How has online collaboration changed the creative strategy process?

All good points! I would add on that the human aspects of collaboration require the most attention. Have open and honest dialogue as to how everyone can improve incrementally with each session and before you know it all the wrinkles will be ironed out! 🤩

Fundamentally!! Online collaboration has transformed the creative strategy process by fostering real-time, global ideation. It enables diverse teams to seamlessly contribute, share insights, and iterate creatively, transcending geographical boundaries. This dynamic exchange accelerates innovation, ensuring a more holistic and inclusive approach to crafting compelling strategies. #DigitalTransformation #CollaborationRevolution

I've found that tools like Slack, Zoom, and Asana have streamlined communication and project management, making it easier to share, brainstorm, and iterate on ideas quickly. The ability to collaborate in real-time, even asynchronously, ensures continuous progress and faster turnaround times. However, it also presents challenges in maintaining team cohesion and ensuring clear communication. Despite these hurdles, online collaboration has undoubtedly expanded the horizons of creative strategy.

Global Connectivity: Online collaboration breaks geographical barriers, allowing creatives worldwide to collaborate in real-time. Enhanced Efficiency: Instant communication and file sharing streamline the creative workflow, speeding up ideation and decision-making. Diverse Perspectives: Access to a broader talent pool brings diverse skills and perspectives, enriching the creative process. Iterative Feedback: Continuous feedback loops facilitated by online tools enable rapid iteration and improvement of creative ideas. Flexible Work Environment: Remote collaboration accommodates flexible work schedules, fostering creativity in varied settings and time zones.

Online collaboration has its advantages and disadvantages. Video communication, messaging and cloud based platforms work well for more senior members of a creative communication team. On the less experienced, one of the things they need is mentoring and leadership and learning from senior staff, which becomes more difficult online. Skype is excellent in meetings when sharing ideas directly. We have separate groups for client projects and our social and LI postings. Online allows for immediate collaboration, which from my point of view includes sharing drawings online. We also have 90 minute sessions where we will work together on creative projects across screenshare reducing the leadtime to a good solution and allowing for rapid iterations

Absolutely agree with the insights on online collaboration's impact on creativity. While it broadens access to diverse talent and perspectives, the lack of physical presence can be a hurdle. Enter VR collaboration – a game-changer. Using apps like Immersed and tools like Noda for mind mapping, which syncs with Miro for non-VR participants, brings a new dimension to creative strategy. VR adds the much-needed elements of interactivity and a sense of presence, fostering an environment where brainstorming and whiteboard creativity flourish. It's a compelling blend of the digital and the tangible, enhancing our creative processes in exciting ways. If you haven't tried it, reach out and I can give a guided walk through!

I like to approach this three ways: 1. Brainstorm on camera and with whiteboards if we can’t meet in person. All parties need to be in camera. 2. We use Basecamp Projects to post comps and on-going production. This removes unnecessary meetings and the team can weigh in quickly. 3. Final reviews again are in person. Ensure we’re still on brief and celebrate our work as a team.

For me, it unlocks a world of possibilities, bringing diverse talents and perspectives together, enriching the creative process. The access to a broad talent pool and varied resources ignites innovation and fosters a culture of collective intelligence. However, it's crucial to acknowledge the challenges it poses, like the absence of in-person cues and the nuances of team dynamics. These can potentially stifle creativity. To counter this, it's important to cultivate an online environment that encourages open brainstorming, rapid prototyping, and values both successes and failures as learning opportunities. By nurturing this balanced approach, we can harness the full potential of online collaboration to fuel creativity and innovation.

Obiously, collaborating online in creative processes becoming a normality was a total gamechanger. Somewhat similar to IRL meetings, I sometimes miss an (at least) rough agenda beforehand, sent out before and visualized during the meeting, if possible. Also, I think it is important to respect people who prefer to be "audio only" for whatever reasons, and still keep them involved. Online collaboration needs even more "moderation/hosting" than IRL meetings, and it should be clear from the very beginning who is in charge of this.

In order for people to perform at their best they need to know what works for them and be supported on that journey. If you have a quiet environment that is distraction free and conducive to online collaboration you should definitely take advantage of it. If this environment is actually at the workplace then go to work! Working adults ideally should be empowered to make their own decisions and determine their own paths to successful outcomes.

Our entire team works remotely and from multiple countries. We do a lot of upfront work to plot our production schedule, deliverables and client review. We all understand how many hours each client gets each week. We talk in person twice a weekly (briefly) for status and utilize a daily automatic check-in, that’s sent to each team member, via Basecamp.

One thing I've found helpful is to maintain healthy boundaries within the team and respect and value other people's time and attention. During the pandemic workforce was highly exploited and best way to save yourself and your sanity and is to record all conversations, have an agenda and stick to the topic.

In today’s VUCA world, interpersonal and self management skills are critical. By improving your self awareness and implementing processes one can overcome challenges and move forward confidently while delivering value.

Open lines of communication are necessary when you have all parties working remotely. - Be respectful of time zones - Don’t expect your team to be responsive to any communication after hours - Assess and weed out unnecessary “all hands” meetings. - Life happens, always be ready to support a team member who may need to step away for a day/week unexpectedly

Having been a remote worker before COVID, it was validating to have my coworkers experience the challenges I had managed for years. Now that some people are on site and others aren't, we must consider how to "democratize" some processes. For example, if 5 people are physically present in a conference room but 1 or 2 are using Skype, will their voices be equally heard? Will they miss nonverbal cues or side comments? I once interviewed for an internal, on-site position via Zoom because other candidates couldn't interview in person. Collaboration will be different for some members of the group. How do we accommodate accordingly to be inclusive?

10 RULES FOR ONLINE & HYBRID INNOVATION WORKSHOPS Check out 10 practical rules for online workshops from the new book ‘ONLINE INNOVATION’: # 1 – Do a tech onboarding session before the workshop. #2 - Keep the boards simple. #3 - Send people real-life stuff, for engagement, inspiration and fun. #4 - Don't facilitate it alone. #5- Let people interact freely in small groups online. #6 - Use a "Star" model facilitation, when in plenary. # 7 - Engage participants also emotionally (as there are so many distractions). #8- Manage Time more strict online. #9 - Set clear instructions. #10 - Follow up to help people take action. Check out this practical new book on Amazon ✅🔝.

I completely agree. In marketing, we tend to see social dynamics unfold ourselves before it reaches the masses. As in any industry. What's our duty in today's world as communications specialists of technology? I am working to drive forethought and deep intention through my body of work and next adventure as a ways of working to achieve balance. Methodologies and modalities of aligning what it really means when competing measurements of productivity (or perceived value) set directly challenge our needs. Dolphins and humans are the only species to punish themselves more than once. It's a fascinating philosophical practical exercise that can support decisioning of HOW should something happen. To do that, we must go back to language and focus.