Endless Knots

Virtual Teams 2.0, 3.0, 4...at Enterprise 2.0

Coming to Enterprise 2.0 here in Boston in a few weeks? If so, please let me know and please come to our sessions. I'm involved with three, including this one, which I'm sharing with, guess who, Jeff Stamps, and is about, guess what, virtual teams current and future:

Virtual Teams 2.0, 3.0, 4...

Virtual teams have always been in the 2.0 world, adding content to their shared online spaces, carrying on conversations after the lights have gone out, trying out new media. But the explosion of 2.0 technologies - and the advent of a generation that knows more about how to work online than their bosses - has altered (and will continue) to alter the virtual team landscape. What are the simple ideas that can slice through the complexity facing virtual teams? How can they easily form networks? How can they navigate among the multiple organizations that they serve? Hear the latest from the people who coined the term "virtual teams."

Date: 6/12/2008
Time: 10:45 AM
Room: Carlton

April '08 book club: Old School

Oooops, forgive me. I missed the post on Old School by Tobias Wolff, the pick of the Fiction Book Club for April. I have an excuse. I couldn't attend due to work-related travel - not even a vacation. The group, I am told, liked the book very much, as did I, if only because it takes place in my hometown. I recognized the school (The Hill School, then a private boys' school educating the likes of James Baker, a 1948 alum and this year's graduation speaker), the "village" (Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a borough in actuality), and even the picture on the cover of The Hill School dining hall, where I first ate broccoli with hollandaise sauce. My friend, Mary Hartman, lived at The Hill because her father taught there.

Wolff's book is about belonging and authenticity and how simple smudgings of the truth can result in massive consequences. That the book is also about three authors and about students as writers made it even more appealing. The writers in question were "names" who visit the school for the annual lecture, having chosen in advance the work of one student to celebrate: Robert Frost, Ayn Rand, and Ernest Hemingway. The send-up of Rand is hilarious and refreshing, given how truly venal Rand's view of humanity is. The appearance or lack thereof of Hemingway is the trope around which the story unwinds. Good stuff. Well done, Mr. Wolff. I bet we passed each other on High Street when you went off-campus and perhaps you were even at the dance where I wore my first black velvet gown.

Exactly like a fox

This post requires a picture but alas the camera was elsewhere at the proper moment. When the subject and the object come together, I shall definitely post. Meanwhile, back at the homestead, we were leaving our house last night, getting as far as the driveway, when a reddish, longish, thinnish, canine-ish being crossed in front of us, scurried to the shed in the sideyard, then began digging like a maniac. A fox! A really beautiful fox, who then disappeared around the back of the shed and stuck its pretty little head around the side, looked at us, then went back to digging, evaporating into the hole under the shed.

Sighting the fox is either a good omen or a terrible one, according to an exhaustive Internet search (not). But it sure is pretty. Wish me luck in snapping a picture. A neighbor reported seeing the same animal in our yard a few weeks ago and witnessed a stand-off between it/s/he and Sola, our beautiful granddog.

Washing and drying your bluetooth earpiece

"It's not a good idea," says my friend Rich. He, Mr. Technology to those who know him as one of the early movers and shakers in the Boston area, has been having trouble with his cell phone, which led us to a conversation earlier today about various encounters between phones (and their accoutrements) and water. I know.

I happened to drop my Blackberry in a body of water recently. (No further details will be provided.) But it did provide some solace to Rich, who keeps his earpiece in his sweatshirt, which on occasion, requires a trip to his washer and dryer. And thus...he's out an earpiece. So next time, check the pockets. And keep your cell phone out of your sweatshirt pockets altogether. I know.

Happy Mother's Day 2008

What do I love about Mother's Day? The lilacs, with hearts for leaves, are always in bloom where we live.

The most influential people in IT

Delighted to find my friend John Halamka named #31 among eWeek's "The 100 Most Influential People in IT." He also plays a mean Japanese flute as per below. And at #38, my Facebook friend Andrew McAfee, who invented the term "Enterprise 2.0." And (I'm still going down the list), my friend Tom Davenport (#70), whose thinking keeps knocking down shibboleths; the intrepid Mass congressman, Ed Markey (#73), who was worrying about the Internet before most people puzzled over whether to capitalize the word or not (see this press release from our MassNet inaugural event in 1995 that he keynoted); Ross Mayfield (#74), co-founder of Social Text and a virtual friend; and Good to Great, etc. author Jim Collins (#87), whom we once shared the podium with at a Royal Dutch Shell Scenario event. Way to go, guys. Proving again that it's good to be a friend of mine - just kidding, just kidding....

Email is obsolete

Really? According to Bombay's Business Standard, "'Obsolete tools' like e-mail and instant messengers could act as roadblocks for the growth of web collaboration, say experts." Experts cited in this article come from some technology companies purveying different gadgets for getting along online so reader beware. Still, this notion that email is on its way out (first time I've heard it applied to IM, though) continues to pop up in odd places...not including the enthusiastic email defender I recently encountered in a workshop.

"Getting to We"

Very good article on collaboration with a fresh perspective in Communications of the ACM. "Getting to We" by Peter J. Denning and Peter Yaholkovsky gets the focus off collaboration technology and back onto process, where it belongs. The authors start off on the right foot (and thanks to ShiftMode and Mark Roseman for the crumbs leading back to this feast):

Messes are large, complex, seemingly intractable situations that no one can find a way out of. The most tangled messes are called "wicked problems" because people can't even agree on what the problem is and because the solution will almost surely entail a disruptive innovation. Collaboration is essential for resolving messes.

They go on to talk about the clash between top-down and grassroots approaches to clear paths through the wicked problems, quickly dispense with the idea that technology will a priori make things less wicked, then go on to propose a simple five-stage collaboration model that makes sense to me. Besides, it builds on  David Cooperrider's work in Appreciative Inquiry, David Straus's collaboration "Method," and Charrettes, the intensive workshop process associated with architects and used far more broadly. (Disclosure: Both Davids are friends.) Five steps from "Getting to We:"

1. Declare. Someone states that there's a problem and the group agrees that something needs to be done.
2. Connect. This is the moment for the long hello as people working on the problem get to know one another and let on to their fears and dreams.
3. Listen and learn. Open-mindedness and open-earedness reign here. Possibly the toughest part of collaboration, in my experience.
4. Allow "we" to develop. Worth direct quote here: "The mess may start to unravel as the members become aware of and take care of their interlocking concerns. Occasionally, the mess will evaporate in the light of the reconfigured concerns of 'we'."
5. Create together. The fun part.

What disease is a cousin of yours?

Fascinating article in today's NY Times, "Redefining disease, genes and all," with a chart called "Mapping the human diseaseome" that looks a lot like OrgScope, which I've posted about here, here, and here (search "OrgScope" on right for full listing).

Gene research is causing medicine to reclassify. Turns out that seemingly unrelated diseases share some number of genes. Definitely worth reading and definitely worth playing with the map in which Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, author of Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else, has had a hand. The map assigns a color to each disease and a size to its "wafer," indicating how many genes that disease contains. Then it draws lines to other diseases that share genes with it. Implications are far-reaching and possibly even paradigm changing for how we treat disease. From the article:

Duchenne muscular dystrophy may not seem to have much in common with heart attacks. One is a rare inherited disease that primarily strikes boys. The other is a common cause of death in both men and women. To Atul J. Butte, they are surprisingly similar.

Dr. Butte, an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford, is among a growing band of researchers trying to redefine how diseases are classified — by looking not at their symptoms or physiological measurements, but at their genetic underpinnings. It turns out that a similar set of genes is active in boys with Duchenne and adults who have heart attacks.

Help wanted: Chief Blogging Officer

To the burgeoning bureaucracy of chiefs add this one, from workforce.com: "Chief Blogging Officer Title Catching On in Corporations:"

For better or worse, it seems corporate blogging—and the title of chief blogger—is beginning to hit its stride. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Marriott and Kodak have recently recruited chief bloggers, with or without the actual title, to tell their stories and engage consumers.

... Geoff Livingston, CEO of Livingston Communications and blogger at the Buzz Bin, [said]: “The problem is that too many people focus on the actual tool: the blog,” he said. “What they need to focus on is the principles behind social media that make it work—like participating in a larger community works, and not controlling the conversation works.”

Morning glory

Hosta rising

Where's Buddha?

 

Eliza Stamps for NY designers

The Cultivated Home (the NY Designer's Indispensable Resource) likes Eliza's work, recommends it for interior designers. Eliza's show, where Cultivated Home saw her work, remains up until May 17 at Mehr Gallery, 436 W 18th Streeet, NY, NY:

We are currently obsessing over the work by Eliza Stamps. Her show, Being and Nothingness is on exhibit at the Mehr gallery by Petra Projects. Eliza’s work is based on geometry, repetition and design, yet all of the final products created are part of a plan to map out an idea, express a period of time, or to tell a story entirely imagined. Each piece, whether textile or drawing comprises thousands of miniscule seed forms — either created by the stitch of a needle or by the renderings of pen. These seeds then form a cohesive whole, reminding us of the basis of all existence.

...There is an incredible balance between art and design, which is why they are wonderful for not only art collectors but for decorators.

Make nice with your virtual team

Tagged by Ellen Offner (thanks): Elizabath Garone has a good one on managing virtual teams in WSJOnline, "Managers learn to bond with remote workers." Since, as we learned in the previous post, most organizations are bound to work this way soon (and many already do) worth reading in full. Here's what got me:

• "One way to avoid some of the common communication blunders among far-flung teams is to hire people who are ready to work in a virtual environment from day one."
• "Communicate each person's role and business objectives regularly, and establish agreed-upon ways to resolve conflicts and solve problems early on," says James Eicher, senior manager of organization effectiveness at NetApp Inc. and author of "Making the Message Clear. " Remote employees should be comfortable with voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP; video streaming; and instant messaging."
• " You have to put yourself in the shoes of the people you're working with. There is one of me and 10 of them," says IBM's Erik Bush, vice president of global delivery.

There's a green team in your future

Chartered Management Institute, a long-standing British research and membership organization (er, organisation), says that three-quarters of executives surveyed believe their workforce will conduct itself via virtual teams within a decade. The Guardian has a nice summary ("Wave goodbye to the nine to five, and say hello to the virtual enterprise") of Management Futures - The World in 2018 (March 2008) that you can download. Thanks, Chartered Management. Rich source of future thinking.

A report on the nature of employment in 2018 predicts an exodus from the traditional workplace caused partly by environmental pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of commuting and partly by the demographic pressure of an ageing population, with fewer employees able to avoid looking after older relatives, leading to a blurring of boundaries between family and care.

The hazards of Second Life

BusinessWeek.com has a good roundup - "The (Virtual) Global Office" - of company efforts to use Second Life (the virtual world where you too can be two people or three...) by Rachael King: They hold meetings that are simultaneously face-to-face and virtual, they recruit new talent, they collaborate, and sometimes things get out of hand:

Cisco is among companies that recruit in Second Life. "My extended team uses Second Life primarily to recruit new talent," says Andrew Sage, a marketing vice-president at Cisco, adding that Second Life is good for finding workers under the age of 25. Yet even for an executive as tech-savvy as Sage, using an avatar in Second Life can be challenging. Early on, during a recruitment seminar for resellers, Sage accidentally caused his avatar to fly away while making a presentation. "Needless to say, it wasn't ideal," Sage says.

I hope he made it back to terra firma, so to speak.

"Feeling Numb" - Ars Medica

"Feeling Numb," my essay about MS in Ars Medica, Vol 4, No 1.

Download ars_medica_feeling_numb.pdf

With thanks to Allison Crawford, Ian MacKenzie, and Liz Konigshaus of Ars Medica.

Contact Ars Medica.

A matter of good Taste

Remember my rave about Taste? I had to find out more.

It won't be long until there's a major feature in The Times or Gourmet about these two. Or it may be in JAMA. Too good to be true but let's start with their ages - 23 - until the end of the month when first Nik Krankl turns 24 on the 24th and a week later Julia Tatum does. They're engaged.

Last week, Julia began her residency in psychiatry at Brigham & Women's Hospital here in Boston (third year of Harvard Medical School).

Two months ago, Nik bought Taste, the former Caffe Appassionatto, far and away the most beautiful coffee house in my hometown.

So how does someone (Nik) this young (when she's not at the hospital, Julia's writing the board, washing dishes, chatting up the customers) manage such a thing - and radically improve it in a few short weeks? Study journalism, manage six JP LIcks stores for a year and a half, write for a poker magazine, and come from a food family. "I'm no stranger," Nik says, as in his mother, Gail Silverton, owns Gelato Bar in LA, his aunt is the Nancy Silverton, pastry chef, restauranteur, and cookbook author, and his father, Manfred Krankl, owns Sine Qua Non Winery in Ventura, CA.

And Nik lurvvves coffee so much he "wants to roast," wants to "provide the service of roasting and how to prepare" the global bean "that wants to taste bad." Espresso is "the fragile one," he says, because it "takes coffee and puts it under a microscope."

Yesterday was a tasting day at Taste and when we arrived after 5, the place was still packed as a violinist (who was blocking "our" table, ahem) played.  Ah, the good old days at this location, when Sunday's meant coffee house concerts by jazz trios and guitarists. Only better.  Nik's pedigree shows - I celebrated with a double decaf espresso, served with a chocolate kiss and we shared a piece of coffee cake, my indulgence. Jeff had his regular cappuccino, which he reports as "excellent."

Look for us there. We're already regulars. Again.

Taste Coffee House, 311 Walnut St. Newtonville, MA 02460 (617) 332-6886

More from Endless Knots writers - Roland and Ron

In History Rechanneled, Roland Merullo reviews Tony Horwitz's A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World in today's Boston Globe. Master of the beginning and end, Roland's conclusion (I posted final words from his Agni essay, Visions of Gerard, yesterday) five stars Horwitz's book:

...Which only serves to prove the author's point. Our story, our real story, is as painful, shameful, and grim as it is uplifting and grand. We have doctored the events of the past to make ourselves feel good about them. All cultures employ this collective denial mechanism, ignoring crimes and failures both ancient and recent in the name of an upbeat patriotism. It makes you wonder what we will say about ourselves 100 years from now. And it makes you think that "A Voyage Long and Strange" - disturbing, honest, wonderfully written, and heroically researched - should be required reading in every high school in the land.

Roland Merullo's political novel, "American Savior," will be published this summer.

And Ron Currie's pictured in today's NY Times SundayStyles at the NYPL Young Lions event. Unfortunately, the Times doesn't run these photos online...but the subhead today on the "Evening Hours" section where a full page of NY nightlife photos runs each week is "Town and Gown." An inspiring aspect of Ron's story is that he is just a writer. No college degree, no MFA. Just a writer.

Margaret Fullerenes - Fri, May 23, 8 AM, Mount Auburn Cemetery

Last year l-r: Jeff Stamps, me, Ruth Nemzoff, Annie Marascia Luongo

Friday, May 23, 2008, is the 198th birthday of Margaret Fuller. As usual, we repair to the Fuller Lot, Pyrola Path, Mount Auburn Cemetery at 8 AM to walk around, pay homage to Bucky and Anne Fuller, and talk about Margaret. This year, special guest John Halamka - it’s his birthday too -  plays a Japanese mourning song on his Shakuhachi (Japanese flute). Please join us.

John writes: "I'll play Banshiki, which comes from the Itcho-ken Temple in Hakata, on the island of Kyushu,  Japan.  This very Buddhist honkyoku (meditation) recounts the soul's journey from this life, full of attachments and feelings, toward the peace of enlightenment, which lies beyond. The word 'shiki' in the title means to 'pass or cross over.'"

Garden in rain today - perennial fleurs and herbes