Let me tell you the story of poor Kitty Genovese. Kitty was a young woman who was stabbed to death in New York City back in 1964 (I first heard about her in Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point). Over the course of half an hour, she was attacked three times on the street as neighbors watched from their windows. There were 38 witnesses to the horrific event, yet not a SINGLE person called the police during the attack. The case caused a huge outcry in the news, and prompted ... Read More
Why You Need to Hire a Virtual Assistant (and How Not to Screw it Up) – A Review of Chris Ducker’s “Virtual Freedom” Book
A few years ago, I hired a part-time Virtual Assistant to help me with a few administrative tasks. If you’re new to the idea of virtual assistants (VAs), they’re basically self-employed professionals who typically work offshore (usually in lower hourly-wage countries such as India or the Philippines) that help you out with a wide range of tasks. Entrepreneurs hire VAs to do everything from web research to content development to even reading their kids bedtime stories over Skype. I hired ... Read More
How 1 Word Influences Your Virtual Team to Get Things Done
There's a famous experiment called the Xerox Study which was conducted back in the late 1970's. The idea was to understand how easy it would be to cut in front of someone who was waiting in line to use a photocopy machine. Three requests were used (with different people at different times): "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I'm in a rush?" "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?" "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use ... Read More
6 Uncommon Tips for Running a Virtual Meeting
I recently wrote an article for the premier edition of SOLVE Magazine, a new publication created by Time Warner Cable Business Class. The article discusses 6 unconventional tips about how to run virtual meetings. The title is “Remote Meetings That Get Results: Keep your employees on the same page, even when they’re not in the same city,” and is a relatively short read (1 page). I’ll think you’ll find some of those tips quite helpful, especially the “Don’t bother with meeting minutes” ... Read More
6 Tips for Virtual Team Managers from “REMOTE: Office Not Required”
I just finished reading Jason Fried’s and David Heinemeier Hansson's latest book “REMOTE: Office Not Required” and thought it was a great primer about working remotely. The book focuses mainly on why companies should consider shifting to a remote workforce if they haven’t already. So if you are not already sold on the idea that having a virtual team is better for you, your employees, your company’s profits and the environment, then this is a must read. The book also discusses how Jason and David ... Read More
Managing & Influencing Virtual Teams Course – now on Udemy
Virtual teams are the future. If you manage them today, then you probably will for the rest of your career. If you don't, then you probably will in the next 5 years. It's where we're all heading. Even billionaire Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Group, agrees: "In 30 years time, as technology moves forward even further, people are going to look back and wonder why offices ever existed" Learning how to manage a team that you don't see face-to-face is a skill that you will ... Read More
11 Ways I use my iPhone Camera to Remember Stuff
There are hundreds of apps that help you organize and remember things that you might need later on. A lot of those apps are great, but none are as versatile as the simple camera of my iPhone. It takes a second to snap a picture (I don’t even need to unlock my iPhone to take one) and I don’t have to worry about all the bells and whistles of all the other apps. Here are 11 examples of how I use it: 1. To know the exact type of medication to buy more of at CVS 2. To note down ... Read More
I Just Took a Proctored Exam in my PJs
This morning, I took and passed a 1-hour proctored exam for the ITIL Foundation certification while sitting in my Pajamas at home. The proctor was in Greece, and she was watching me through my webcam. She was also checking my every move using remote monitoring software to make sure I didn’t cheat while I was in my home office in Boston. As a matter of fact, I bought the ITIL book, attended a live course, interacted with the instructor, reviewed the materials and did the test without stepping ... Read More
The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: Interview with Elizabeth Saunders [Video]
Elizabeth Grace Saunders of Real Life E, a time coaching and training company, just published her first book entitled The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress (affiliate link). I was lucky to get an advance copy of the book a little while ago, and it is awesome! After reading it, I reached out to Elizabeth to ask her if she would do an interview with me about it, and she kindly accepted. In the interview, we talk about what those 3 ... Read More
3 Secrets About Harvard University That You Didn’t Know
Quick note: I know this post is off-topic from what I usually blog about, but because it was such a pleasant experience, I wanted to share 3 cool facts that the Harvard tour guide talked about which I think you’ll find intriguing. For the past couple of years, I kept delaying going to the Harvard University historical tour, which is a student-led guided walk across campus (mainly because I was too lazy). However, this past Saturday morning, I decided that if I didn't go on that day, I’ll ... Read More
