This one goes out to the next round of leaders, team builders and entrepreneurs. Let's face it ladies and gentlemen, no matter where we call home gifted, motivated, and like minds exist throughout the world. For evidence look at venture capitalist investments, open source projects, and leading Internet technology companies. All of these groups have teams that are diversely located but bound together by a passion to build excellent value products and services.
We can no longer afford to look only in our own backyards, even in places where startups and tech are ubiquitous. But how can we go about reaching out, and coordinating teams that span the globe? A great start is social media. Blogs serve as a virtual home for thought leaders and visionaries, twitter, friendfeed, and soon community driven derivatives are a fantastic place to get in direct contact with people who share our interests. We are continually educated by varied perspectives and thought provoking conversations. The predicative power of collaborative user trends guides the creation of new business solutions. The attractive nature of open shared solutions combined with identifying and protecting core information connectivity provides an avenue for competitive growth and early adoption. In other words you can get help from motivated folks combined with community acceptance.
If you are just beginning the path to global team building, start small. Spend some time exploring the web hangouts and reading blogs of community leaders. The top blogs are natural gravity centers for sharp minds who recognize the value these social hubs provide. Connecting by topic is the first step, but a more important criteria for team building is philosophy. Do all of your prospective members share the same business goals and values. Keep in mind that early plans will change, and your team must be flexible in pursuing the quest to create long term social value.
If you are further advanced in your corporate formation, find a way to see past bureacratic boundaries and engage with external teams that are worthy of your trust. Individuals who have spent a life time supporting agendas and business philosophies that harmonize with your own organization are likely candidates. Huge corporate structures consist of many smaller teams bound together by history, purchases, or current shared vision. Of these a communal vision of products and services is the most potent glue. Knowing where small team efforts fit into larger programs aids in the value and satisfaction of each contributor. Sharing in the victories and lessons learned is the fabric of corporate unity.
Whether your team is incubating or well developed, opportune partnerships are only a blog and a comment away.
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