Advice for Outsourcing

clipped from www.forbes.com Corporations are only beginning to understand how to bridge cultural nuances, manage time zones, provide context and effectively communicate without the benefit of face-to-face interaction. Glossing over these challenges does a disservice to anyone who wants to work with a global team. Global collaboration is hard work. The management of a global team requires long-term dedication and the development of a unique skill-set--one that most project managers have never been taught. The 24-hour work day is a more difficult challenge. You need to master the daily cycle: You work. They sleep. Reverse and repeat. Theoretically, this should be more efficient than a one-time-zone workday; it should be like a relay race in which the baton is passed at the appearance of the sun on each side of the globe. Unfortunately, the baton is rarely handed off in a way that enables people to work efficiently--or get enough sleep. It just took some experience and hard work to get it right.