The Distance Manager: A Hands On Guide to Managing Off-Site Employees and Virtual Teams

Book Description

Global business demands and new technologies have created a virtual workplace for many companies, with employees and teams routinely collaborating from distant geographical locations on the road, from home, at client sites—even on the other side of the globe. The Distance Manager provides practical information and tools to help managers bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation, and get peak performance from employees they rarely see. This handbook is perfect for sales managers, project team leaders, senior managers, and anyone who manages people at more than one location. Key topics include:
• Using e-mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing for maximum effectiveness
• Mastering the people skills required to manage from a distance
• Virtual team building, and strategies for managing multiple locations

Download Description

The Distance Manager provides practical information and tools to help managers bridge the communication gaps created by geographical separation, and get peak performance from employees they rarely see.

Customer Reviews:

Highly Recommended!.......2001-09-18

Kimball Fisher and Mareen Duncan Fisher document the special skills needed for the new but increasingly common task of managing far-flung work groups. The approaches that they examine are becoming increasingly essential for all managers. Although they explore relevant technologies carefully, their human relations advice is probably more important. The Fishers emphasize the interpersonal and leadership skills that a manager needs to head a virtual team. If you read this book cover to cover, it can seem repetitive, since many of the rules and tips offered in one area overlap with those in other areas. However, the book is designed to allow you to review specific management challenges and technologies, and to ignore areas that are irrelevant to your situation. We [...] recommend this clear, practical work to anyone who leads virtual teams and to the telecommuters and freelance workers who report to them.

Ideas on Distance Management.......2001-07-18

This book presents a new approach to managing people from distance. It also gives clear examples and cases. This book is a must for managers who control their team from distance, either nationwide or global-wide.

Average customer rating:

A necessity for every contemporary manager
An Essential Book for Managing Teams.
Well-organized, brief, and covers key points

Essential Managers: Managing Teams
Robert Heller
Manufacturer: DK ADULT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Essential Managers: Learning To Lead
Essential Managers: Communicate Clearly (DK Essential Managers)
Essential Managers: Motivating People (Essential Managers Series)
How to Delegate (Essential Managers Series)
Dealing with Difficult People (Essential Managers Series)

ASIN: 0789428954

Amazon.com

If you're in charge of putting together or overseeing a work team, but you can't bring yourself to crack those gazillion-pound guides or weighty workbooks that you've been handed to help you, you'll love this nifty palm-size companion to every aspect of leading the crew. Here, you'll learn not only what makes a good team and how to balance individual skills within a team, but also how to set the whole thing up (from setting goals and establishing trust to creating a self-managed team, or taking on an existing one), improve its efficiency (by facilitating improved communication, running meetings, improving team standards, and getting everyone to deal with problems and think creatively), and ensure team success in the future through measuring team performance and tracking its progress, setting and meeting targets, rewarding good work, and adapting to change. On every snazzy little page, boxed tips, handy checklists, mini case studies, and easy-to-follow flow charts bring the whole team-leading process to life--from inception to long-term operation and planning. Granted, if you're looking for very specific or in-depth guidance, you might find this book too cursory and general in its approach. But, if you're looking for a thumbnail guide to the basics, it'll do just fine.

It's worth mentioning that the book is part of the "Essential Managers" series by reference publisher Dorling-Kindersley--a series comprising 20 itty-bitty books on business and career topics that range from communication, leadership, and decision-making to the management of time, budgets, change, meetings, people, projects, and teams. Combining the talent of the "For Dummies" book series for breaking down a lot of information into bite-sized bits and sidebars with Dorling-Kindersley's signature design style of crisp, classy graphics on a gleaming white backdrop, the books don't represent the cutting edge of business thinking or reflect necessarily any unique individual perspective. Instead, it's as if someone had collated the best general thinking on these 20 topics, and rolled them out into 72 brightly designed and easy-to-read pages--studded along the way with boxed tips, color shots of a multiracial cast of "coworkers" animatedly hashing through the workplace issues of the day, and, on the last few pages of each volume, a self-test of one's skills in the topic at hand. Again, they're not for anyone who's looking for more in-depth or focused help on any of the covered subjects, but they're perfect as a quick general-interest reference; and, let's face it, they're so damn cute, and look so smart in a neat little stack or row, that probably you'll want to buy a whole bunch to give as gifts to your entire staff or department. --Timothy Murphy

Book Description

Motivate and direct your business team to exceed expectations with this indispensable book.

Learn all you need to know about successful team management, from building up a team that functions effectively to achieving the desired results. Managing Teams shows you how to establish a productive environment and exploit group dynamics, and it also provides practical techniques to try in different settings. Power tips help you handle real-life situations and develop the first-class team-management skills that are the key to a productive and informed workplace. The Essential Manager have sold more than 1.9 million copies worldwide! Experienced and novice managers alike can benefit from these compact guides that slip easily into a briefcase or a portfolio. The topics are relevant to every work environment, from large corporations to small businesses. Concise treatments of dozens of business techniques, skills, methods, and problems are presented with hundreds of photos, charts, and diagrams. It is the most exciting and accessible approach to business and self-improvement available.

Customer Reviews:

A necessity for every contemporary manager .......2005-09-14

As a trainer, this is my advice; read it, distribute it to your organizational managers-it makes for a great gift by the way, then discuss it with them in groups or indvidually. Only then you can convert your groups into real teams.

An Essential Book for Managing Teams........2002-12-04

"Managing Teams" by Robert Heller is a very informative book and definitely should be read by new managers. This book contains many different ideas on how to manage your team. Heller brings up important points that many new managers may not be aware of when first starting into the challenging world of team managing. Heller discusses several different topics including `Understanding How Teams Work,' Setting Up A Team,' `Improving Team Efficiency,' and `Working For The Future.' Each of these chapters cover important topics that are broken down into easy to understand summarized sections. This book helps you determine the right people for a team, and how to form a multi- talented, functioning team. You will also learn how to motivate your team to complete the goals that they were brought together to achieve. Learning to manage a team can sometimes be a difficult transition if you are not used to doing so, but Heller's book can really help you to adjust to the position.
One great part about this book is that it is short (74 pages) and to the point. The chapters are informative and do not drag on and on like some of the books out there on the market. However there are enough details to help you understand and try out his suggestions and ideas. There is even an added bonus of 101 tips that offer practical advice. I especially like the examples and charts that are listed in this book. They are great in helping understand the individuals in the team, and how to deal with each person within the group and as a group. I highly recommend "Managing Teams" to anyone interested in learning new techniques for managing a team in the workplace. I also highly recommend several of Robert Heller's other books as well in the `Essential Managers' set of books, including "Motivating People."

Well-organized, brief, and covers key points.......2000-08-10

I'd recommend this to anyone who's part of a team and wants a brief, concise, useful summary of key points that help you better manage (and be part of) a team. Sections are well organized, and actual techniques are described that you can use to improve.

Book Description

"An excellent desk reference for all school administrators regarding the role of paraeducators."
Kent Gerlach, Professor
School of Education
Tacoma, Washington

"Nancy French's new book provides wide-ranging information, ideas, and strategies to effectively utilize paraeducator support in today's schools. This guide is a helpful resource for administrators and teachers."
Michael Giangreco
Center on Disability and Community Inclusion
Burlington, Vermont

Specific Strategies for Utilizing the Talents of One of Our Most Valuable Resources—Paraeducators!

Paraprofessionals--or paraeducators--have long been an invaluable resource in our schools. A well-trained paraeducator not only boosts teacher morale and school-home-community relations, but also increases the amount and quality of instructional time as well as student achievement levels. But where are paraeducators' talents best utilized? Who will train them? And how can we best serve the ever-changing needs of the student population?

This comprehensive resource provides teachers and administrators with answers to these important questions and much more, supplying practical tools and strategies for how to best recruit, manage, and use paraeducators in their schools. French gives specific guidelines for working with paraeducators in Special Education, Title 1, Bilingual (ESL), School Library/Media Center, General and Special Education Classrooms, Speech/Language Pathology, and Health Care Services, helping teachers and administrators make the right decisions for their districts and schools.

Managing Paraeducators includes:

Practical, easy-to-use worksheets that identify the needs and readiness of a school to employ paraeducators, providing a platform for team communication and the development of personalized job descriptions
Self-assessment and support checklists that identify potential problems and how to surmount them
Guidelines for helping make sure paraeducators are being used in ways that most contribute to student achievement
Strategies for identifying best practices, timeframes, and person(s) best suited to training paraprofessionals

Managing the Change Process: A Field Book for Change Agents, Team Leaders, and Reengineering Managers

Average customer rating:

A Bit Dated, but Still Useful
A useful, handy & concise reference book.
An important contribution

Managing the Change Process: A Field Book for Change Agents, Team Leaders, and Reengineering Managers
David K. Carr , and Kelvin J. Hard
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Organizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools & Techniques of Organizational Change
Change Management
Managing Change and Transition
The Change Management Pocket Guide
Strategic Organizational Change, Second Edition

ASIN: 0070129444

Book Description

Here are the practical, proactive tools managers need to get a handle on today's best change management strategies and ensure the success of their business improvement and turnaround efforts. Each of the change management strategies spelled out in this guide is firmly grounded in the extensive experience of Coopers & Lybrand, a Big 6 consulting firm with a dedicated change mangement practice. Each one has been company-tested in such organizations as Agway, New York Life, Prudential Direct, and the Office of Naval Intelligence. The result? Comprehensive analysis of the global changes confronting today's business leaders. Plus proven strategies for managing major change, creating an organizational culture conductive to change, and leading change effectively.

Customer Reviews:

A Bit Dated, but Still Useful.......2007-09-19

I wouldn't really call this a "field book," but it is certainly a good account of organization change management. It comes out of the mid-90s, so its orientation is toward the learning organization (Senge) and business process reengineering (Hammer and Champy). An update would doubtless align itself behind Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton). If you have any background at all in strategic planning or workflow analysis, you will find the basic concepts familiar and usefully applied.

The core observations make sense:

* Change is an ongoing reality of the modern enterprise, and so is change management.

* Change management must involve both the technical and the people sides of the organization.

* Managing change starts with planning, but planning isn't sufficient, so don't get bogged down.

* The leaders of change are the leaders of the organization: top management. Of course, they must commit to the change, but, more importantly, they must show that commitment in behavior: being the managers that the change requires to be successful, and actively involving themselves in selling the change to the troops.

* Change management must incorporate metrics, especially on the people side, so you can know if you're making progress.

Etc. There are lots of lists that can usefully be turned into checklists, and there is an appendix of excerpts from interviews with change leaders.

The negatives aren't really serious. The C&L methodology is so general as to be either obvious or useless, depending on your point of view. C&L doesn't share its tools, but it does name them, so you should be able to find some that are functionally comparable.

In sum, this is a good starting point for building a change management function and/or understanding your role in the process.

A useful, handy & concise reference book........2000-12-19

A very useful book especially if you are a change agent within your corporation. In relatively short and sharp chapters, the three authors address key issues in managing change. The underlying theme that change is all about people comes out relatively clearly. Though the book is based on much of Coopers & Lybrand's approach to change management, the first six chapters are fairly generic. By learning from the Coopers & Lybrand's experiences , you can craft your appropriate change strategy for your particular situation and circumstances. Recommended reading for all those involved in managing change and transition at the workplace.

An important contribution.......2000-04-04

An important contribution to a critical subject. Change management consulting often suffers from "hack" approaches. Whether change can in fact be managed is another issue.

Managing Projects with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System (Pro-Developer)

Average customer rating:

Good on VSTS, lousy on process and requirements
Well organized and useful
Finally, a Practical Solution for teams to create quality software...

Managing Projects with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System (Pro-Developer)
Joel Semeniuk , and Martin Danner
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Project Management | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0735622167

Book Description

A practical, hands-on guide to managing development teams and processes with the Visual Studio Team System development environment. Includes in-depth product information and insights from experienced trainers and early users. This is an ideal guide for using Visual Studio Team System to maximize project management effectiveness.

Customer Reviews:

Good on VSTS, lousy on process and requirements.......2007-09-30

This book provides a good overview of VSTS. It goes into enough detail that the reader understands the broad range capabilities without being overwhelmed. If you just want a reference on VSTS, then I recommend this book.

However, the book is just plain lousy when it comes to the process of managing an actual project. Firstly, PMBOK stands for "Body of Knowledge" not "Book of Knowledge". Secondly, the importance of gathering, analyzing, validating, and verify requirements is woefully under-represented. Quality is mentioned, but in such a cursory way as to be practically useless. Ditto on CMM - not enough detail is given on key processes and work products. The process here seems focused on building software without first determining what to build or checking the correctness of what was actually build.

The approach here might work on small greenfield projects, but would be a train-wreck on any large project with involving any degree of human safety, legacy systems, accountability, etc. In other words, the project management approach in this book is probably not suitable for 90% of projects in an enterprise IT environment.

Well organized and useful.......2007-09-26

This book helped me with ideas that put in practice, provided new ideas of as it manages projects with VSTS. For me it was useful.

Finally, a Practical Solution for teams to create quality software..........2007-08-28

In Managing Projects with Microsoft Visual Studio Team System, Joel really gets to the heart of addressing the reasons and benefits of having a common set of application lifecycle management tools (Visual Studio Team 2005 System) for all participants in the software development process to effectively track and report on individual and team progress.

It's not just the tracking and reporting, but its the metrics provided that allow answers to questions such as:" What percent complete are we at for this development project?; What's the overall software quality measurement?; How much more time is required before we are done?"

Not only does Joel discuss the problem of inter and extra-team communications for reporting on software development projects, he provides practical advice, examples and guidelines on how to implement and use Visual Studio 2005 Team System to orchestrate the communications and reporting processes for all roles (project manager, architect, developer, tester, sponsor, etc.) in the software development process.

A must read for anyone that manages Visual Studio.NET software development projects and wants to increase the effectiveness of their development efforts!

Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools (Wordware Applications Library)

Average customer rating:

Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools (Wordware Applications Library)
Brenda Huettner , M. Katherine Brown , and Char James-Tanny
Manufacturer: Wordware Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Teams | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Wiki: Web Collaboration

ASIN: 1598220284

Book Description

Virtual collaborative team environments face unique challenges because their communication is not face-to-face. Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools provides practical advice for managers of distributed teams who must design the internal systems and meet deadlines with a diverse team, and for team members who want to develop and maintain professional relationships. To address these needs, this book is divided into three parts. Part I discusses team dynamics, project management and development, and forms of communication. Part II covers the types of tools currently available for collaboration such as wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, and more, and describes the different feature sets of each. Part III explains the various features of the book's companion wiki.

Working Virtually: Managing People for Successful Virtual Teams and Organizations

Average customer rating:

An excellent, clearly written and positive instructional

Working Virtually: Managing People for Successful Virtual Teams and Organizations
Trina Hoefling
Manufacturer: Stylus Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Virtual Leadership: Secrets From the Round Table for the Multi-Site Manager

ASIN: 157922069X

Book Description

Virtual working is a fact of life as companies manage teams of individuals dispersed on sites across the country or around the globe; take increasing advantage of improving technology and software to telecommute and teleconference; and begin to think about the human element in disaster recovery.

The key to successful dispersed working is not technological expertise, but a clear understanding of what it takes to get the enterprise ready for virtual work, and of the skills for bonding individuals into cohesive, high-performance teams across distances and differences.

This book provides that guidance - through work charts, vivid "composite" examples, definitions and actual cases - and shows how the technological tools support and expand the options for collaboration.

It answers such critical questions as "What makes working virtually work?", "How do we start?", "How do you develop new leaders in a virtual environment?", "What skills do virtual managers and team members need?", "How do you determine how ready they are?", "Which technologies are most appropriate for your purposes?", "What’s the impact on existing systems and structures?"

This book is an indispensable practical guide and reference for virtual team leaders, HR managers, CEO’s and trainers. It will also be suitable for professional certification and business courses in organizational development.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent, clearly written and positive instructional.......2003-10-10

Trina Hoefling is the founder of Consult One Group, Denver, Colorado, and a professional whose years experience in virtual working included developing one of the first remote training programs. Hoefling draws upon her considerable experience and expertise in Working Virtually: Managing People For Successful Virtual Teams And Organizations to presents examples, definitions, anecdotes, advice, and seasoned wisdom for making the most of telecommunication, teleconferencing, and enabling the team bonding process despite the separation of distance in the modern-day workplace. An excellent, clearly written and positive instructional guide to both personal and technological concerns, Working Virtually is especially commended reading for virtual team leaders, Human Resource managers, CEO's, and corporate trainers.

The Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Acitivities for Jumpstarting Innovation

Average customer rating:

Creativity from one who knows the source
Hare-Brained
Disappointed Innovator
Unleash Your Creativity
CREATIVE PROCESS DEMYSTIFIED

The Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Acitivities for Jumpstarting Innovation
Robert Epstein
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Big Book of Meeting Games

ASIN: 0071361766

Book Description

In the modern economy, where most workers are knowledge workers, creativity and innovation are the most easily sustainable competitive advantages. In The Big Book of Creativity Games, Harvard trained psychologist Robert Epstein provides dozens of games and activities designed to stimulate creativity and generate innovation in the workplace.

Dr. Epstein describes the scientific principles of creativity that underlie the games, and how these principles can be applied to tasks like problem solving, new product development, and marketing. Timely and innovative, The Big Book of Creativity Games is the ideal book for managers to turn to whenever they need:

Games that are easy to lead and fun to play
Exercises that go far beyond standard brainstorming techniques
Innovation jump-starters for team meetings and work groups

Customer Reviews:

Creativity from one who knows the source.......2007-02-11

The book is firmly rooted in science, and the exercises are proof: This is not a cookbook. You need to understand the rationale behind the exercises. The book builds up a coherent set of argument, points to further reading, and is a veritable treasure trove of how to be, and help others be, creative. I highly recommend it.

Hare-Brained.......2004-03-26

This book delivers so much less than it promises that I have found it virtually useless in training actual human beings. Maybe it was tested on hares. You would do much better (and be much more creative) coming up your own exercises.

Disappointed Innovator.......2004-03-06

This book was a total disappointment. I have never written a review online before, but if I can stop someone from buying this series I will feel like I've saved someone their hard-earned dollars. The subtitle says "Fun Activities for Jumpstarting Innovation". It should have said "Invent your own games because we don't have any good ones to tell you about". At least half the games were not games at all, but instructions for the participants to CREATE THEIR OWN GAMES!!!!! I COULD HAVE DONE THAT! One after the other are worded as follows: "Participants design and carry out their own exercise to demonstrate the importance of _____ for the creative process" -- (insert chapter topic in the blank). Sorry, that doesn't help me at all. STAY AWAY!

Unleash Your Creativity.......2003-09-07

It is probably no accident that Robert Epstein's _Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Activities for Jumpstarting Innovation_ appears at first glance to be a book for children. Its title, colorful cover, and interior design are reminiscent of children's books. While many of the games can be used in classrooms, the primary audience for the book is adults -- people who want to improve the creativity of those in their businesses or other organizations.

The forty-eight games in the book are based on Epstein's Generativity Theory. His ideas about the creative process grew out of his laboratory research. In addition to refuting popular myths about the creative process, Epstein identifies four core competencies that help individuals express their creativity (plus four more competencies to nurture creativity in others):
1. Capturing new ideas
2. Challenging yourself so that new ideas emerge
3. Broadening your base of knowledge and experience
4. Surrounding yourself with an environment -- both physical and social -- that encourages new ideas

Despite the fact that the book is grounded in theory and research, the information it contains is practical and easily accessible. The book is written in lay terms, and the information is as easy to understand as the juvenile format leads you to expect it to be.

The games are categorized by purpose (such as "convincing people that they're creative") and by core competency. It is easy, therefore, to find games to fit a particular need. Epstein devotes about three pages to each game, providing a summary of the game, its objective, the time required (ranging from 5 to 90 minutes), the materials needed (generally readily available), the procedure, and discussion questions. The discussion questions are indeed a key feature of the book, for the games are intended not only to boost creativity but also to demonstrate creativity's basic principles.

Epstein places a high premium on failure. He says that failure causes us to recall past methods of dealing with a problem -- and often discover a new solution. Without failure, creativity is not needed (remember the Apollo 13 mission). Many games involving the second competency, Challenging, deal with managing the frustration and other negative emotions that often accompany failure.

In addition, the book includes an abridged version of Epstein's Creativity Competencies Inventory for Individuals (ECCI-i) along with a self-scorer. These tools are effective for evaluating a person's overall creativity and each of the four competencies. It is easy, then, for a person to see which areas would benefit from development.

CREATIVE PROCESS DEMYSTIFIED.......2000-11-15

Thank you, Robert Epstein, for demythologizing creativity. As a writing teacher I found this book very helpful in several ways. The games are fun and each one makes a strong point. My students respond to the core competencies with excitement and gratitude and most can't wait to develop these concrete skills. I've found nothing better for tackling the problem of "writer's block." I have used this book with students in classroom and workshop situations and recommend it to managers who want to jump start their employees' creativity.

Managing Diversity: A Complete Desk Reference and Planning Guide, Revised Edition

Average customer rating:

Great resource to help explain diversity initiative
Trite, simplistic and not worth the money

Managing Diversity: A Complete Desk Reference and Planning Guide, Revised Edition
Lee Gardenswartz , and Anita Rowe
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound

General | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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The Managing Diversity Survival Guide: A Complete Collection of Checklists, Activities, and Tips/Book and Disk
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ASIN: 0070220042

Book Description

Today's corporations understand the need for diversity awareness, but most lack an effective organizational strategy. This thoroughly updated bestseller is packed with information, worksheets, charts, and other valuable features for program implementation, evaluation, and measurement; conducting a diversity audit; and maximizing the many talents of employees.

Customer Reviews:

Great resource to help explain diversity initiative.......1999-04-06

This book provides a great "big-picture" view of what a diversity initiative might involve. The authors address diversity with a perspective that a diversity initiative is more than an education program, and give explanation to some othe systems and processes that must be addressed in order to be successful at integrating diversity into an organization. A big positive is that the authros do not use the race/gender basis for diversity, but expand the definition to include many other characteristics that almost all people can realte to. I highly recommend the book.

Trite, simplistic and not worth the money.......1998-12-12

Managing diversity is a subject that does not lend itself to simplistic, checklist solutions. Yet, that is exactly what the authors provide - a plethora of superficial recipes. Not particularly thoughtful and not at all practical for real-world use.

Real diversity management is far more complicated than this text would suggest!

Managing Without Walls: Maximize Success with Virtual, Global, and Cross-cultural Teams
Average customer rating:

I really loved this book!

Not very helpful

So You've Been Handed this Team Project

Excellent Read

Bridging the Gap

Managing Without Walls: Maximize Success with Virtual, Global, and Cross-cultural Teams
Colleen Garton , and Kevin Wegryn
Manufacturer: Mc Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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PMP Exam | Project Management | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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The Distance Manager: A Hands On Guide to Managing Off-Site Employees and Virtual Teams

Quick Guide to Interaction Styles and Working Remotely: Strategies for Leading and Working in Virtual Teams

Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools (Wordware Applications Library)

101 Leadership Actions For Creating And Managing Virtual Teams (101 Leadership Actions)

ASIN: 158347062X

Book Description

As companies worldwide are moving more and more toward a virtual business model, this handbook offers insight for team members who collaborate on projects from geographically diverse locations. Included in this comprehensive reference guide is an explanation of virtual management and advice on how to coach and develop team members with success from far-off office locations. This practical discussion provides the teaching skills needed to help the current manager understand the complexity of the job and to be effective in this new and changing role. Sample evaluations prepare the prospective virtual managers to adequately assess and gauge the success and progress of a far-flung team.

Customer Reviews:

I really loved this book! .......2007-05-08

Over the years, I have managed satellite developers in England, France, India, Australia, and Canada (I'm currently in Southern California). I wish I had read Managing Without Walls years ago, before I started managing remote developers.

Some of the book is based on just pure common sense, like the parts about dealing with time differences, speaking clearly, understanding gestures...the sort of stuff you have to include for completeness. But there is also some real meat here and some genuine insights of the type that you can develop only from having done this type of management for an extended period of time. In particular, I like the section on the stages of cultural adjustment and building multicultural teams. All of my teams went through the exact phases of cultural adjustment outlined in the book. In addition, the idea of celebrating local holidays across the group is an excellent team-building and cultural-learning opportunity. I also like the cookbook-style walkthrough for making the decision of whether to outsource or not. Most of the outsourced projects that I have seen fail could have had their failure predicted by the answers (or lack of answers) to the questions outlined in the book. The book also makes a very clear (and valid) distinction between domestic outsourcing and foreign outsourcing. The decision matrix around which of these solutions you pursue is significantly different.

An interesting, and unexpected, theme of the book is fun and its importance in teambuilding. I encourage my teams to have fun at work and to play well (meaning practical jokes, especially ones where I am the victim). Why? Because as the book points out, a well-executed bit of shenanigans takes a fair amount of teamwork to pull off and--whether it works or not--will generally help pull a team together, even if they are halfway around the world from one another. Most books on management (virtual or not) fail to address or offer good advice on this topic.

Another interesting topic in the book that can normally only be learned through a devastating trial-and-error process is planning for catastrophes. The world that we live in is a dynamic place, and catastrophes threaten our projects from many sides. Having a globally distributed team almost ensures that a catastrophe of one form or another will affect your team at some point in time. In fact, you should be acutely aware of this as part of your risk assessment of the project. The book gives some very pragmatic advice for setting up alternative communication channels and protocols as well as for managing through a catastrophe. Catastrophes will happen, but even a small amount of planning will help your project recover quickly.

If you manage remote or satellite teams, this book is a must-read!

Not very helpful.......2007-03-30

I found the book extremely simple-minded and not at all useful. It seems like a simple listing of common sense items, with no real insight into the process.

So You've Been Handed this Team Project.......2007-02-19

One indication that a concept's time has come is the addition to Micosoft's product line of software to facilitate that concept. Such is the case with Microsoft's Visual Studio 2005 Team System. Here is a simple to get project developent package oriented to software design, development, testing by people scattered among work groups around the world.

This book, however, carries on with the managerial side of team development rather than the mechanics of how the software works. The managerial side has to handle mundane problems like language, time zone changes, cultural differences, and of course communications when you can't call a meeting and get everyone into the same room.

There are other books available that discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing things like software development. Again that's not this book. This book presumes that the decisions have been made and it's now up to you to get the job done.

Excellent Read.......2007-02-01

A must read for anybody who manages remote team members. There are lots of books out there for the telecommuter but it is so hard to find information on how to manage telecommuters. This book is fantastic. It not only fills a huge knowledge gap, it does it with incredible clarity, insight and in an easy-to-read writing style. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It gives a whole different perspective on the differences betwen the various types of virtual environments and the challenges associated with each. The author does an excellent job of describing a situation, explaining what happens, why it happens , what the manager could do differently and includes excellent examples to help drive the point home. I have been managing virtual team members for a couple of years. Not all my team members work remotely and I fell into the trap of managing local team members and practically ignoring the remote ones. My remote team members now are happier each week as I implement more and more of the great ideas in this book. A must read for anyone managing team members long distance.

Bridging the Gap.......2007-01-30

I've worked on both sides of the wall, as the virtual manager and the virtual employee. This book gives great insights on how to make this work. The examples and analogies in the book are excellent and easy to apply to real world situations. I especially liked the information on communication styles and how different people react and interact to each other.

This book contains a lot of information about things that might not occur to you that you need to know about managing or working virtually.

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