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Content

Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................... ix Preface .................................................................................................. xi Reader’s Guide to Working Virtually: Challenges of Virtual Teams ................................................................................................. xvii Section I: Virtual Team Myths Chapter I. Eight Myths of Virtual Teams ............................................ 1 Myth #1 .......................................................................................... 1 Myth #2 .......................................................................................... 2 Myth #3 .......................................................................................... 2 Myth #4 .......................................................................................... 3 Myth #5 .......................................................................................... 3 Myth #6 .......................................................................................... 4 Myth #7 .......................................................................................... 4 Myth #8 .......................................................................................... 5 Chapter II. Look Them Straight Between the Eyes ............................ 6 Myth #1 .......................................................................................... 7 Myth #2 .......................................................................................... 9 Myth #3 ........................................................................................ 11 Final Thoughts ............................................................................. 12 Chapter III. Out of Sight, Out of Mind ............................................... 13 Myth #4 ........................................................................................ 14 Myth #6 ........................................................................................ 14 Myth #5 ........................................................................................ 18 Final Thoughts ............................................................................. 21 Chapter IV. It’s the Exception, Not the Norm ................................... 22 Myth #7 ........................................................................................ 24 Myth #8 ........................................................................................ 24 Final Thoughts ............................................................................. 25 Chapter V. Establishing Trust ............................................................. 26 Consensus and Agreement ........................................................... 27 The Virtual Handshake ................................................................ 28 Section II: Business Case Chapter VI. Show Me the Money ...................................................... 33 Company Moves .......................................................................... 33 Travel Avoidance ......................................................................... 35 Savings on Real Estate ................................................................ 36 Chapter VII. Human Resources Advantages .................................... 38 Getting the Right Person for the Job Regardless of Location ..... 38 Safety and Security ...................................................................... 39 Providing Work/Life Balance ...................................................... 40 Improving the Quality of Life ...................................................... 42 Blurring Work and Personal Time ............................................... 43 Impact on Leisure Time ............................................................... 43 Chapter VIII. Organizational Advantages ......................................... 45 Tying Together a Decentralized Environment ............................. 45 Mergers and Acquisitions ............................................................ 49 Getting Sales Representatives Out of the Office and in Front of Customers ................................................................ 52 Regional Representatives ............................................................. 53 Innovation .................................................................................... 56 Other Virtual Team Drivers ......................................................... 57 Why Some Companies Don’t Get It ............................................. 58 Section III: Virtual Team Models Chapter IX. Mostly Co-Located ......................................................... 61 One Primary Location, Several Remote Team Members ............ 61 Several Locations of Concentration ............................................ 63 Challenges to These Models ........................................................ 65 Chapter X. Mostly Virtual .................................................................. 66 Advantages of a Mostly Virtual Team ......................................... 67 Challenges of a Completely Virtual Team ................................... 67 Case Study: A Mostly Virtual Team Hosts a Summer Intern ...... 69 Chapter XI. How Teams Work Virtually ............................................ 73 The Needs .................................................................................... 74 The Skills ...................................................................................... 75 The Tools ..................................................................................... 76 Role of Video (Desktop and Room-Based) ................................... 78 Virtual Teams Don’t Play Putt-Putt Golf ................................... 79 Case Studies Illustrating Creative Ways to Address Working Together Within Virtual Teams .............................................. 81 Organizational “Celebration and Farewell” .............................. 82 Periodic Organizational Get-Togethers / Team Building ............ 87 Determining What Projects an Organization Will Pursue ........... 87 Substituting for a Multi-Day, Face-to-Face Meeting .................. 88 Getting Quick, Routine Decisions Made ...................................... 88 Facilitating Informal Interaction Among an Entire Virtual Team ........................................................................... 89 Chapter XII. International Issues ....................................................... 91 Australia ...................................................................................... 91 Europe ......................................................................................... 95 Japan ........................................................................................... 97 The Internet as a Unifying Language .......................................... 98 Chapter XIII. Virtual T eam Matur ity Curve ..................................... 99 Avoid .......................................................................................... 100 Tolerate ...................................................................................... 101 Operate ...................................................................................... 102 Capitalize ................................................................................... 102 Organizations and the Virtual Team Maturity Scale ................. 103 Chapter XIV. Where is Your Company or Organization on the Virtual Team Continuum? ...................................................... 104 Comments on Our Scoring ........................................................ 108 Chapter XV. Managing a Virtual Team ........................................... 114 Be an Example ........................................................................... 114 Get Off to a Great Start ............................................................ 115 Standardize ................................................................................ 115 Time Zone Considerations ......................................................... 116 Be Visible ................................................................................... 117 A Note for People Managers ..................................................... 118 Rewards System ......................................................................... 119 Chapter XVI. Managing a Virtual Organization .............................. 120 Announcements .......................................................................... 121 Motivation ................................................................................. 121 Setting Up Your Organization for Success ................................ 122 Section IV: Best Practices for Virtual Teams Chapter XVII. Impact of Culture, Affiliation, and Shared Goals .... 125 Team Culture ............................................................................. 125 Virtual Out of Necessity ............................................................. 126 How Many Different Hats Can You Wear? ............................... 127 Shared Goals Strengthen Virtual Teams ................................... 127 The Top Leaders Set the Tone ................................................... 128 Changing the Culture ................................................................ 128 Chapter XVIII. Evolution of the Groupware Concept ..................... 130 Chapter XIX. Applying Tools for Maximum Impact ....................... 133 Let’s Talk ................................................................................... 134 Virtual Filing Cabinet ................................................

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