This is a questions I am sure many of you are asking yourself – and a lot of people have been asking me.  So with Microsoft’s Windows 7 now a week old here are my thoughts and some links to help you make this decision for yourself.

If you’re running Vista – it’s almost a no brainer.  It’s no surprise to anyone all the issues Vista has.  It has made many people down right disgruntled (me being one of them).  Plain and simple Windows 7 is what Vista should have been.  It takes less resources to run (even runs on portable netbooks), it’s snappier, more stable, works with more hardware, and had some really nice interface improvements that are more fun and can make you more productive.  The great thing if you are upgrading from Vista is that you don’t have to reinstall everything – you can just run the upgrade on your current Vista system and it will keep all your programs and data in place.  Of course that being said – make SURE you backup your system before doing the upgrade just in case something goes wrong.

One thing to note is that while I have read that installing Windows 7 on a freshly formatted system only takes about 20 minutes – doing an upgrade to my existing Vista system took almost 5 hours.  From what I have heard that is not unusual.  However after answering a few initial questions I did not need to interact with or babysit the install.  It chugged merrily away on the laptop in my home office and 5 hours later I was punching in the activation code and playing around with the new interface.

Normally I always like to wipe my system clean before installing a new operating system but I honestly am too busy to take the 2 – 3 days it would require to reinstall all of my software along with their various upgrades, patches, and customizations and restore all my data – so I opted this time to upgrade over my existing Vista installation.

If you are planning to upgrade from XP – it’s a bigger decision. You CANNOT upgrade an existing XP installation so your only choice is to backup your system, wipe it completely clean, install Windows 7 and then proceed with the painstaking process of reinstalling all of your software programs, updating them, and restoring all your data.  It’s either that or by a brand new computer with Windows 7 on it (although you will still need to install all your software and copy your data onto it).

If you’ve recently made the jump to Windows 7 or you’re thinking about it here are some links to webpages, video, and tip books that will help you make the decision or learn more about your new operating system:

• Windows Upgrade Advisor – Microsoft’s downloadable tool can also run some diagnostics on your computer to determine whether your computer’s hardware meet minimum specifications.
• 5 Things You Should Know About Upgrading From XP to Windows 7
• Windows 7: How to upgrade your computer – Tips on what to look out for should you decide to upgrade your computer, and a consideration of whether it is worth the effort.
• Getting Started with Windows 7 – Some videos from Microsoft introducing new features
• Microsoft Windows Training Portal – A collection of training information. Checkout the section called E-learning where they have some free online courses for Consumers, IT Pros, and Information Workers teaching you about the best new features.
• Windows 7 Videos and Tours – More videos about new features including a few 7-second demos.
• Free e-book: Windows 7 Tips and Tricks eBook – This free windows 7 tips and tricks e-book from Microsoft provides quick guide and tips to make your windows 7 experience smooth and easy.
• Free e-book: Windows 7 troubleshooting tips – a short e-book called “What You Can Do Before You Call Tech Support.” written by the same person who wrote the Windows 7 Resource Kit.

Why I’m still planning on switching to Mac:

Although I’m very impressed with Windows 7 and consider it  MUCH better than Vista I’m still planning on making a switch. Windows Vista was the last in a series of straws for me that made me (like many other people) decide to switch to a Mac.  While I haven’t made the jump yet – I am still planning on doing this in the not too distant future.  I’m doing a lot more multimedia these days (which the Mac excels at) and I’ve migrated many of the programs and systems I use to the cloud (Gmail, Google calendar, Google Docs, Wordpress, Highrise for contact management, etc.). This means that I can pretty much be platform agnostic as most of what I do simply requires an internet connection and a browser.  Macs have better hardware, are more stable, plus there is the great advantage that a Mac can run both the Mac OS and Windows so I can have the best of both worlds.  When I get my Mac I can install Windows 7 on it and can then run pretty much any program or work with any file.

So should you upgrade to Windows 7?  The choice will depend on your hardware and your time.  I hope this blog post will help you make that decision and make the most of Windows 7 if you do.

Will you be upgrading? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts about whether you are upgrading to Windows 7 or not and why.

Further research continues to indicate that focusing on more than one task at a time actually decreases productivity and may jeopardize the fundamental quality of our work and communication. But this data seems to contradict what many people hold as the vision of a fully engaged and adapted 21st century worker.

The people who engage in media “multitasking” are those least able to do so well, according to researchers. This recent BBC article examines the results of a study done at Stanford University.

And this NPR radio segment also highlights some enlightening research into multi-tasking.

But in today’s workplace, and even just in our day to day lives in the information age, a certain amount of multi-tasking is unavoidable. So it seems the skill to develop is knowing when, where, and what to multi-task. Ali Hale weighs in with what I feel is a reasonable and well thought out opinion in her article ‘Multi-Tasking vs. Mono-Tasking’:

So how do you know when you should “multi-task” and when you should “mono-task”? And how do you manage to do the latter? Some things lend themselves brilliantly to multi-tasking. These tend to be activities which are purely physical, or which by their nature take a set amount of time to complete – however well you focus.

All of this has given me food for thought – as I am a person who is prone to multi-tasking and have convinced myself that I am pretty good at the juggling routine. In fact, I half-jokingly said to my brother just the other day, ‘I’ve got to focus, no more multi-tasking, from now on I’m only going to do two or three things at a time.’

So, here’s a little eye-opening challenge if you feel the same way: try this online game called MULTITASK and see if it might start to change your opinion.

Welcome to Part 6 of our 13 part audio series on Flexible Work and Telecommuting -  Telecommuting in the 21st Century: How to Implement or Improve Virtual Teams and Flexible Work in Your Organization“.

When shifting to telecommuting and flexible work it’s important to get your HR department involved and discuss how you will handle some standard questions and issues. For example – how will you choose teleworkers, who pays for equipment, and what kind of childcare is expected for employees working at home.  By discussing this upfront and creating a telework agreement it clarifies a shared vision of what the flexible work arrangements will look like in your company.

In part 6 of our podcast we look at the ground rules for telework and give you an overview of some essentials to discuss with HR and your employees to make sure everyone is on the same page.

So listen in to Part 6: The Ground Rules

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OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS:

Jeff Zbar : Founder of ChiefHomeOfficer.com (and faciliator for our discussion on telecommuting).

Rachel Hastings: Vice President of WFC Resources Inc.

Phil Montero: CEO of Montero Consulting and Founder of YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com and TheAnywhereOffice.com.

Want the whole story?
Listen to all 13 parts of Telecommuting in the 21st Century.

We hope you find this audio series useful – please take a moment to post a comment and share your thoughts and feedback with us below!

Subscribe (in the right hand column) to be sure you don’t miss anything!

I had the pleasure of joining my friends Sam Bushman and Jay Harrison, the hosts of Techwatch Radio, last Saturday on their weekly tech talk show.  I’ve been a fairly regular guest on their show over the last 5 years and always enjoy the discussions we have. What I love about their show is that, much like this blog,  they take a practical approach to technology and living a digital lifestyle.

The program consists of fast-paced news, callers, guests, and features such as the website of the week and the do’s and dont’s of tech. Sam and Jay focus on balancing technology in your life and letting hi-tech serve you, not own you! Their fun, casual way of simplifying complex issues will help the average person get up-to-speed on the tricks and tools for the times we live in.

Last week I joined them for the second half of the show and we discussed elearning, managing remote workers, the growth of telecommuting, why I’m drinking the Apple Kool-Aid (and switching to a Mac soon), cloud computing, and the shifts involved with successful distributed work. You can listen using the player below and I invite you to comment on this post and share your thoughts on these topics and our discussion.

Techwatch Radio can be heard Saturday mornings from 10-11am ET.  You can listen live from anywhere online or download past shows from their RSS feed.  I subscribe to their podcast and listen on my iPod Touch so I don’t miss a thing!

Post Graduate Programs in Remote and Distributed Work?

A blog visitor, Christian M., sent this question:

I’m a 27 year old business consultant in Germany. I want to write a PhD thesis about “work anywhere, anytime”. Do you know a professor at a university, business school etc. who could supervise a PhD thesis about this topic or do you have an advise for me to find one? He could be located anywhere in the world.

I hope you know somebody doing scientific research about this topic.

Thanks a lot,
Christian

My reply to Christian was as follows:

We do not personally know any one who does scientific research into remote work or global business teams, but I may be able to suggest a few places to begin your research.

I am listing below a few universities which offer graduate level programs in areas closely related to your field of interest. Unfortunately, only the first is a PhD program. I believe the other 2 are MBAs but perhaps someone there could offer insight. The final link is to a resource which lists PhD programs in information related fields.

It seems odd given the prevalence of distributed work in our world that the field is still so young and unformed as an academic discipline. I discovered much the same thing when I studied Comparative Religions. I always felt that one of the benefits of that was the diversity of faculty and departments I got to work with – I would get to study under  Anthropologists, Historians, Doctors of Divinity, Sociologists, and Psychologists all in the same program, with only the subject as a unifying principle. So while the newness of telework as a subject of serious study presents some challenges, it likely also presents great opportunities and flexibility.

I hope these links help, please keep in touch and let us know what you find and what you ultimately decide to do.

Does anyone else know of other programs or resources not listed below? Please comment and share them if you do.

The Center for Work, Technology & Organization (WTO) is a research center located within the Department of Management Science and Engineering (MS&E) at Stanford University’s School of Engineering. WTO’s faculty, graduate students, and industrial research partners are committed to basic and applied research to understand how work is changing and to design more effective organizations and technologies. WTO sponsors research projects, colloquia, workshops, and conferences that bring together social scientists, engineers, designers, and managers within the context of an engineering school to address crucial social, organizational, and technical problems in an interdisciplinary manner.

The PhD degree in MS&E requires the fulfillment of certain disciplinary course requirements, as well as qualifying exams and a dissertation defense. Typically, students take about four to five years after entering the program to complete all PhD requirements.

The Virtual Team Management and Communication program in the Division of Graduate Professional Studies provides a framework for understanding and managing many sociocultural, regulatory, and geographic issues in a worldwide environment.

The program is targeted for team members, team leaders, and managers working in virtual and globally distributed teams.

Advanced Masters Program in Management of Globally Distributed Work (AMPM) is an executive education program in Global Management. It is designed for high potential professionals in technology organizations who, as a part of their job assignments need to develop markets and manage clients and work-sites around the globe. It is also designed for consulting professionals and MNC executives who may be transferred to various worldwide locations.

Managers who are the products of the AMPM program will define global strategic plans for their companies and add value to execution of plans with their close knowledge and familiarity of markets, financial structures and work cultures of most important geographies and economies of the twenty first century represented by India, China, Europe and the US. Such managers will be “globally-ready” to take up challenging tasks in confronting competition either globally or locally.

A unique feature of the program is its delivery over four sites spanning South Asia, Europe, North America, and East Asia. The program will be delivered through a consortium of leading business schools from Asia, Europe, and North America. The consortium members are:

• Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India
• SDA Bocconi-School of Management, Italy
• UCLA, Business and Information Technology Consortium, Anderson School of Business Los Angeles, USA
• Faculty of Business, City University of Hong Kong at Hong Kong/Shenzen, China.

Information-related Ph.D. degree programs

This page provides a listing of 143 Ph.D. degree programs in information-related fields, such as computer science, information systems or library and information science. You can view the list by school name, program name, or country.

Let’s face it you can’t read an article anywhere these days without someone mentioning social media, social networking, Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook. These tools not only affect the way we connect to each other as people but also how we share information and communicate.

Businesses of all size have now adopted the use of social media from large corporations and small businesses to solo-preneurs and freelancers.  Much in the way desktop publishing and blogs put the power to spread information in the hands of the masses – social media has provided unprecedented ways for us to connect and network with one another. Check out this eye-opening video I found on YouTube that shares some amazing stats about the social media revolution.

One of the common myths we often dispel with virtual teamwork is that using technology makes relationships less personal and you can’t build trust or get to know people who you rarely or never see.  I don’t agree – using these tools like Twitter and Facebook allows you to connect (or re-connect) with people, stay in touch, and get to know each other.

I’m amazed at some of the amazing people I’ve met through Twitter.  Through a simple series of short message I get insight into their thoughts, views, work, and life.  By the time we talk on the phone, via Skype, or meet in person I feel like I know them already and our conversations are richer for it. Without geographical boundaries I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and collaborating with people from the UK, Finland, India, and all across the US. You can now work and make friends with people all across the globe – what a powerful and freeing experience that is!

If one understands the way social networks can deliver value, they have the opportunity to do more for themselves than ever before. What used to be a fairly linear world, one with ladders to climb rank, and lines to wait in for limited resources, are now built of vast and flexible networks, some loose and some rigid. Our social networks, both the old-fashioned type in real life, as well as the new constructs created by social software, give us the ability to do amazing things for ourselves and for others.

- Chris Brogan, Author of Trust Agents and Social Media Expert

Social networking has changed the playing field of business and you can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. If you haven’t jumped into the social networking fray – what are you waiting for? You don’t have to use them all but pick one and give it a try.  This is no fad – although different services may come and go over time there’s no denying the point this video makes so clearly – it’s a new world and this is the way people meet and connect today. Whether you’re a person with a thirst for community and want to build your tribe or you’re looking to increase brand exposure and connect with potential customers, social networking knows no boundaries!

Welcome to Part 5 of our 13 part audio series on Flexible Work and Telecommuting -  Telecommuting in the 21st Century: How to Implement or Improve Virtual Teams and Flexible Work in Your Organization“.

Distributing your workforce and having employees work remotely can provide many benefits for your organization, but if you’re not careful you can fall prey to some common pitfalls. While telework is not rocket science, it does involve a shift in how and where people work.  It also requires some important planning and training to pave the way for a smooth transition from co-located to distributed work.

Luckily there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Many of the pitfalls that new telecommuters and their managers may encounter have already been identified by other organizations that have taken this road before.

In part 5 of our podcast the discussion centers around some of the typical challenges or pitfalls organizations face when implementing telework and how to avoid them.

So listen in to Part 5: Common Telecommuting Pitfalls?

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OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS:

Jeff Zbar : Founder of ChiefHomeOfficer.com (and faciliator for our discussion on telecommuting).

Rachel Hastings: Vice President of WFC Resources Inc.

Phil Montero: CEO of Montero Consulting and Founder of YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com and TheAnywhereOffice.com.

Want the whole story?
Listen to all 13 parts of Telecommuting in the 21st Century.

We hope you find this audio series useful – please take a moment to post a comment and share your thoughts and feedback with us below!

Subscribe (in the right hand column) to be sure you don’t miss anything!

It’s not really a ‘put on a funny hat and blow a paper noise maker’ sort of event, but September is National Preparedness Month and I thought in honor of that I would share The Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov Business Fact Sheet. The fact sheet is distributed as part of their Ready Business campaign and you can find more details and resources for appropriate disaster planning and business continuity at www.ready.gov.

As our contribution to National Preparedness Month we have made our on-demand teleseminar, Riding the Storm Out, available FREE for the rest of the year.  Visit this page to listen to 4 South Florida experts discuss strategies, tips, and best practices for building a simple but effective business continuity and disaster recovery plan. The whole seminar is only about an hour and is packed full of real-deal advice, and each speaker also provided supporting documents that you can download.

2009 Business Fact Sheet Follows:

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

Fact Sheet

September 1, 2009

READY BUSINESS

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Advertising Council launched the Ready Business Campaign in September 2004. This extension of Homeland Security’s successful Ready Campaign, designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, focuses specifically on business preparedness. Ready Business helps owners and managers of small- and medium-sized businesses prepare their employees, operations and assets in the event of an emergency.

• Ready Business was developed by Homeland Security and launched in partnership with U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Administration, Society of Human Resource Management, The Business Roundtable, The 9/11 Public Discourse Project, ASIS International, Business Executives for National Security, International Safety Equipment Association, International Security Management Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
• The goal of Ready Business is to raise the business community’s awareness of the need for emergency planning and motivate businesses to take action. The campaign encourages business owners and managers to: plan to stay in business; talk to their employees; and protect their investment.
• Emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks, can paralyze business operations. Small- and medium-sized businesses in particular are most vulnerable to these events. Having an emergency plan can help protect a company and maximize its potential to survive and recover after an incident.
• According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses represent more than 99 percent of all employers; provide approximately 75 percent of the net new jobs added to the economy; and represent 97 percent of all U.S. exporters. If these businesses are prepared to survive and recover, the nation and the economy are more secure.
• The campaign’s messages are delivered through: television, radio, print, outdoor and Internet public service advertisements (PSAs) developed and produced by the Advertising Council; brochures; www.ready.gov and www.listo.gov Web sites; toll-free phone lines 1-800-BE-READY and 1-888-SE-LISTO; and partnerships with a wide variety of public and private sector organizations.
• The campaign’s resources provide businesses with practical steps and easy-to-use templates that include information on creating an evacuation plan; fire safety; including employees throughout the process; considering people with special needs; and protecting business investments by securing facilities and equipment and reviewing insurance coverage.
• As of September 1, 2009, the Ready Business effort has received more than $101.1 million in donated media support; its Web site has received more than 41.3 million hits and more than 4 million unique visitors; and more than 3.9 million Ready Business materials have been requested or downloaded from the Web site.
• A national survey of businesses with 2-999 employees conducted by The Ad Council in December 2007 found:

91 percent of respondents said that it is “very” or “somewhat” important for businesses to take steps to prepare for a catastrophic disaster, such as an earthquake, hurricane or terrorist attack.

38 percent said their company has an emergency plan in place in the event of a disaster .

59 percent assessed their own business as “very” or “somewhat” prepared in the event of a disaster.

55 percent of businesses surveyed said that they had take either significant or small steps to improve emergency preparedness in the past year.

The surveyed businesses said that the most important threats for them to address are fires followed by cyber attacks and then hurricanes, winter storms, tornadoes and terrorist attacks.

• The Department highlights public emergency preparedness through National Preparedness Month, a nationwide effort held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. In 2008, the Ready Campaign was joined by more than 3,200 NPM Coalition Members to educate individuals, families and communities on the importance of emergency preparedness. The 2008 coalition of national, regional, state, and local organizations was the largest in the five year history of NPM, and represented a 4,000 percent increase in participation to date.

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While the old adage says “Silence is golden” it could be eroding trust in your business or on your team. When working with others remotely – whether it’s virtual team members, clients, or vendors – communication is what brings everyone together. Lack of effective and timely communication can quickly destroy working relationships and fill people with doubt and fear.

While timely communication and the danger of silence is something we often talk about in our workshops for virtual teams, it was highlighted recently by an experience I am having with a consultant we hired to do some specialized marketing. Never having met this consultant in person, my trust in him was based on his website, the testimonial of others who refer him, and examples of his work.  While all of these essential pieces were in place, the trust he had developed has quickly dissolved through poor communication.

In trying to get an update on the status of our project, which is past deadline,  I’ve left him several emails and voice mails over the past few weeks that have all gone unanswered. So what am I to think? In the lack of any information or communication from him, doubt creeps in: Maybe he has dropped the ball on my project, I guess we aren’t that important to him, why is he ignoring my messages?

Now believe me I understand what it’s like to be busy – but a short, quick reply to any one of the messages I sent would have not only kept me in the loop but would have increased my trust in him. A simple “Hey sorry I haven’t been able to get you that report yet but something came up and I want to make sure I give it my full attention”. A world of difference from silence – my attitude would have been “wow look how important my project is to him!“ When people’s problems are acknowledged in a timely manner they are more likely to feel respected and be patient for a solution.

I’ve made this mistake myself in the past and now have a policy that if I don’t have time to reply to someone, I at least send a quick message to acknowledge I received their message and will get back to them soon in more depth. Is this a mistake you’ve made? Have you let replies slide and found yourself struggling to repair lost faith? If you are a solo professional, small business owner, or virtual team member working with co-workers or clients you don’t see – your relationships are all based on trust.  Communication is not just important, it’s critical. Great communication doesn’t just happen – it needs to be a deliberate process.

When working with members of your remote team or clients, put these guidelines in place to be a “conscious communicator”:

• What are the preferred forms of communication? (ie. phone, email, instant messenger)
• What is the expected time frame for a response? (ie. 24 hours for email, 2 hours for voicemail)
• Take time to keep people updated with regards to project milestones and progress.
• Make sure everyone is on the same page with regards to expectations and deliverables.
• Consistency – how regularly should everyone be checking in with one another?

Proper communication can serve as a pathway to building trust, or left unchecked it can kill your business and your reputation and undermine your teamwork. By putting simple guidelines in place to make it a more conscious process your teamwork and business will thrive.

What are your tips for effective communication guidelines?

Welcome to Part 4 of our 13 part audio series on Flexible Work and Telecommuting -  Telecommuting in the 21st Century: How to Implement or Improve Virtual Teams and Flexible Work in Your Organization“.

Most organizations feel one of the biggest challenges they face when implementing a telework program is dealing with remote management.  It’s unfortunate that many organizations let this perception stop them from reaping the benefits from telecommuting and a more flexible workplace.

Remote management is not radically different from managing people on-site: it requires the performance of basic management skills such as goal setting, assessing progress, giving regular feedback, and maintaining frequent, ongoing communication. However, while telecommuting and mobile work provide tremendous benefits to any organization, leading remote employees and managing dispersed teams have some unique challenges.

The difference is a shift in management style and the use of appropriate technology. The whole organization benefits through adjustments like learning to manage by results rather than activity, and by focusing on improving communication and nurturing trust between managers and employees. Instead of seeing this as an obstacle, view this as an opportunity to improve management in your company. Most organizations that have implemented telecommuting have found this to be an unexpected benefit of the process.

In part 4 of our podcast, our panel will explore what  qualities and best practices are needed for managing remote  employees.

So listen in to Part 4: What Makes a Good Telework Manager?

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Our workshop – “The Art of Virtual Leadership” is focused on helping managers learn to lead distributed or virtual teams and better manage remote employees.  Click here for more information.

OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS:

Jeff Zbar : Founder of ChiefHomeOfficer.com (and faciliator for our discussion on telecommuting).

Rachel Hastings: Vice President of WFC Resources Inc.

Phil Montero: CEO of Montero Consulting and Founder of YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com and TheAnywhereOffice.com.

Want the whole story?
Listen to all 13 parts of Telecommuting in the 21st Century.

We hope you find this audio series useful – please take a moment to post a comment and share your thoughts and feedback with us below!

Subscribe to be sure you don’t miss anything!