India and then some...

As you may have noticed, the posts were a little sparse last week as I was on vacation to India for the week. Fear not intrepid reader for I have returned with a summary of some of the things that caught my eye this past week:

- Some time back the Economist declared that social networking sites will be dead in a few years. Now that it is 2010 Facebook and Linkedin are rolling pretty strong. How many of us use these sites for networking? Building business? Recruiting? The list is pretty long. It is great to see this week's issue focusing on social networks- the podcast is great too- I am just getting in to it and like what I hear.

- BNET has a great article on communication- The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University recently completed a study on communication- the scoop? When people speak face to face, teams do better. Sounds basic huh?

Have a read and a listen and take to mind these points: Social Networking is here- like it or not. Some have called Facebook/ Twitter/ Linkedin et al as something for the kids- it is not. You should be on there managing your connections, looking for new business, looking for the next superstar for your team and keeping tabs on the competition. On top of that, you need to speak with your team. Face to face. Not by email.

A common complaint among team members on any team is about the inherent lack of communication by their managers. Email, Instant Messaging and phone calls have replaced our most basic behavior- face to face discussions. Outlook/ AIM etc. are tools to be used to push a project forward.

Get up, leave your desk and go speak to your colleague face to face.