Collaboration: 3 Keys to Keeping Your Documents from Getting Lost in the Shuffle

Often, collaborating documents in a team or in a business can feel like a complex sports play gone wrong. The ball gets passed off to the wrong person, dropped, or even lost. In addition, most document collaboration happens electronically. We are always told to save and resave these electronic documents, but it gets to the point that we can't even keep track of which draft we're on. Not to mention our hard drive gets overloaded with so many similar document names that it blows the whistle on us until there are no longer "too many men on the field." Huddle up! Let's talk about 3 keys to making sure that every document we collaborate on is sure to score with our bosses, our clients, and each other.

Create Compatibility

Collaboration requires compatibility. In order to create compatibility, we need technology on our side. If you have ever tried to open a document from a member of your team that was in a format that was not compatible with the applications on your computer, you are not alone.

Whether you are making a presentation, a budget, a report, a notice, a memo, or anything else that will be written in collaboration with another person or other people, all involved need to be able to read documents written in various applications. You will send it to a team member or a boss or a client via email, and you will want them to be able to open it, add their changes in collaboration, and send it back without any problems.

Too often in trying to collaborate, we have to keep emailing other members of our team, asking them to switch the document from one format to another, prolonging the can't-be-prolonged projects. This way of working does not fit into a fast-paced business culture.

Leave No Player Behind

All too often, drafts come back without you knowing it, and inevitably, some changes are not included-you left a player behind. Applications that send notifications about changes save time and increase collaboration effectiveness.

Think about the people to whom you send collaborative documents. Usually that group of people includes someone from your upline and probably even a client. Those are key players whose changes and suggestions must never be lost in the collaboration process. The side effects may be severe.

The most important thing is that nobody knows everything, but everybody knows something. And, when making collaborative changes in a document nobody will catch every mistake or add a helpful insight, but everybody will catch some mistake or add a helpful insight. If players get left out, that important document, whatever purpose it may serve, glides further away from perfection. Just imagine the CFO of a company being left out of an important financial presentation or document. What if one number is off?

Don't Drop the Ball

The last point is that organization is key to collaboration, and that despite our best efforts there are times when we forget something; we drop the ball. In document collaboration, you've got to hold on to the ball, because it may roll out of sight if you drop it. That means that you might have to start from scratch, lose vital information, get in trouble with the boss, and get in trouble with the client.

Automatic notification, which tracks any work or changes on a MS document, acts a sticky note that will post itself immediately when a new draft of a document arrives in the MS email or other applications. Now-a-days, you can even receive notification immediately upon arrival of the document.

The trick is to avoid any guess work, to maintain detailed records, and to keep everyone in the loop. Collaboration will take place on every level business and most often cross managerial and company borders. Clients will be involved. Bosses will be involved.

Remember these three keys of collaboration. Document collaboration in your company needs to be compatible with your software, it needs to keep everyone informed, and it needs to help keep the business organized.

Joe Miller is specialist in online advertising. For more information on collaboration, please visit nextpage.com.

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Google News Updated : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:51:10 GMT US-POLITICS Summary - Washington Post USA Today US-POLITICS Summary Washington Post - 2 hours ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama has opened a 6-point lead over Republican rival John McCain in the US presidential race, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Sunday. John McCain and Sarah Palin try new tactics Los Angeles Times Pittsburgh Paper Picks Obama, Pans on McCain/Palin Ticket FOXNews Dallas Morning News - Seattle Times - KXMC - San Francisco Chronicle all 1,680 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:22:18 GMT Texas new No. 1 in coaches poll after wild college football weekend - USA Today News 8 Austin Texas new No. 1 in coaches poll after wild college football weekend USA Today - 32 minutes ago By Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY The date won't quite live in infamy, but college football followers should remember Oct. 11, 2008, for a long time. Kansas fails to move up in polls KUsports Texas grabs top ranking in AP Poll Louisville Courier-Journal The Huntsville Times - al.com - Austin American-Statesman - The Birmingham News - al.com - Nittany Lines all 13 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:18:35 GMT Obama Gains in States Such as Iowa, Florida Give National Boost - Bloomberg BBC News Obama Gains in States Such as Iowa, Florida Give National Boost Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By James Rowley and Kristin Jensen Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is moving ahead in a series of new polls from Florida to Iowa, gains that are helping him maintain a national lead over Republican John McCain. Video: Kids Vote On Campaign '08 CBS Newsday poll: Obama has double-digit lead on Long Island Newsday Orlando Sentinel - New York Times - Reuters - Detroit Free Press all 2,708 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:51:54 GMT Spotlight on Apple notebooks: 1989 to 2008 - CNNMoney.com Washington Post Spotlight on Apple notebooks: 1989 to 2008 CNNMoney.com - 2 hours ago On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Apple will unveil the latest addition to a long line of portable computers that dates back nearly 20 years - to the ungainly, 15.8-pound “Macintosh Portable” that PC World named the 17th worst technology product of all time. This week in Apple: New notebooks, new writers, and more Woz Ars Technica Don't Buy A Mac Laptop* Washington Post New York Times - eFluxMedia - CRN - Wall Street Journal all 185 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:23:15 GMT Lisa Marie Presley delivers twins: report - Reuters Reuters Lisa Marie Presley delivers twins: report Reuters - Oct 11, 2008 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley's only child, gave birth to twin baby girls on October 7, celebrity news TV show "Entertainment Tonight" said on its website on Saturday. Twin girls for Lisa Marie Presley BBC News Lisa Marie Presley Welcomes Twin Girls E! Online eFluxMedia - People Magazine - Associated Content - USA Today all 652 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:17:01 GMT Stem cell promises, obstacles remain four years after bill's approval - San Jose Mercury News Stem cell promises, obstacles remain four years after bill's approval San Jose Mercury News - 1 hour ago EDITOR'S NOTE: This is first of a two-part series examining the progress and potential pitfalls in California's $3 billion stem cell research program. Researchers find easier way to make stem cells Reuters India New method generates stem cells safely from mice Reuters Chicago Tribune - Bloomberg - Houston Chronicle - The Daily Yomiuri all 68 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:34:39 GMT "Chihuahua" bites Crowe, DiCaprio at box office - Reuters "Chihuahua" bites Crowe, DiCaprio at box office Reuters - 1 hour ago LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The new terrorism thriller "Body of Lies" failed to take the top spot at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday, becoming the latest victim of moviegoer aversion to movies dealing with Middle East intrigue. 'Chihuahua' still has bite in second weekend at box office USA Today ‘Body’ Talk, Baby Talk Business Mirror Fort Wayne Journal Gazette all 21 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:19:10 GMT Make Money With Affiliate Data Feeds Amazon Tool

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