WebEx: Ideas in Motion

Sandbox Time - The Importance of Play When Learning New Technology

Today’s blog was written by our guest, Phil Montero. He is the founder of YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com and an evangelist for distributed work.For more than a decade he's been teaching how to work effectively from a home office, the road, or practically anywhere.Visit his blog TheAnywhereOffice.com for more tips and articles about living a digital lifestyle and navigating the changing world of work.

One challenge many teams and organizations face is getting their people to use and embrace much of the amazing collaboration software and technology that is available. In working with virtual teams, we find that many people tend to fall back on email rather than shared online work spaces - or opt for traditional conference calls rather than using web meeting or conferencing services.

Find Their Comfort Zone
The biggest stumbling block is getting your team comfortable with the new software or service and truly understanding the benefits it provides.

In short, why would it make my life or job easier?

Far too few companies provide training on these technologies - so you and your colleagues are forced to figure it out as you go along or after a very brief tutorial. This sink-or-swim mentality causes many of these powerful tools to go untouched and impedes productivity.

The secret to turn this all around is simple . . . play!

The Power of Play
Play is a non-threatening way to remove stress from learning and encourage exploration of the features of new technology. Create some type of project for your team that's fun and everyone will be excited about using the new tool.

Want your team to start using SharePoint or some other type of web-based discussion board or collaboration space? Why not setup a place where they can share recipes, bios, and information about their hobbies and families?

Want them to use WebEx or some other meeting service? Create time to have a regular virtual water cooler where they can share photos, create a poll about which books or movies are their favorites, or pass control of the desktop around to write a story together (with each person typing their paragraph into Word) or give a tour of favorite useful websites.

Play Let’s People Succeed and Fail - Safely
Let's face it, no one wants to explore using a new technology or tool with the pressure of a project deadline; or the possibility of looking foolish in front of peers and co-workers if you are not using it correctly. I'm extremely comfortable with technology, always have been, and I attribute that mostly to the fact that I play with it and explore it's features before trying to use it for something important.

When trying to learn Sony Vegas for video editing I didn't create some critical video for my business website - instead I took some family footage and created something fun to share with friends. When looking to learn more about desktop publishing I didn't immediately create a company newsletter - I created a mock CD cover for my band.

The only limit is your imagination!

Ask the people on your team, they may have some great ideas for fun projects. This is extremely useful for virtual teams: using a fun, playful approach to learning new technology not only leads to greater technology adoption and increased productivity, but also encourages informal communication and team building, which in turn increases trust and accountability.

It's not just about choosing the right tool - it's how you thoughtfully apply it. So find ways for your team to play with the tools you want them to adopt and you'll be amazed at how quickly they find new ways to apply them to their work process and teamwork.

Have you used “play” in your work environment? Tell us about it!

From Kids to Adults: Three Hot Ideas to Improve Learning

Inspired by Steve Wozniak’s talk last week, folks are busy sharing their ideas to improve education at PasstheBall.com [you can hear the recording of Woz’s presentation here].

Our hope is that you will share your ideas as well as we all work to make change in the world. Here are a few ideas that we thought were interesting:

Idea: Teach children what they are capable of learning.
No child left behind presumes that all children are capable of learning everything and that if a student does not get a 4 year college degree that they are going to be failures. Most of the school resources are used to prepare students for college and almost none for Vo-Tec. The reason the high school dropout rate is so high is because some students run into a wall in advanced math and science courses and are forced to drop out because they are not capable of passing. Why not guide these kids to vo-tec classes and prepare them for jobs that are needed and pay well? [See the idea.]

Idea: Break the Chain – Improving Teen Self Esteem and Goal Setting
There are a lot of underprivileged students in my community. Over 50% the students at the middle school I work at qualify for free or reduced lunch, which qualifies us as a Title 1 school. A lot of the homes they come from are not only in a state of poverty, but the adults maintain a “poverty mentality” in which they create situations, real or not, to keep them from moving forward. My idea is to create a group that would assist in showing these students the consequences of their poor choices and to assist them in reaching their dreams. This group would come into the schools and set up a club, provide presentations, and empower the students to create better choices for a better lifestyle. [See the idea.]

Idea: Connect retired mentors with current learners.
Allow students or workers to share their problems with experienced retirees in a virtual problem-solving setting looking for workable solutions and answers. [See the idea.]

Did you know you can get a free trial of WebEx to start working on your idea? Give it a try and see how easy it is to start meeting online. And if you aren’t ready for that, then at least come share your ideas (or rate others) at PasstheBall.com.

  

BETA: Totally Awesome and Fun - Can You Find Yourself?

Okay people, we want to light this up! 

It's still in beta but it's pretty cool. 

You can see yourself and the people you are meeting with via a WebEx Bird's Eye View! We have a big event happening on September 24th - with Steve Wozniak - and we think we'll be able to see everyone joining in.

So check it out. 

Register for the event.

Watch your WebEx meetings and have a little fun while you work!

Fuzzy Slippers? The Shower? Where do you get your best ideas?

There are two myths I want to debunk:

1)      I don’t own fuzzy slippers
2)      I don’t (usually) get my best ideas in the shower

But I do something that is increasingly common: I telecommute.

And telecommuting comes with a set of stereotypes (like the one about working in your fuzzy slippers), most of which are rooted in the 1960s-era concept that anyone doing any serious business did it in an office. But I work from lots of places, and the people I work with are scattered, quite literally, around the world.

My friend and colleague, Andrew Winston, asks “Will Video Conferencing Kill Business-Class Travel?” and he’s not the first to suggest that telework technologies will replace a lot of travel and commuting (and eliminate a significant volume of carbon emissions in the process). Web Worker Daily asks if this is “The End of Cubicle Dwelling?” concluding that many jobs can be easily (and maybe better) done from anywhere.

My colleagues here at Cisco also just released a study showing that tele-commuting increases productivity, flexibility and job satisfaction. 

Convinced? Good. Now back to my question.

If you’re like me, you have ideas. If you’re more like me, you love to talk with your colleagues, friends and other associates. And I know when I do, my ideas get better. New ideas get merged and hatched. And brilliant plans start to take shape. That’s how my ideas turn into initiatives that produce real results.

Sound familiar?

But when I’m sitting at my desk at home, there are no colleagues or friends there to talk with. Just me, my brilliant diagrams and my laptop.

And my WebEx account.

And that’s where things start to get interesting. I immediately reach the people – often scattered around the world - who really help make my ideas great. I can show them – not just tell them – my great idea, and every conversation helps turn those ideas into reality and results.

This is how I “pass the ball.” This is also how I make telecommuting work for me.

I’m not the only one. Take a look at this and this idea that people have shared on making telecommuting work.

Try it for yourself. And share your ideas on how you make telecommuting work for you.

And going back again to my original question: I don’t know about you, but I get ideas at the strangest times and in the most unusual places. But I know that wherever I am, I can act on them right then and there, and instead of letting them wither away in my head,  share them and let others help me make them better – and make them happen.

So, tell us, where do you get your best ideas?

Jeff Weinberger leads the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives for Cisco’s Collaboration Software Group.

Teamwork Matters: You have the ball… now what?

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Business collaboration is like a basketball game. Whether it’s NBA level (enterprise) or a pickup game in the park (small business), there’s no question it’s a team game.  With all due respect to Lakers fans, even Kobe Bryant couldn’t win if he took on five able players by himself… and I’ve seen him try. Every player contributes for a team to win the game.

One key to great teamwork is great passing.
Each player gets ownership of the ball for a few seconds, doing their part to help get the team into shooting position. You dribble and run a few steps, make a couple of moves and advance the ball up the court before passing the ball again.  But without speed, accuracy and good communication with your teammates, you’ll lose the ball to the other team every time.

It’s not so different in business.
How do you advance ideas in today’s fast-moving, interconnected world? It’s not about knowing everything, or bringing an idea to life all by yourself.  It’s about building a team, a network of trustworthy people, who will help you advance the ball up the court before your competition can mount a defense. These people may be officially on your local team, outside your company or even outside your continent.

You need an edge.

That’s the great thing about having today’s collaboration technology at your fingertips. Tools like WebEx give you an edge, empowering you to form an effective team from anywhere on the planet and virtually pass the ball with speed, accuracy and good communication. You can even bring on extra players from the bench at any time, get their contribution and send them back to the showers before the referee has time to notice. (See how Grote Industries beats their competition to market with WebEx. View / Listen.)

It’s a global game.

You've got the ball and the championship is on the line.  If you are equipped with the right tools and the ability to pass the ball perfectly, you’ll wear out the competition before halftime.

Try WebEx and see how your passing improves.

David Goad is a senior marketing manager with the Cisco Collaboration Software Group.

How-To Video: WebEx Pass the Ball - Literally!

Ever wonder why we called our new site "Pass the Ball"?

Apart from thinking we are horribly clever, it actually has it's roots in WebEx!

When you are in a WebEx and you want to share or transfer control of a meeting, you "pass the ball" to the next presenter. Now that sounds pretty formal - you don't have to be a presenter - it more like the next person who wants to "drive" the meeting by sharing their desktop, manipulate the material everyone is looking at and more.

If you have never passed the ball, you should give it a try. It's truly one of the benefits of using WebEx and it is a powerful tool. I have actually used it to do something as simple as provide tech support to my mom - I passed her the ball during a WebEx to figure out what she was doing wrong in a document she was trying to create. Watching her actions let me cut to the chase and get her on the right track without having to drive to her house!

If you haven't tried WebEx for sharing your ideas, now is the time. There's no reason to put it off - you can try it absolutely free. So come on - Pass the Ball!

Idea: Share a meal, make a connection, improve your health

Looking over many of the ideas on PasstheBall.com, it's interesting to me how many of them are about connecting people together - focusing on our humanity. One idea caught my eye: Meet-Eat.

Meet [and] Eat is located in the UK - out of bounds for those of us in sunny California - but available to all our friends "across the pond".

The idea makes sense - you don't have to be alone, you don't need to be isolated. Many of us enjoy the company of our neighbors and yet we sometimes have no easy way to meet each other. That's where Meet-Eat.com comes in:

"Meeting local people will help you network and may help you start-up new business with the help from friends living near you. We hope you will contribute by creating jobs in your local community.

The rule of this club is to encourage members to bring their own food (preferably home cooked), take away food, sandwiches, pizza or soft drink, bottle of wine and share it with others. This will give you an opportunity to taste different food and learn more about them and the people who prepare them. Your evening will be interesting as you may get variety of food, gives you an opportunity to understand other cultures and help to integrate race, religion and nationality. You will find these meetings comfortable to talk about food, health issues which are not controversial, non-political, religious and political."

Check out their idea on our website - share your thoughts and join them if you are interested in making this idea happen. And if you have your own idea - share it - it doesn't have to change the world, it just has to get people thinking. In the UK - share your ideas here; in France, here and Germany, here.

Big Think Video: Richard Branson on the Environment

Richard Branson cares about the environment. He has big ideas and he wants us all to take the time to make change happen.

That is what's behind Pass the Ball - share your ideas to make them better. Visit our site and post your idea. And if you aren't ready to post yet, rate the ideas that are already there. We have more videos on YouTube that might provide inspiration.

Win a Year of Free WebEx
As ideas start to gain momentum, we will be hosting WebEx forums to foster discussion and help you turn your idea into reality. We'll also be giving away a free year of WebEx to winning ideas.

So get started today. Share your ideas at Passtheball.com.

Ken Blanchard - Live! Wednesday, June 10th - Register Now!

There's nothing better than scheduling a little break in your week that will also deliver value to your business! We have that little break coming up this Wednesday, June 10th. Take an hour out of your day and listen to one of the "most influential leadership experts in the world and is respected for his years of groundbreaking work in the fields of leadership and management."

Ken Blanchard will be hosting a WebEx to talk to us specifically about sharing ideas in business as a way to make them better. It's all part of our "Pass the Ball" initiative designed to get everyone to start sharing ideas and collaborate with others to help them grow. You can learn more about Passing the Ball on our website.

If you don't have an idea, that shouldn't stop you - you can rate or comment on the ideas already there. The best part is, when you do any of those things - share, rate, comment - you trigger a donation to Teachers Without Borders, an organization shares ideas daily with teachers and students around the world.

Register now for this event:
Ken Blanchard
Wednesday, June 10th, 9AM PDT | 12PM EDT (UTC-7 hours)

Meet us at the Sony Center in Berlin on Wednesday!

We are bringing the Ball Booth to you at the Sony Center in Berlin this Wednesday.

We'll be there to record your ideas for PasstheBall.com - so bring your ideas and bring your friends. If you are feeling shy, you don't have to record your idea, you can do it online at the website.

We'll post the videos to the web and we are going to ask people to rate your idea and add comments to help make it better. All you have to do is show up!

Be sure the spread the word - all these ideas help generate donations for Teachers Without Borders - it's a good thing.

If you go, come back here and post some photos in our comments section. All of us in California want to see how the event is going!