing easy instant messaging
www.digsby.com: Free tool similar to Meebo, but also integrates Linkedin, Facebook and Gmail notifications
www.drop.io: Send files or collaborate on line
For more information,check out the collaboration tools wiki - see what's available and contribute.
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