Notes on Cultivating Creative Collaboration – A Webcast by IDEO U

Guest speaker: Sacha Connor, Founder of Virtual Work Insider

On Working from Home

Burnout is more of a concern than lack of productivity.

Make sure it is really necessary
Avoid tourists in meeting – include only people that need to be there
Pre-work – what can be done in advance to make the meeting take the shortest time possible
Video (versus audio-only) is better for facilitation
Inclusivity
- Ice-breakers – giving everybody a voice in meetings
  - E.g., what luggage are you bringing in this meeting? What’s going on outside of your camera?
- Encourage participation from everyone
Once the meeting ends, how do we communicate?
- Have common agreement regarding which channel to communicate on regarding a particular concern
- For example, if something needs to be documented, use email for paper-trail
Who are the key stakeholders internally, externally
- Find out which is a good time to engage with them

Allow for heads-down work – for productivity
Allow for people to get things done when it fits around their lives and schedule
Don’t be strict in 8 hours work
Balance life with kids, pets, etc.

Influence: rule one: have something to say worth paying attention to.
An audience comment