By Amy Bailey
Is today going to be a silky shiny day, or a beach clay day?
If our company just had standard conference calls, I would never know.
But because we use Microsoft Lync video for our morning business communication, we all get to know what kind of a hair day Ron Campbell is having.
Recently I was lucky enough to attend the Spin Sucks Pro webinar, ‘Intranets, Business Communications, and Building Social Capital‘ with the incredible Shel Holtz.
He talked about the attachment people need to have to be successful.
It’s about having a sense of belonging to the group.
At VXSuite, we achieve this because on these calls we spend the first few minutes talking about non-work subjects.
Mostly, it’s just chatter.
It’s the water-cooler chit-chat home workers don’t experience…and it’s important.
Celebrate the Wins
Our focus on these calls is to celebrate wins and set our direction for the day: Tell the group three things you want to celebrate from yesterday and what you are focused on for today.
We find celebrating the wins makes for a positive call and keeps people focused.
As I work through my day, I keep a steno pad in front of me to keep tabs on my progress. One side says WINS; the other says MUST DO.
Some days it’s full of wins.
Other days the must-do’s take over.
At the end of some days, it’s blank. Those are the Chinese fire-drill days, when I have to regroup at the end of the day and make my list.
Move the Needle Forward
As I add things to this list on one side or the other is, I ask myself, “How did this move the needle forward?” Or, “When I do this, how will it move the needle forward?”
Sharing this with the team improves our internal business communications because it makes us more engaged. We are able to see our part in the big picture.
And if there are projects someone else is working on, we can offer assistance to move the needle.
The Business Communications FOMO
Our morning calls are what our CEO calls, “semi-optional.”
If you are meeting with a partner, collecting a purchase order (his favorite excuse), or on an airplane, you can skip it.
But as Shel talked about, there is the FOMO factor. (That’s Fear Of Missing Out, if you didn’t know.)
Because our calls are fun, people want to be present.
You want to be there for Roger’s corny jokes, Doug’s stories of his adventures with his seven kids, and the latest on Ron’s chickens.
Our fun isn’t in corporate foosball tables, but we work hard and play hard.
We do Ice Bucket Challenges and Mud Runs.
Hearing everyone’s adventures strengthens the team.
When we were a smaller group, I was more involved in projects outside my job.
But with growth that is not realistic, so on these calls I am energized when I hear Roger talk about the latest on VXSuite plus Lync and I am motivated when Kurt talks about meeting with a partner and hearing their excitement about our product and our marketing partnership.
Technology isn’t Plug-and-Play
Was setting up Microsoft easy?
No.
It took effort up front—both from our IT guy and from all of us.
We are lucky to have VXSWAT experts as well.
We have a mixed environment of PC and Mac.
We have iPhones, Droids, iPads, Surface tablets, and more.
We are working with corporate sized bandwidth and home DSL.
But it works, and it’s awesome. I wouldn’t trade video calls for anything.
Do you have a time to set the tone for every day? Do you have a script people follow?