Some time ago, one of our best programmers gave us notice; he was leaving Southern California for the trees of Oregon. But he gave us 3 months, and we used that time to transform ourselves into a true online operation. All development servers moved online, all operating and accounting software moved online, faxes went online, we put all our documents, data & knowledge online, most money came and went online, and we embraced online task management as the tool to manage our work. Between that, email, Instant Messenger, and a raft of emerging internet solutions, our programmer in Oregon remained part of the team. In fact, his effectiveness improved and management became more productive.

Not long thereafter, other programmers asked to use the online system to work out of their homes. Soon they opted for the tax benefits of being contractors, of working weird hours, and of commuting in their slippers.

Eventually, we found we could replicate the concept to functions involving everything from:

• secretarial services since we moved our documents online,
• research since almost all the data we sought was already online,
• sales & marketing since our best customers were online, and
• project & business management since everybody they would deal with was already online.

Most of this was accomplished using the internet tools and techniques developed by others, but a couple of tools we developed were big factors. KB Meister is a centralized knowledge base that allows us to store, find, and use our data & knowledge to operate the company. Task Meister is how we assign, manage, and pay for all the tasks done around here. These productivity tools have become integral parts of how we operate, and the springboard for some commercial products under the WebTeam brand.

The result is a confederacy of contractors, a network of people connected better than they were as employees. We have managed to empower contractors with the freedom to leverage their initiative, but without making them castoffs from the inner circle of employees.

The future sees us building on this experience to employ talent wherever and whenever it is available. Our approach opens the door to the disabled, the remote, those with other commitments, those in transition -- anyone with a passion and eager to be measured not just by effort but by results.

If you would like to join that team, click the Steps to Succeed.