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Hi, Lev: I've been working on virtual teams for (let's see now...) 16
years. (eek)
I actually prefer it to site-based teams. Fewer distractions, less
chit-chat. But of course, I'm one of those oddly driven folks who doesn't
like knick-knacks or water-cooler discussions :) And you may not own a lap
top (I don't either) -- I don't own a cell phone. And I live in the
mountains with dialup access. OK - now you know I'm crazy.
But I've been working with widely distributed folks for a long time, and
have not encountered very many problems. I recently worked with a IT guy in
Israel on a white paper, have edited files for people in Japan, and yes, I
have to get up at 5:00AM for meetings with people on the East Coast fairly
often (good thing I'm a morning person).
I'm not aware of having offended a person of a different ethnic background
-- I think because I'm very much "all business" on the phone, and don't tell
jokes, etc. (I like to tell jokes - but not when I'm working).
It seems with your varied experience with cultures, you'll be fine. Good
luck!
__________________________________
Jodie Gilmore
Fulcrum Communications, LLC
Washougal, WA
www.fulcrumcomm.com
"Did you wake up this morning thinking the world wasn't going to be
different?"
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+jgilmor=pacifier -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jgilmor=pacifier -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of Lev Abramov
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 12:09 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: re: virtual team environment (was: telecommuting)
Hi all -
thanx again for the advice given. One piece of advice I know I will hardly
be able to adopt is using a public wifi place as an alternative ISP. For
one, I don't own a laptop (what a cave-dweller, think some of you and
cringe) - I have two fairly reliable desktop machines which I can take apart
to replace a daughterboard and put back in operation fairly easily. Besides,
I expect the project to be based on some kind of a Web-based CMS (the most
reasonable option for a distributed team), so data storage and backup is
hardly an issue *I* have to be worried about.
What seems to be the most worrying aspect is the interaction with the new
colleagues. Time zone differences (Manila is 5 hours ahead of me, and New
York is 7 hours behind): the part of the team in the Philippines will have
already had their lunch by the time I turn my computer on at 8AM my time. By
the time I start working with the US part of the team, they will be fresh
and crispy, while I will already be nearing the end of my day.
And cultural differences are certainly an issue as well, not to mention
personal inclinations of each one. When I left the Soviet Union at the age
of 40, eighteen years back, and moved to Israel, I got a good chance to
learn the art of coping with a new culture. I hope this will help me handle
this new challenge without making too many mistakes (as each one can cost me
this job!).
Anecdotal evidence of yours might certainly be helpful - please share!
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ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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