In their book, Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and Organizations With Technology, networking experts Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps discuss an increasingly familiar corporate scenario: corporate teams that are geographically scattered but electronically connected. The authors see the power and flexibility of this business design, but also recognize the challenges that virtual teams face versus those using a more traditional team approach.
The book's case studies are particularly useful, demonstrating the organizational techniques and communications strategies used at companies such as Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment Corp., and Hewlett-Packard. There are descriptions of team principles, and details on how to link teams together using technology that can enhance communications and increase productivity. Throughout, the authors pay attention to the links among the team members, discussing the mix of media--conference calls, videoconferencing, face-to-face meetings, and e-mail--that support virtual relationships.
The authors have assembled the equivalent of a virtual teams manual. Everyone from the team leader up to the corporate board could benefit from this book.
Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and Organizations with Technology, by Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps, hardcover, 256 pages, published by John Wiley & Sons, May 1997.