Work Anywhere | Reduce Costs | Live Better

The promise of a virtual office has arrived, but it’s kluge! The funny thing - there’s a lot of physical stuff involved with going virtual. If you are willing to deal with it, you can effectively operate from anywhere in the world. Whether you’re a corporate executive with a million frequent flyer miles or managing a growing business from home, this article will give you a few thoughts on how you can use new technology to do more in your day, with less personal expense and an enhanced quality of life.

We’re all busy, so let’s jump in:

Topic 1: The Tabbed Internet Browser The number one tool in my arsenal is a tabbed Internet Browser. I like Firefox because it allows me to create multiple linked folders for different types of work modes or tasks. For example, I have one folder labeled “Virtual Office”. It contains a shortcut to my Internet Mail (Gmail.com), my company Intranet, my company Project Management System (http://www.basecamphq.com/), my company Issue Tracking System and my favorite Search Engine (Google.com). I can open each one on an as needed basis, or I can open all at the same time. The key is that these sites will be loaded into individual tabs, so I can flip between them like they are applications on my desktop (i.e. a word processor (Writely.com), a spreadsheet (spreadsheets.google.com), a flow chart application (gliffy.com), etc.). This is a great productivity enhancer - eliminating the wait for pages to build or rebuild and always returning to the spot where I left off.

I have five major linked folders (note: this could change tomorrow - always evolving). We have already discussed the “Virtual Office” folder. The others are “Client Tools”, “Clients”, “Reference” and “Personal”. These are effective for me, but they will likely be different for your business. Thought Lava is a Marketing/Internet consultancy. While we are often hired for our expertise in integrated marketing and Web strategy, we do the implementation as well. Thought Lava has a distributed work force. To manage our work load and meet deadlines cost effectively, we manage people all over the world for Web development, design and content creation. I tell you this so you can put the following comments in the proper context.

SIDEBAR: If you haven’t read the book, The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman - stop reading this, get up and go get it now! It is critical for understanding just how powerful the notion of being virtual is today and will continue to become in the very near future.

When I do have the opportunity to meet with clients, I often work with them using my laptop, a projector and the Internet. My “Client Tools” folder contains the four Web-based tools in individual tabs that I use most often to help them break through barriers. The most important is a tool for note taking and online collaboration after we’ve concluded our physical meeting (I use Writely.com - Google bought them). It promotes online meetings. Obviously, meeting online removes the costs associated with travel, and it gives me more time in my day to be productive (I can work right up to meeting time and get back to work immediately afterward).

My “Clients” folder maintains all of the Web-related links associated with each of our clients. That might include links to competitors, to their existing Web site, to sites they admire and to a site we have in development awaiting client approval. My “Reference” folder has links to must have resources - like an online dictionary (m-w.com), a free conference call site (freeconference.com), a free voice over IP application (skype.com), etc. My “Personal” folder contains links to financial institutions, health related sites, utilities, etc.

This is simple, basic organization with a productivity kicker! Best of all, the tools required are FREE and the ability to improve is in your head!

John-Scott Dixon, President - ThoughtLava

I have over a decade of experience managing and leading the Ecommerce efforts of medium and large companies. I have held sales, sales management, marketing, operations, IS/IT, legal and executive management positions in start-up to multi-billion dollar organizations. I have also served as an adjunct professor of Ecommerce for the MBA program of the University of Missouri. I led the Ecommerce initiative for Sprint PCS (PCS) and Sprint (FON) as Vice President of Ecommerce. I led the integrated marketing efforts for Insight (NSIT) as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Ecommerce. Today, I am the President of Thought Lava, an integrated marketing and Web strategy consulting company. We generate and direct the flow of creative ideas to develop Internet marketing strategies that increase revenue and reduce operational costs while supporting your brand. Contact us at info@thoughtlava.com or 877.567.LAVA to begin a discussion.