Phil Montero 2.0 – Why 2 heads are better than one!
December 10, 2009 by Phil Montero · 10 Comments
I recently entered a fun video contest sponsored by HotHardware.com and Viddler where they asked you to upload a short video telling them about your personal hardware or tech gear and why it enhances your world. The prize was a Flip UltraHD Camcorder. These amazing video cameras shoot in HD and are small enough to fit in your pocket (a perfect addition to The Anywhere Office). I’ve been wanting one for a while so when I saw the contest I just had to enter! After some brainstorming with Jason we came up with a fun idea that not only highlighted some great tech but also explained the productivity boost I get from using it. There were some very creative entries to the contest but happily about a week ago they announced me as the winner (waaahoo)! Here is my winning entry:
If you’re not familiar with their website, HotHardware.com features computing/hardware news and reviews f0r technology enthusiasts and IT professionals. They have a wonderful active community and I highly recommend you sign up for free and join in the discussions. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.6MB)
Sandbox Time – The Importance of Play When Learning New Technology
November 18, 2009 by Phil Montero · 21 Comments
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 Read more
Should I upgrade to Windows 7? A quick primer
October 30, 2009 by Phil Montero · 16 Comments
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 Read more
Choosing the Right Technology for Your Virtual Team or Virtual Office [VIDEO]
July 28, 2009 by Phil Montero · 20 Comments
A question I’m asked by many entrepreneurs, small business owners, and virtual team managers is . . . “With all the technology available how do I know which tools are best for my virtual team or virtual office?” This is a common challenge and choosing the wrong tools (or too many tools) is a common pitfall of virtual teamwork. It’s important to decide on a core set of tools to support remote collaboration and make sure everyone on your team knows how to use them.
But how do you choose? I have devised a workflow analysis we call the ICC Approach as it looks at your needs in 3 key areas – Information, Communication, and Collaboration. In this short video I walk you through this analysis and help provide questions to guide your thinking when evaluating mobile work technology.
Give it a view and share your comments below to let me know your thoughts and experiences!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (18.9MB)
Smartphones and Work Life Balance
June 29, 2009 by Phil Montero · 35 Comments
A couple of days ago in the Making Flexibility Work group on LinkedIn a question was asked
about the positives and negatives of smartphones on work/life balance.
In my experience when it comes to smartphones and work/life balance I think a lot of the pros/cons are about how a person uses a tool such as this. Like any technology you have to know when to turn it off and setup personal guidelines for how to use it.
These communication guidelines should be clearly explained to others you work with as well. Sometimes people think because you have a smartphone that gives you almost instant access to email you should be replying to every message within minutes regardless of what time of day it is.
I am a proponent of “work/life integration” as I believe balance can be difficult to achieve at times – but tools such as smartphones and other new communication tools make it easier to integrate work into your life. So if that means you have to do a bit of work on your vacation – but instead you get to take vacations you couldn’t take before – in my opinion that is a win.
That being said I still think it’s important to block out dedicated time away from work where you can focus on family, friends, relaxation, and personal development without the distractions.
I often joke about our company website being YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com NOT “You Should Work From Everywhere”. That’s how I weigh in on this issue. Please share your comments below as I am eager to see your thoughts on this topic.
