Thursday
May272010

Open Letter to Collaboration Tool Providers

DateThursday, May 27, 2010 at 08:23PM

One of my my interest areas is the growing importance of collaboration for enterprises.  One of my perspectives is that it is important to balance the 4 Ps of effective collaboration -- Purpose (objective, success measures, strategy); People (leadership, team members, advisors, and contributors); Process; and Place (meetings and tools used to communicate).

There is much fuss about the tools -- often with the (misplaced) belief that the choice of the right tool will make everything else fall into place.  I dismiss this as part of the myth of the perfect briefcase -- that every new bag I see in the window will reduce the load I must carry and make my life easier.

Based on my and my colleague's research and dialog with our readers, we have written an Open Letter to Collaboration Tool Providers.

There is a wonderful abundance of collaboration tools, and more every week.  At the same time, many users are frustrated that they are getting more tools rather than selected tools that meet their needs.

The six requests in this open letter are:

  1. Tell us clearly what your product does that makes it better than all the others
  2. Keep focusing on making the tools easier to use
  3. Give us free trials so we can test your product
  4. Build us the full suite we need, rather than point solutions
  5. Accommodate our many simultaneous projects
  6. Respect our data and privacy

What do you think?  What tools, if any, work for you?

AuthorSteven Lamont | CommentPost a Comment |
in
Friday
May142010

Wireless Providers Should Focus on People Rather than Machines

DateFriday, May 14, 2010 at 05:42PM

We all see the headlines from the wireless network providers, such as "1.9 million net gain in total wireless subscribers", but they do not describe what they mean as a subscriber.  They are talking about addressable devices -- phones, iPads, wireless modems, etc.  This is not a measure of the number of people they serve.

Maybe this is the root of the customer satisfaction problem with the wireless service providers.  They need to focus on the people they serve rather than the machines they connect to.  This relates to the controversy over "tethering" -- whether customers should be allowed to connect one device to a wireless device (by wire or wirelessly) to share the same signal across two devices.  So far the wireless carriers are saying "No", although there may be some relief in sight for that.  Of course the wireless carriers would like us to establish a separate subscription for each of our devices, and pay the $30/month (+/-) in data plans for each device.

Instead, they should be thinking of their subscribers as people, and that some of those people might carry multiple wireless and data devices.  Many of us would like to pay one bill that covers the usage across those different devices.  Those of us who do happen to be the heavy users of wireless, and worthy of some special considerations.  The airline industry in the early 1980s realized that they had frequent fliers, needed to track them (thus the frequent flyer programs), and reward their best customers.  It is now almost 30 years later and the wireless carriers are just now thinking about how to address their heaviest users.  

The odd thing is that in their parlance, one person can be multiple subscribers.  Ah, the irony of the language.

AuthorSteven Lamont | CommentPost a Comment |
in ,
Tuesday
May042010

In Praise of SquareSpace

DateTuesday, May 4, 2010 at 08:38PM

I have had a gap in my blogs.  I know.  But I hope I have found a solution.  

Yesterday I moved my site over to an account at SquareSpace, and am amazed at the difference it makes.  I have used SquareSpace before for another site and loved the functionality.  I know it has some limitations, but 99% of personal and small business users would never miss them.

Not only does the site look better, but I am confident I will use it more now that it looks so clean and the interface is easy to use.

So, consider this a plug for SquareSpace.  And watch for more postings.

AuthorSteven Lamont | CommentPost a Comment |
in ,
Thursday
Mar042010

State of Collaboration: Return to Essentials

DateThursday, March 4, 2010 at 02:15PM
There is much hype about new collaboration tools and "collaboration 2.0" approaches.  Indeed more of us are spending more of our time in collaborative efforts with others.  But our recent survey of collaboration experiences points out how much of successful collaboration requires some back to basics approaches to team management and proper use of well-established tools.

The survey report  at All Collaboration points out the following:

  1. Complex collaboration is already a significant work activity for many people, and will only grow in importance. Most respondents have multiple collaborative projects underway at any given time. The purpose of these collaboration projects spans virtually the entire spectrum of enterprise needs. Collaboration efforts extend well beyond a group/department to include collaboration with other departments, partners, vendors, and customers. Collaboration is viewed as being essential across the board in the future, significantly more than the reality today. Individuals as well as organizations believe that they need to collaborate substantially more than they do currently.

  2. Successful collaboration requires mostly the good principles of project management applied to dispersed teams. Getting the old-fashioned basics right is critical. Most important advice from the respondents on effective collaboration is to: i) Define goals, roles, timelines and deliverables clearly, ii) Communicate the process and progress frequently and clearly, and iii) Select team members who bring real knowledge and expertise. Key challenges to effective collaboration include organizational culture and priorities, and collaboration process and tools.

  3. Keep it simple on the collaboration tools. Email, audio and web-conferencing, and file sharing are rated the most effective tools for collaboration. Wikis, IM, video conferencing and discussion forums rank low on effectiveness for collaboration. Selection of right tools and proper training are identified as potential areas for improvement.


If collaboration is a big part of your work life, I suggest you visit All Collaboration and read the survey report.
AuthorSteven Lamont | Comment2 Comments |
in ,
Monday
Feb152010

Google Needs "Public Editor" Like at NYT

DateMonday, February 15, 2010 at 10:33AM
Normally I love all the new releases from Google.  I give them the benefit of the doubt, and know they will refine them to make them even better.  However, the release of Buzz indicates that sometimes Google can get ahead of itself.

I appreciate the intention of Buzz and can see how powerful it could become.  At the same time I found the user interface awkward because it was never clear to me with whom I was sharing an entry.  Now the recent news about how Buzz was making my contacts list public caused me great alarm.  My biggest fears were realized. I immediately turned off the service (bottom of the Gmail front page).

This latest slip adds to the growing amount of concern I hear every day about what Google does with its data.  We all know they make lots of money from selling advertising on their sites, based on targeting ads according the data.  But what does that really mean?

I believe Google would be wise to borrow a concept from the New York Times, who have appointed a Public Editor to listen to the readers, be an advocate for the public, and essentially keep them honest.  As a regular New York Times reader I have been impressed with some of the dust ups the Public Editor has taken on, and my overall impression is the role has improved the paper's credibility.

Google's watchdog would need a different name, such as Privacy Advocate, but the intention could be the same.  The advocate would consider the user's data privacy and security concerns, review all Google offerings and practices for compliance, and speak out loudly when there are issues.  The most important thing would be for the person appointed to have the credibility, fire in the belly, and independence to do the job well and instill confidence.
AuthorSteven Lamont | CommentPost a Comment |
in , ,
Page 1 2 3 4 5 ... 21 Next 5 Entries »