During the age of enlightenment in the 17^th century, writers and artists, nobles and bourgeois mingled in Parisian salons to exchange ideas, read poetry and discuss politics. Two hundred years on, the Beat generation was born. In the 1950s, a group of post-WWII writers from New York City ended up in San Francisco where they proceeded celebrate spontaneous creativity and non-conformity (and ok, experiment with various ‘substances.’) What the French artists and American writers had in common was a super-charged community for brainstorming. Collectively their ideas changed the society around them.

Fast forward to 2011. We live in the age of the multinational corporations and virtual offices, where opportunities for face-to-face interactions is diminishing. Without the benefit of multiple voices and the clatter and din of conversation and debate, is it possible to come up with great ideas?

Yes, says bestselling author Steven Johnson, you can make a difference. In this intriguing presentation, “Where Good Ideas Come From,” Johnson explains that chance favours the connected mind. He says that if you have a hunch, your hunch needs to collide with other hunches to become a great idea, which can then be put into action.

Hunch or no hunch, if you’re anything like me, public brainstorming makes you nervous. I’m reluctant to speak up and offer up suggestions that could be publicly (or privately) criticized. I’d rather write my awesome ideas down and email them to the team leader. I also dislike it when a type-A person in our group hijacks the conversation and doesn’t let any of the shyer people – on occasion the most articulate and intelligent – in the group get a word in.

If you’re part of a team that is scattered across provinces, states, various time zones or an ocean or two, here are my suggestions for generating ideas during virtual brainstorming sessions:

1. Obviously use as many tools available to you - web conferencing, webinars with something like GoToMeeting. There’s Mindjet, software that allows workers to brainstorm, plan and implements projects as well as Mindomo.

2. Designate a facilitator to keep everyone focused.

3. Encourage wild ideas, there should be no ‘wrong’ ideas at phase one; the more the merrier.

4. Have a point person write the ideas down so the team can see them online as you go proceed. Don’t forget, you want your hunches to bump into other hunches and build into a terrific idea. Or several ideas.

5. Take breaks. A burnt-out team won’t be any use even if everyone is fueled by coffee.

Since I never know when I’ll get an idea, I keep notepads all over my house and one in my car. I also carry a digital recorder and there’s a voice recorder on my Smartphone, so if I get an idea while I’m driving or stuck L.A. traffic I can just start riffing. At home when I’m blocked for ideas, I go for a run in the hills, take a swim, or a long, hot shower.

I admit sitting in your virtual office waiting for a webinar to begin isn’t as romantic as, say, lounging in a salon in Paris. But with preparation, brainstorming a virtual room can be dynamic, fulfilling, and productive.

How does brainstorming work where you are? Share tips for productive brainstorming by leaving a comment here, I'd love to hear them.

Amber Nasrulla is an ex-pat Canadian writer based in L.A. who specializes in profiles from business leaders and scientists to Hollywood celebrities.” Her work has appeared in North American and British publications including L.A. Times, The Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Magazine, ELLE Canada, Chatelaine and London Weekly Times.

While a casual observer might think smartphone software is limited to Angry Birds and Facebook, there are many thousands of productivity-related applications ("apps") to enhance efficiency and remain connected while on the go.

In fact, regardless of your smartphone platform of choice – such as BlackBerry, iPhone, Android or Windows Phone 7 – each of the major players have online stores that let you wirelessly download work-related apps directly to the device, many of which are for free, allowing you to customize the phone in a number of ways.

We've covered quite a few of these productivity smartphone apps in this column, so consider the following a spring refresher of sorts -- a consolidated look at a seven of our favourite picks that can help commuters, mobile professionals and business travelers alike.

Note-worthy

Whether you're hit with inspiration and need to get the ideas down or you simply need to work on a proposal, report or sketches when you've got five minutes here and there, a free app like Evernote is a must-have for users for BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, Windows or Nokia devices. This free app lets you create, view, organize, search and share your ideas – sort of like a digital version of yellow sticky notes, if you will -- but also with the option to include voice notes, photos and videos, too, if desired. An auto-sync feature means your notes are automatically saved and accessible on other Evernote platforms, such as the web or your personal computer. A $5/month premium version adds many extra bells and whistles.

Just say it

iPhone users who fumble over the smartphone's virtual keyboard can probably get a lot more words down on the screen by simply speaking them. From Nuance, the makers of Dragon Naturally Speaking on computers, the free Dragon Dictationapp is an incredibly fast and accurate voice-to-text solution. No laborious set-up or training is required for the software to transcribe your words into text before your eyes – perfect for composing lengthy emails, talking through a rough draft of a company press release or conducting interviews you can't be bothered to transcribe manually. Once your words are down, you instantly tweak if need be (by fixing the odd word here and there) before sending it to email, text, Facebook or Twitter or copying the text to another app.

Travel talk

Parlez-vous Français? Sprechen sie Deutsch? Traveling businesspersons often find themselves in a city with a local language different than their native tongue. For this reason, Sonico GmbH's free iTranslatefor iPhone is a handy app as it can translate words, phrases and sentences to and from more than 50 languages, on the fly. Once the translation is complete, you can save, copy or share the words via email, text message, Facebook or Twitter. Optional in-app purchases can transcribe text to speech – in 16 different languages. BlackBerry and Android users can use other free language translators, including Navita Translator and Google Translation, respectively.

Speak to me

Don't want to miss an important email while walking the streets, sipping a coffee in an airport lounge or while behind the wheel? Available for BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile, iSpeech.Org's DriveSafe.ly(free for personal use) can read your incoming emails and text messages to you through the smartphone's speakers, via earphones or a Bluetooth headset. If you like, the sender also gets an automated reply to confirm the message has been received (and that you'll reply when you can). The free version reads the first 25 words of the message, but upgrading to the pro version ($30) gives you the first 500 words of a message, and other options.

Get the message

One of the most-used apps among BlackBerry users is Research in Motion's own BlackBerry Messenger(free), which lets you send and receive secure messages with others in real-time. It's fast, cheap and reliable. As a handy feature, the sent message will show a small "D" beside it to confirm the note has been delivered and an "R" when it's been read. Plus, you can engage in multi-person chats with colleagues, broadcast a message to a select group and send voice notes and other media files. iPhone and Android smartphone owners, on the other hand, might opt for free apps -- like What's App, PingChat or textPlus-- which also let you engage in real-time text chats with others, regardless of their smartphone platform.

Pass the remote

Ever left the home office and realized you needed an important email, document or other file on your computer? Rather than asking someone to email you the file, simply install the free TeamViewer software on your PC, Mac or Linux machine, and then download the free app for your iPhone or Android device. Now you can remotely log into your computer, via a secure password, and see (and control) your computer as if you were right in front of it. This remote access solution is also ideal when training someone as you're controlling their mouse from afar, as they watch and learn. TeamViewer is a free download for non-corporate use.

Google me this

Finally, while Google Maps is a convenient tool on multiple smartphone platforms, Android users get a much beefier product with Google Maps Navigation (beta), a free GPS navigation solution that not only provides visual turn-by-turn directions to a destination (with overhead or down-on-the-ground views of streets all over the world), but for drivers it includes audio-based instructions so you can keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. You can also search for local businesses, see "Street View" images with real photography, search by voice, and much more. It's a must-have app for Android owners.

Marc Saltzman is one of North America's most recognized and trusted technology experts. Based in Toronto, Marc currently contributes to nearly 50 publications, has authored 14 books and is the host of CTV News Channel's "Tech Talk," CNN's "Tech Time" and Cineplex's "Gear Guide" (seen in movie theatres across Canada).

Are there productivity apps you've discovered that you can't live without? Share them by leaving a comment here at TELUS Talks Business.

Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary was the apt venue for the Calgary Economic Development WORKshift Week keynote address yesterday. Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, the authors of Why Work Sucks And How To Fix It, offered Calgary executives and business leaders a vision of the workplace in the not-too-distant future—a results-oriented workplace where work style, location, and fixed hours cease to matter.

In a relatively short period of time, contemporary offices will become museum pieces, relics of the past, Ressler and Thompson argue. Results-oriented work focuses on outcomes rather than activities, so putting in the appropriate amount of ‘face time’ at the office is no longer necessary, they say. The style in which you work, and where and how you generate ideas is entirely up to you, as long as you deliver the required results.

Results-oriented implementation today

Results-oriented work environments have been adopted by companies of all sizes, with Best Buy and Gap Inc leading the charge in the United States. TELUS launched its Workstyles Program in 2007 to a great deal of success. After four short years, 70 per cent of TELUS employees are now working remotely on at least a part-time basis, resulting in a drastically reduced environmental footprint, increased employee satisfaction, and decreased corporate infrastructure expenses. This model of doing business is poised to spread across the nation and around the world as companies realize the ‘Triple Bottom Line' benefits in adopting results-oriented work styles.

Canada at the forefront of flexible work styles

We as a nation are predisposed to results-oriented work. With a landmass spanning 5,000 kilometers and six time zones, flexible work styles are a necessity in modern Canadian business. Increasingly, our bosses or colleagues are just as likely to be across the country as in the office next door. The Canadian economy is shifting, from one based on extracting primary resources, to an idea-centric economy, focused on delivering innovative, high-tech solutions to clients across the nation and around the world. Even companies heavily invested in primary resource development see the necessity for value-add processes to increase efficiencies in their products at home and abroad. Such a shift requires Canadians to rethink how they work. Are conference rooms and committees truly the venue where brilliant ideas are going to be generated? Or are employees more productive working in their own style, connected to the office virtually but not necessarily physically?

Einstein famously devised his brightest ideas while processing applications at the patent office—he was not pressured by colleagues to idea-generate, he was not booked into back-to-back meetings, and he was not questioned about his schedule for producing brilliance. Although your best ideas may not come while examining patent applications, your ideal work space may be a favorite coffee shop, your lounge chair at home, or swimming laps at the pool. As long as the results are delivered, you, the company, and the environment benefit.

The opportunities are in technological innovation

Technology has the amazing power to facilitate results-oriented work. The contemporary office is based on the industrial model pioneered in the 18th century. Although we have gone through paradigm shifts in technology, the notion that one needs to be present at work to work continues to be believed. The manufacturing model no longer applies to every business. In many companies, there is no longer a necessity for every employee to congregate at the office. In order to remain competitive, companies need to be nimble, able to adjust quickly to market conditions. The tools and infrastructure available today provide us with this opportunity.

Through advances in technology, we are available remotely to clients, colleagues, and stakeholders around the clock. The tools: a laptop, a mobile device, a voicemail box are already in place to enable results-oriented work. Canada is on the forefront of deployment of cellular technology, with HSPA+ wireless technology, and a 4G LTE network launching in early 2012.

A new way of doing business

Perhaps next century’s Heritage Park or other historical museums will feature traditional offices and cubicles replacing the vintage gas pumps and steam locomotives currently featured. Results proponents Cari Ressler and Jody Thompson have identified the pillars for work styles necessary for success in a 21st century world. In order for companies to prosper, the way in which their employees conduct business must change drastically. This is not an isolated example. Public education and government are similarly rethinking the ways in which they utilize technology in a wired world. A company focused on results posits a workplace where the ‘place’ does not matter. The bottom line is on delivering results.

With an increased adoption of flexible working styles, will the contemporary office become the next cultural relic, replaced by more efficient, non-traditional work arrangements?

Martin Studzinski is TELUS team member with a focus on consumer solutions, with interests in design, technology, and education reform.

What makes work and cities great in the coming years will look dramatically different than how “great” looked in the past 20 years. After all, technology has changed the way we can tackle complex urban issues, including traffic and communication.

I want to talk to you about Calgary as a model.

Calgary boasts the 2nd greatest number of head offices in Canada, next to Toronto, the highest per capita in the country. We have a disturbingly enormous issue with urban sprawl and (every economic developers dream) a booming population of young people. For context, did you know that in the past 10 years, the population of Calgary has grown by 30 per cent?

Calgary is set to take back its spot as the nation's leader in economic growth, with the city forecasted to become Canada's growth leader from 2011 to 2014. And a report by my organization, Calgary Economic Development, says the Calgary region can expect an unemployment rate of between 5.2 per cent and 6.2 per cent this year. The war for talent is back.

We are fortunate to have prosperity and we have spent money widening roads and adding lanes, expanding our Light Rail Transit system and other traditional infrastructure projects. And yet, in a recent study by the Toronto Board of Trade that examined traffic congestion in major North American and European cities, Calgary was one of the worst.

So sadly despite our efforts and investments in infrastructure our transportation issues are worsening instead getting better.

How is your city tackling the now global war for talent, the challenges associated with growth and environmental issues?

Let me introduce you to Calgary’s WORKshift program. Led by Calgary Economic Development, WORKshift is regional approach to promoting the practice of telework. It reminds us that work is something you DO not a place you GO. And it is establishing Canada’s first replicable model by which other regions can similarly adopt the practice.

WORKshift is not about companies sending their staff home to work in their bunny slippers five days a week. It’s about encouraging employees to work where and when they are most productive and efficient. Sitting in traffic for 63 minutes a day to get to and from work can, at the very least, be considered unproductive. This equates to 250 HOURS a year- just getting to and from work! Not cool.

WORKshift promotes, for example, that you work from home from 6am-9am and head into the office after the morning rush. Or that on Wednesday’s you work from your home office to avoid the disruption of the office. It’s about embracing the technology you already have (iPhone, BlackBerry, laptop) to avoid unnecessary commutes.

The models we see that work best are the part-time 1-2 day/ week arrangements, where employees get the best of the “heads down” time at home and the collaborative, social face-to-face time in the office.

So many knowledge workers spend their days in the cubicle jungle not speaking to anyone. Or better yet- how many of you have emailed the person sitting in the office next to you?

What is the greatest impediment to the growth of telework? It’s probably exactly what you’ve all caught yourselves thinking: HOW DO I KNOW

SOMEONE IS WORKING IF I CANT SEE THEM? This also roughly translates into 'I don’t trust my employees.'

Ask yourself: if your boss came to you tomorrow and asked you to take on a project team in a city on the other side of the country, would you say “No way! If I can’t physically be with them all the time to monitor them I couldn’t possible manage them”? I doubt it. And if you did, you probably wouldn’t be long for that job.

We are ALREADY managing virtual teams.

What you would be more likely to say is: “Yes, that would be grand. I’m going to fly there, get to know them, set project objectives and deliverables, and establish a standard for communication” We already know that we can manage by results rather than line of sight.

So … why can’t we bear the thought of “allowing” our trusted high-performers to work from home occasionally?

Daniel Pink’s NYT best seller Drive examines the recent research and science about human motivation.  Most of us have worked all of our careers in environments that were established under a set of assumptions that went something like this: “If I monitor you and bonus you, you will do great work”. 

The research tells us this: You give people with complex jobs autonomy, they perform BETTER.

You get better business outcomes. It's a fact.

And yet: When I meet with business leaders and suggest that 33% of Canadians would take a pay cut to have the option to telework and that they should integrate this into their business, they look at me like I am crazy.

As Dan Pink asserts, “There is a mismatch between what science knows and business does.” Do you agree?

If I haven’t yet convinced you of the validity of this approach, check out www.workshiftcalgary.com for details and resources.

Robyn M. Bews is the program manager for WORKshift.

This week in 15 Minutes is Brett Marchand, president and CEO of Cossette.

Vision 7 International is among the top 25 international marketing communications companies in the world, with some 1,450 employees in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. It has two operating divisions: Cossette (http://www.cossette.com), an integrated agency that occupies a leadership position in Canada, and Esprit de Corps Communications, a group of discipline-specific marketing agencies. Cossette has offices in Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax.

This is part one of a two-part interview.

1.            What’s your favourite new technology and why?

A: We recently moved the entire company to Google Apps and Gmail and I think we’re one of the first companies with more than a few hundred employees to do so. We had a variety of reasons for making this switch. It is certainly more efficient for e-mail – it’s nice not to have an inbox of 50 e-mails; the way it organizes them is great. The collaborative documents make editing documents on the fly in a conference call that much easier. It also has great search functionality, allowing you to archive all your e-mails, but not delete them. Plus, there is unlimited storage: I have yet to receive a Blackberry message indicating that I’m over capacity.

On every level, Google Apps has been a great new technology for our business.

2.            Business people often reference the ways in which their personal experiences inform their work. How do your personal experiences with technology influence your professional life?

A: I have a very mobile family and have integrated an iPad into our daily lives. My daughter uses an iPhone, my son uses a PSP and my wife has a Blackberry.  We also own three laptops.

I’ve seen first-hand that being mobile and accessible at all times can be quite beneficial for your workplace. We’re constantly making changes at Cossette where we invest in technology to give people the freedom to work away from their office and embrace flexibility. It’s important for people to be connected but also have work life balance.

Personally, I work from home, often once a week. That’s possible because of things like Google Apps, my iPhone, and because I’m mobile. I can stay in touch and get just as much work done from home as in the office.

3.            Did technology play a role in growing your business or making a process more efficient in the last 12 months?

A:  It certainly did.  Besides Google Apps and other investments we’ve made that I’ve mentioned, digital is a huge part of our business. Digital overtook traditional advertising for us as a business last year, so globally, one third of our revenue comes through some kind of digital business, whether that be social media or e-commerce.  It’s been the fastest growing part of our business.

4.            If you could invent a technology to solve a current business problem of yours, what is the problem and what would the technology do?

A:  The problem - the time and hassle that it takes to fill out expense reports and time sheets. There’s got to be a way to simplify it. The technology – I know of an app that allows you to scan a UPC code and it automatically records the calories. We need a technology that provides the same kind of assistance for time sheets and expense reports.

5.            Does your team know how to maximize the technologies that are key to your business processes? What’s your best training ‘tip’?

A:  No and I’m not sure anyone does.  The negative part about always being “on” is that people have less time for training and learning technologies. The irony of the new generation is that they are so adept at technology; I’m not sure they really have enough time to actually be trained on how to use it to its full potential. When we moved to Google apps, people who were over 40 took a full day course on it and people under 30 didn’t attend training. Those under 30 are much more comfortable with the technology, but I’m willing to bet that the people who attended the training know how to utilize the platform to its fullest extent, compared to the younger group.

6.            In your position, are you aware of – or an early adopter of – technology that has yet to come to mass market that you believe will eventually surface?

A: It depends how early you mean by early. I had an iPad before you could buy one in Canada. I have remote access through my iPhone and my iPad to my home networks. I’m using Bit Torrent to watch movies.

We know this from our media expertise that people are going to be downloading their movies and TV programming. Today there are few people using the technology that way but there is going to be a monumental shift in the coming years.

Friday: Innovation in the workplace

TELUS Talks Business is celebrating 2011 with a series of one-on-one interviews with executives at enterprise-sized companies to gather their perspectives on business this year. Technology, innovation and opportunities are the focus.

Is there an executive in your company with a unique perspective on leadership, technology and innovation? To recommend him or her for a 15 Minutes interview, please leave a comment here requesting the survey.

My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already done what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post was: How to Lead, Build a Culture, and Prioritize like S. Truett Cathy (Billionaire restaurateur)

Today we're going to look at how a single mother on welfare followed her passion of writing and became the first billion-dollar author and the highest earning novelist in history. This is the story of J.K. Rowling and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from her success.

Must Watch Video

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - J.K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling (born 31 July 1965) is a British author best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series. Rowling was a single mother living on welfare. Working as a secretary was not how she had envisioned her life. She had admittedly reached her own personal rock bottom. Without even enough money to pay the electricity bill, Rowling knew she had to do something to provide a better life for her baby daughter. But what, she wondered. The answer came to her while riding the train one day; that was when Harry Potter came to life.

After completing the first Harry Potter book, twelve publishers rejected it. But number thirteen proved to be the lucky one. Within a few months, Rowling’s Harry Potter character had come to life between the pages of a book in England. A few months after that, the American rights to the novel were bought for a hefty sum. With that, Rowling finally quit her teaching job and decided to focus full-time on writing.

Today, the stories Rowling first wrote in coffee shops have become famous the world over as not only books, but also movies, computer games, music, and more. She is the world’s first billion-dollar author and the highest earning novelist in history. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies and been the basis for a popular series of films. In 2007, Time Magazine name Rowling runner-up for its Person of the Year and in 2010, Forbes estimated her net worth to be US$1 billion.

Action Item #1: Get Over Your Fear of Failure

Nobody wants to fail but you can't let the fear of failing prevent you from making important decisions in your life. Anything worth doing will come with a healthy dose of fear - successful entrepreneurs are the ones who can plough through that fear and come out victorious on the other side.

Rowling couldn't believe the number of different stories publishing houses gave her as to why they didn't want to print her manuscript. Her story was too long, too fantastical, and wouldn't do well selling to a mainstream audience, they said. She remained patient and had faith in her product. She continued to send it out to publishing houses until she found one who saw in her story what she did: a success. It was one year from the time Rowling finished the very first Harry Potter book to the time that a publisher finally agreed to buy and publish it.

According to Rowling: “Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve. I was determined to try. I was determined to try because, frankly, my life was such a mess at this point, what – what was the worst that could happen? Everyone turn me down? Big deal.”

Action Item #2: Make Every Second Count

You only have so much time in the day to get work done and, as entrepreneurs, we usually have too many projects on the go to keep track of. It's hard work getting a business off the ground and you need to make every second count.

Harry Potter came to life on a day that Rowling was stuck on a train between Manchester and London during a four-hour delay. The passenger sitting next to her might have used the time to catch up on some sleep, but Rowling was determined to use the time to her advantage. Whether it was a 15 minute break from her secretarial duties at Amnesty International or a 30 minute nap time break from her baby daughter, Rowling used every spare second to dream up and jot down points for her story.

According to Rowling: “Where the idea for Harry Potter actually came from, I really couldn’t tell you. I was traveling on a train between Manchester and London and it just popped into my head. I spent four hours thinking about what Hogwarts would be like – the most interesting train journey I've ever taken. By the time I got off at King's Cross, many of the characters in the books had already been invented.”

Action Item #3: Love What You Do

If you don't love what you do, you're not going to have much success and entrepreneur. You're going to quit as soon as it gets tough and you're not going to make a meaningful contribution to your community. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know it's right when you find it.

Rowling wanted to make her contribution the world, to add her unique something that nobody else could bring to the table – and that unique something was her writing. She never went searching for the kind of success she has received today. She simply wanted to do best what she loved most, and that was writing.

According to Rowling: “I just write what I wanted to write... I write what amuses me. It’s totally for myself... I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I'm sure that I will always be a writer.”

True Story

Harry Potter  was not an instant success. In fact, at the very first book reading that Rowling did for her first Harry Pottery novel, only four people showed up to hear her. The staff at the book store felt so sorry for her that they stood around and listened too. Rowling’s editor then advised her to "get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children’s books.”

More Quotes

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

"Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences."

"Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve. I was determined to try. I was determined to try because, frankly, my life was such a mess at this point, what – what was the worst that could happen? Everyone turn me down? Big deal."

Contest

Congratulations to John for winning the Martha Stewart card from my Entrepreneur Heroes series by writing a this comment on my last post. John, please contact me so I can get the card sent to you.

For this week's contest I'm going to give away a Milton Hershey card. At 19, Milton Hershey began a candy business in Philadelphia. When it failed he tried again in Denver, New York, Chicago and New Orleans - all failed. After 9 years of trying, he kept at it and finally succeeded in a new venture: chocolate.

"Give them quality. That’s the best kind of advertising in the world... One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy." - Milton Hershey

To win the card all you have to do is leave a comment below. One winner will be selected at random from the comments.

How did you get over your fear of failure? Do you make every second count? What part J.K. Rowling's message impacted you the most? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of J.K. Rowling articles or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.

This week in 15 Minutes is Michael Murphy, Vice President & General Manager of Symantec (Canada). Symantec (www.symantec.com) is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Its well-known Norton products protect consumers from cybercrime with technologies like anti-virus, anti-spyware, phishing protection, and reputation-based technologies codenamed SONAR, Quorum and Insight. Symantec has 18,500 worldwide employees. Based in Mountainview, California, it reported revenue of $5.99 billion (USD) in 2010. (Canadian operations contributed roughly $190 million USD.)

This is part one of a three-part interview.

1.            What’s your favourite new technology of 2010? And why?

The iPad. Aside from the cool factor…it’s not going to my replace my PC or laptop or my home computer but, for someone like me, who travels a lot and reads a lot, it is a tremendous device. I used to carry two or three inches of paper in my briefcase. An inch of it was Symantec work and there were industry magazines and my usual collection, The Economist, Harvard Business Review, and some hobby magazines. When I go for an overnight trip I don’t even need to bring my laptop. And I carry a smaller briefcase!

2.            Successful business people often reference the ways in which their personal experiences inform their work. How do your personal experiences with technology influence your professional life?

The root of what I am is a technology guy. Even my hobbies, which are based around home theatre, home automation, I’m always examining the technology that is new. Not all of them are good, of course. There is a hard separation between my work life and my professional life when it comes to technology.

3.            In what specific ways did technology play a role in growing your business in the last 12 months?

Last year, there was an advent of bad or malicious technologies, malware. We developed the good technology to combat the bad technology. You saw a lot of targeted threats moving to individuals, small businesses and consumers, targeting information for the purpose of identity theft. You also heard of Wiki Leaks and the malicious insider gathering information and leaking it to a lot of countries’ embarrassment. If you look at the technology and the threat landscape, that’s probably the biggest. There’s also been this move to the consumerization of IT – that is, employees want to bring in every new device, whether it be an iPhone or iPad or DROID into the work environment, much to the chagrin of the IT department who like standards and organization. This obviously introduced a lot of risk but this afforded Symantec the opportunity to develop new technology and release it into the marketplace…such as reputation-based technology. Reputation, by its nature, takes the strength in numbers, the opinions or capabilities formed by the millions of users out there, to protect others that may not be part of that group. Case in point,  SONAR – that has been in our consumer products for four years now and has only just been introduced in our enterprise products –  there are 175 million individual customer machines or PCs in the world that have contributed data to our reputation-based system starting in 2007. More than 39 million of those customers have voluntarily opted in and actively contribute data about their systems, about the applications and files that they use. At this point our Insight Technology (a cloud-based approach) has 2.5 billion thumbnails that allows us the “reputation” to determine good from bad.

Reputation is based on age, source, origin, behaviour. That was always the challenge. We didn’t know what was good so we spent all of our efforts in the industry focussing on the bad. But the bad is so big that you can’t protect against all of it. The analogy I use since 9/11 is, when you’re travelling by airplane, going through security is an onerous task. You’ve seen the signs, the things that are banned from airplanes. There’s a point that list becomes so long, that you might as well say, ‘Everything is banned except for these five things on the Good List’: a book, a wallet, reading glasses, your child …you can’t bring your shoes, until after they’ve been scanned.

4.            If you could invent a technology to solve a current business problem of yours, what is the problem and what would the technology do?

A lot of threats today are to information data because that’s where that the lifeblood of humankind is now. The biggest challenge customers have today that isn’t easily solvable – although there is work being done on it – is context. Being able to assess and analyze the context and relevance of information we are creating today. There’s obviously an explosion of information, a lot of unstructured data that we create at social networks, or volumes of data at home at work, digital media, photos…and we share all that. That data doesn’t sit in databases in a structured form. Very little categorization is applied to it. As humans our brains can easily classify information based on its sensitivity or its risk i.e. this is important and is something I might not want to share with my family or with my neighbours or with colleagues. In the business world, there are context engines that we have. Data-loss prevention technology does its best to looks at words or words in sentences, to be able to suggest that this information needs to be treated differently, but because we haven’t advanced very far on artificial intelligence in being able to make computers do what the human brain and experience and rational thought can do, that’s a piece of technology that could go a long way.

5.            In your position, are you aware of – or even an early adopter of – technology that has yet to come to mass market, but that you believe will surface eventually and change lives?

There are filtering engines that exist in software that prevent bad things from coming in to networks or households and there’s filtering capabilities that prevent certain data from going out. But they’re not foolproof because they have a hard time keeping up with the context. I have three young children and they spend loads of times on the Internet and I have concerns. You take the physical world, the world of the playground and the community street and we’re good at street-proofing our kids, but how do we street-proof them on the Internet? You can spend a lot of time talking to your kids, saying don’t talk to strangers [or] if somebody approaches you or gives you something because in the physical world they can touch, they can see, they can experience. In the electronic world it’s a little harder. It’s anonymous. How do you know the 10-year-old on the other end isn’t a 40-year-old?

6.            So technology is created to be more insightful?

Yes, and it’s an incremental milestone of achievement. I’ve seen that. I’m talking about defensive technologies that prevent less social engineering of individuals, whether it be older people getting swindled out of their retirement funds or whether it be people being duped for identity theft or children being bullied in the playground or even younger children being exploited by online predators. It runs the gamut from the young to the very old. They’re no different than the physical world scams of yesterday, they’re just anonymous now and remote because of the Internet.

Friday: I.D. theft; user authentication; data encryption. Where to begin?

Do you leave the doors of your house open all day? Didn’t think so. How well are your computer systems protected? Tell us about the last time you had a security breach or a virus froze operations. How did you handle it? What's top of mind for your IT security teams in 2011?

Hello! Linda OJ here again to share some thoughts on working from home. A lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to work from home and this can be for a variety of reasons. Firstly, let me share my own story and some of my first experiences working from home. I will also share with you the names of some very famous people who also used to work from home, in the early days of their businesses.

As an entrepreneur I had no idea when I made the decision to start my own business where I would actually work. I had no office space to speak of—just whatever room there was in our home. Back then I was living in a 1,800 square foot back-split home with my husband and four children. We had no spare bedrooms to use as an office, but our sunken family room had an area that we thought would work. Just as you walk down the stairs from the kitchen and hallway there was a great area for a desk! The powder room was opposite; a bedroom just off the family room; and a nice loud television to make everything for my new office space just perfect.

Does this look familiar?

It did not take me long to realise this space was not so perfect! I couldn’t work in those conditions. Imagine trying to work on a presentation with flip chart paper all over the floor and members of my family, and sometimes their friends, having to manoeuvre around me. My concentration was shot and my stress level hit the roof.

The solution we came up with was to ask my youngest son if he would like us to create a new bedroom for him in the basement and he would have more privacy, this also meant I had an office upstairs that was private and all mine. Those days are a distant memory and I have come a long way since then, 10 years in fact.

Your Home Office Environment

So, once you have your office space identified the next step would be to ensure you have the correct phone system, computer, furniture and lighting. Ergonomic concerns are very important in the sense if your desk and chair are not a good fit, you could end up with back pain or other serious health issues. Lighting is another aspect of this: you need to have a well-lit office, with a window for fresh air if possible.

I’m a firm believer in having a wall planner that’s placed right by your desk—as close as possible to your line of sight. Don’t just rely on technology to keep track of all your appointments, commitments and reminders. Having these thoughts in a place constantly visible acts as a continuous reminder to stay focused on the tasks ahead.

Once your office is set up and you look around, you realise you are home alone in your office, and you may feel very lonely. You may have been used to a corporate environment and had other people working around you, or with you (in the flesh so to speak) and now you are totally alone. You certainly might find this an uncomfortable feeling at first.

An organized and tidy home office.

Another important part of working alone is the discipline it takes not to answer the doorbell, when you know any personal visitors will impact your daily routine. Ensuring that family members who may be around when you are working know that at certain times of the day, you are not able to offer them a lift to school or pop to the shops for them. This can create challenges, but setting guidelines early on can help set their expectations.

Staying Connected

A lot of your work may be done on the computer, so how do you feel connected to your customers, business partners and so on? I was fortunate enough to have a webcam, which helped me with face-to-face conversations with customers and business partners, albeit on the computer.

It is quite beneficial to have some of the social media sites open at the same time you are working, and you can think of the people you connect with the same as you would if you worked in the same office and saw each other every day. These connections can enjoy a coffee break with you and you can put aside 15 minutes to chat about everything but work, if you so choose. Social media sites also offer you the chance to network and find certain skill sets you might need, or enjoy another’s opinion or advice if needed. Keeping current and knowing what is going on in the business world can easily be done on line and this is important for your sanity and your career!

Set aside dates for networking outside of your home office and enter them on your planner. In-person interaction is refreshing and allows you to enter into those little conversations that lead to bigger things.

Work From Home Benefits

A growing number of today’s employers offer the chance for their employees to work from home, even if on an occasional or part-time basis. This can help the company reduce facilities costs, and contribute to a more balanced lifestyle for their employees. Studies have proven that this flexibility is ultimately rewarded with increased productivity, reduced time lost to sickness and other benefits.

Whether you work from home because you are a sole proprietor or because your large corporation deemed that you could, you still have the same work to do and in a certain time frame.  If you are dedicated and passionate about your work you may forget to take a break, eat lunch or even go outside for some fresh air, and this can lead to health challenges, which in turn means you might not be able to work because you are sick! One idea could be you set a time for tea break, and make sure you take that time to walk to the kitchen and put the kettle on or grab a bottle of juice out of the fridge. If you feel lonely and wish you had someone to chat with, you may have to make do with the family pet due to time restraints, but at least your pet knows you care and you are taking some time for you.

A lot of small businesses start out in the early years working from home but quickly grow too large and successful to continue doing that and some very famous names, such as:

• Apple’s Steve Jobs built computer systems in his garage with his buddies. He was not the first, he just did it well and expanded the business.
• Margo Elliopoulos has seen the future, and it looks tasty. She started Bluewater Cuisine Catering in 1979, selling home-baked chocolate-chip cookies to stores and making gourmet lunches for charter fishing trips off the island of Hawaii.
• Grammy award-winning musicians OutKast started in a basement recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia.

I would not say that everyone is cut out to work home, alone, but needs must and if you have to work from home at least make it an experience you enjoy: one that is a safe and fun environment.

“Working at home means a busy signal when you try to call in sick.”
- Cheryl Demas, WAHM.com

Do you work from home? Would you like to share your experiences? Please let us know what your top work-from-home challenge is and what you find to be most beneficial.

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is a President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org

In the world of smartphones, it might seem as though there is no technological life beyond BlackBerries, iPhones or Androids with their inherently delicate screens and interior gadgetry.

If an accidental drop has ever made you think about how much you might have to pay when your device slips onto the floor or into a puddle then this article is for you.

Rugged devices have been around for almost as long as regular, non-rugged devices and they come as well equipped. The big difference between the original rugged options of yesterday and those of today is the look and feel. Today’s devices come in a variety of designs from flip phones to sleek and thin smartphones and then there’s also the option of adding a rugged, protective case.

But as shown in the table below, not all rugged options are created equal and some will stand up to the elements more than others:

So how do you know whether rugged is right for you? And once you determine that, which option is best? Here are a couple of good questions to ask yourself to start figuring it out.

• Consider your industry and the structure of your business – some considerations may include whether you have multiple employees who are on the road more than they are in the office, if they work in all types of weather or in harsh environments.  You may also simply want the peace of mind.  In all of these cases, rugged may be the right option.

• Look at the demands of your business – once you’ve determined that rugged is right, what level of ruggedness do you need? Will a case do the trick or do you need a rugged, military-spec or intrinsically safe device? You don’t want your employees to be more concerned about their phone than the task at hand.

• Calculate your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) - you want your technology investments to last and you don’t want to spend more than you need to with breakage/replacements, cases and/or extra warranties. 

Here is an example that calculates and compares the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for an iPhone, a Blackberry Torch with a protective Otterbox case and the Motorola Defy:

Rugged could be right for your business. How are you evaluating?

Rebecca is a TELUS product manager responsible for mobile rugged devices.