Collaboration is key for organizations in the 21st century, yet few business people have been trained to teach this skill. How do you advance ideas in a collaborative way and then communicate them throughout your company? In this practical book, author Gretchen Anderson shows you how to generate ideas with others while gaining buy-in from all levels of your organization. Product managers, designers, marketers, technical leaders, and executives will obtain better insight into how team members work together to make decisions. Through tangible exercises and techniques, you’ll learn how to turn promising ideas into products, services, and solutions that make a real difference in the market. Use a framework to develop ideas into hypotheses to be tested and refined Avoid common pitfalls in the collaboration process Align communication approaches to ensure that collaboration is effective and inclusive Structure events or meetings for different types of collaboration depending on the people involved Practice giving and receiving critiques to foster inclusion without resorting to consensus-based decisions

Collaboration is key for organizations in the 21st century, yet few business people have been trained to teach this skill. How do you advance ideas in a collaborative way and then communicate them throughout your company? In this practical book, author Gretchen Anderson shows you how to generate ideas with others while gaining buy-in from all levels of your organization. Product managers, designers, marketers, technical leaders, and executives will obtain better insight into how team members work together to make decisions. Through tangible exercises and techniques, you’ll learn how to turn promising ideas into products, services, and solutions that make a real difference in the market. Use a framework to develop ideas into hypotheses to be tested and refined Avoid common pitfalls in the collaboration process Align communication approaches to ensure that collaboration is effective and inclusive Structure events or meetings for different types of collaboration depending on the people involved Practice giving and receiving critiques to foster inclusion without resorting to consensus-based decisions

To advance in today's workplace requires virtual team skills. Most individuals assume their face-to-face skills will translate, but competency with virtual communication and teamwork requires an entirely new set of skills. This book guides readers down the path to success. Electronic communication is now embedded in our daily experience, as is work involving off-site collaborators. Virtual communication has become an essential job skill that is critical to individual and group success, yet most people just muddle through it without giving it any thought. Drawing on decades of scientific research in the fields of psychology, organizational behavior, and sociology, this book explains how to master the art and science of communicating virtually. The author first analyzes the subtle but significant changes that result when conversations are moved online, providing examples and tips to avoid common pitfalls, then discusses how team behavior and decision making can best be guided in this realm. Readers will fully understand what makes teams "click"—what inspires trust, how to get a team "off on the right foot," and what steps to take in order to make good collaborative decisions—as well as other key topics for virtual teamwork, such as best practices for working in the cross-cultural environment. The book serves as an ideal guide for anyone who participates in or manages a virtual team but is also suitable as a supplemental textbook in a business school course on organizational behavior or business communication.

For organizations that care about innovation, individual creativity isn't enough anymore -- people need to be in creative, collaborative relationships. But without the knowledge and tools for building these relationships, innovation expert Michael Schrage argues, one will not be successful in the offices of today and even less so in the "virtual" offices of tomorrow. No More Teams gives readers the tools and techniques to go beyond the lazy cliches of "teamwork" to the practical benefits of collaboration. When Schrage studied the world's greatest collaborations -- including Wozniak and Jobs, Picasso and Braque, Watson and Crick -- he found that instead of relying on charisma, they all created "shared spaces" where they could play with their ideas. By effectively using technological tools available in most workplaces -- anything from a felt tip pen and a napkin to specialized computer software - -you can literally map your discussion as it is happening, making it possible to keep all the good ideas, cope with every objection, handle conflicts as they arise, and, ultimately, master the unknown.

Creative collaboration makes the impossible, possible. But all too often collaboration stifles creativity. This exciting new book offers tradition-shattering advice that gives readers the tools to make any collaborative activity creative, productive, and rewarding.

Do you need to learn how to use Microsoft Teams? Are you questioning how to drive user adoption, govern content, and manage access for your Teams deployment? Either way, Mastering Microsoft Teams is your one-stop-shop to learning everything you need to know to find success with Microsoft Teams. Microsoft’s new chat-based collaboration software has many rich features that enable teams to be more efficient, and save valuable time and resources. However, as with all software, there is a learning curve and pitfalls that should be avoided. Begin by learning the core components and use cases for Teams. From there the authors guide you through ideas to create governance and adoption plans that make sense for your organization or customer. Wrap up with an understanding of features and services in progress, and a road map to the future of the product. What You'll Learn Implement, use, and manage Microsoft Teams Understand how Teams drives productivity and engagement by combining the functionality of Microsoft Groups, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, and other services in one location Govern, explain, and use Teams in your organization Know the pitfalls to avoid that may create challenges in your usage of Teams Become familiar with the functionality and components of Teams via walkthroughs, including opportunities for automating business processes in Teams Who This Book Is For Anyone who wants to learn Microsoft Teams. To get the most out of the book, a basic understanding of Office 365 and a subscription, including a Microsoft Teams license, is useful.

"This book, by Robert Ubell and his excellent team of collaborators, adds an important dimension to effective teaching and learning in online environments. It addresses how interaction and collaboration online can be effectively harnessed in virtual teams. It is an important contribution to the larger field of Internet-based education." —Frank Mayadas, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation How to create and manage highly successful teams online With the advent of the global economy and high-speed Internet, online collaboration is fast becoming the norm in education and industry. This book takes online collaboration to the next level, showing how you can bolster online learning and business performance with the innovative use of virtual teams. Written by a team of experts headed by online learning pioneer Robert Ubell, Virtual Teamwork covers best practices for online instruction and team learning, reveals proven techniques for managing enterprise and global virtual teams, and helps you choose the best communication tools for the job. Educators, project managers, and anyone involved in teaching online courses or creating online programs will find a wealth of tips and techniques for building and managing successful virtual teams, including guidance for: Integrating team instruction in the virtual classroom Using best techniques for team interaction across borders and time zones Structuring cost-effective, competitive projects that work Leveraging leadership, mentoring, and conflict management in virtual teams Conducting testing, grading, and peer- and self-assessment online Managing corporate, global, and engineering virtual teams Choosing the right technologies for effective collaboration