Posted by Dana Larson on March 11, 2010
We’ve discussed how staying connected to your teammates is an important step toward overall business success. We like to make sure everyone on our team can communicate with each other and stay up to date on other’s activity, as this allows us to build on projects, tasks and ideas together.
One main way we at OnePlace stay connected is through Team Pulse. Team Pulse allows us to know what the others are currently working on, and ask questions directly to one person, the members of one workplace or the entire company.
Posted by Steve Kickert on March 10, 2010
One of the first things taught in management courses is the idea of delegating for success. This does not mean passing along all your work so you don’t have to do anything - this means splitting out the work among the appropriate members of the team to enhance the outcome of the project.
Team collaboration is bringing a lot of companies into the next tier of success. This is indicating that those managers know how to organize their team to be most efficient, and team members are working hard together to be the most effective.
Posted by Dana Larson on March 05, 2010
It’s true that business teams can benefit from some good team collaboration and increased communication. It increases the connection felt by team members, and encourages participation in all projects. With this increased communication, teams increase the success of the business.
But there’s another team that could benefit from a bit of collaboration - your home team. No, I don’t mean your favorite home town baseball or football team; I mean the team comprised of your family members.
Posted by Dana Larson on March 04, 2010
At OnePlace, we strongly believe that collaboration is the key to business success. Allow everyone an opportunity to participate on a project, and everyone can be proud of the results.
By integrating online team collaboration tools into project management, small business teams are able to keep all communications and projects organized in a centralized location. This can lead to increased task management, increased collaboration on projects and less information lost - allowing your team to be more successful.
Posted by Steve Kickert on March 03, 2010
It’s no surprise that the more communication occurring between a business team, the more connected they feel, the more productive they are and the more successful the business is. And with an increase in communication training for managers and supervisors, the trend and success of increased communication will be continuing into the future of business.
What business teams are also coming to realize is that strong team collaboration is what connects everyone to increase that communication. Identifying ways to bring a business team together on a project is an important step in the direction of increased business success.
So what about communication and collaboration increases business success?
Posted by Dana Larson on February 26, 2010
Last week, we wrote about how file sharing and file versioning within OnePlace can be a great team collaboration solution. This is especially true when many members of a large team need to update one file before a meeting or presentation.
Imagine what would happen if there weren’t a good system for tracking versions of files - how would a team know that all updates and additions were made in the right places across each version of the file? This is exactly what happened to Mark, the manager of a design company who had just landed his first big client.
Posted by Steve Kickert on February 24, 2010
When it comes to running a business, there are some great managers, and also some not-so-great managers. We’ve all had experiences with both, and after a while, we can pick out what traits we like in our managers.
One trait that is becoming more and more important for managers and supervisors are strong communication skills. Gone are the days of the manager barking out orders and hiding away in his office. Now managers are encouraged to meet face-to-face with their team on a very frequent basis and use communication to empower them to increase their success.
So how can you improve your management communication? Here are a few tips to improve your communication skills:
Posted by Dana Larson on February 23, 2010
Riverock Technologies, a software development company based in Minnesota, was founded in 2007 with one goal in mind - to provide employees with a balanced life while allowing the team to create small business software that people love to use. Riverock Technologies developed OnePlace to do just that.
OnePlace was created as the solution to effectively manage the complex projects that come with developing software. OnePlace also combines this information with personal organization to increase personal productivity. With OnePlace, users can organize their personal and professional lives in a way that keeps all tasks and projects in a central location and alleviates the stress of not knowing what is on deck for tomorrow.
OnePlace allows the team at Riverock Technologies to manage projects online and follow the agile development practices of the software industry. OnePlace is the main tool used for communication and collaboration between team members, using features such as Discussions and Team Pulse to ask questions and keep the team updated on the status of tasks. And because Riverock Technologies is a virtual company, OnePlace keeps everyone connected, making it feel like the rest of the team is in the next office.
This solution is perfect for the Riverock Technologies team, and has proven to be perfect for other small businesses as well. Read more about how OnePlace has improved business, organization and communication for Riverock Technologies, and sign up for a free 14-day trial of OnePlace to improve your business success.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 18, 2010
We truly believe that a strong team collaboration solution is the key to a growing small business. Collaboration and communication are the cornerstones for bringing team members together on projects and improving business success.
OnePlace offers many different features that aid teams in working together on projects. One of our more unique team collaboration solutions is our file sharing feature.
Posted by Dana Larson on February 09, 2010
When you think about it, there aren’t many companies that couldn’t benefit from any type of project and task management system. There are certain small businesses that don’t need this type of solution yet, but if they have any hope of being successful in the future, finalizing processes and getting organized now will definitely help.
Task management software like OnePlace can keep individuals organized, as well as business teams. And for a growing business, strong organization is necessary.
Imagine how you would handle Annie’s situation without a project management system. Annie is a young accounting professional that, after getting her first taste of the corporate world, decided to go out on her own and start a financial virtual assistant company. Annie helps small businesses with their financial needs including accounts payable and receivable and financial forecasting.
Posted by Steve Kickert on February 03, 2010
At OnePlace, we are strong believers in making the individual successful - not just professionally, but in their personal life as well. We understand the lines between work and home life are blurred more than ever, and want to manage that blurred line to keep organized and benefit all facets of life.
We have built our small business organization solution to focus on the individual first. Because of this focus, we help the individuals in any business setting improve their organizational styles and communication techniques. The skills our solution aids in developing are incredibly important workforce skills that increase the productivity and the success of that individual. And you definitely want successful people in your business.
Why? Without good, successful employees, your business doesn’t stand a chance.
Posted by Dana Larson on January 25, 2010
The OnePlace team is dedicated to using OnePlace to help organize our professional and personal lives. And if we weren’t, what kind of advocates would we be for our small business solution?
Since joining the team, I have become increasingly aware of the intricacies of OnePlace and all the cool features that make this solution great. I want to take this time to point out some of these great features in OnePlace to aid some of our current customers in using OnePlace to its fullest extent.
Posted by Dana Larson on January 18, 2010
Even in today’s economy, there are new small businesses starting up left and right. Once an idea is formed, a multitude of meetings have to occur to plan for success, such as making sure the business strategy is secure, identifying the sales and marketing plan and key messaging, and targeting the right prospects.
It’s a true fact that there are too many meetings in business. On the flip side, it is true that meetings do need to exist. The trick is making meetings as efficient and effective as possible.
When working with OnePlace as your online collaboration solution, discussions play an important role in eliminating the need for multiple meetings, and can impact the major decisions that make a business successful.
Posted by Dana Larson on January 15, 2010
Do you ever have those days where you were really busy, but didn’t end up getting anything accomplished? Or when you can’t overlook the amount of work you have to complete, so you just don’t do anything?
The team at OnePlace knows how important it is to keep on top of your goals to get work accomplished. Heck, that is why OnePlace was created! We believe that task management and team collaboration can improve the efficiency of any small business team and make them more productive.
Here are some easy to follow tips for improving your business productivity:
- Schedule Your Work - Outlining exactly what you have to accomplish each day and managing your tasks gives you a nice visual of all your work, and allows you to choose which to work on next. And nothing beats the feeling of checking things off your to do list! (read a blog post on scheduling here)
- Take Notes - Have you ever left a meeting and forgotten your next steps? Take notes when in meetings, on the phone or anytime they pop into your mind. This saves time by not having to revisit the conversations later.
- Organize Your Workspace - A chaotic workspace can distract you from the work at hand. Make sure your desk and computer desktop are neat and organized prior to beginning your work.
- Open the Doors of Collaboration - Brainstorming with team members is a powerful tool. So is the opportunity to run an idea by a coworker to see if you’re on the right track. Team collaboration tools help to open the doors and keep team members connected all day.
- Love Your Job - If you don’t like your job, you are automatically going to suck at it. Make sure that you are doing the best for your boss and yourself by finding the right job for you. If it helps, take a career assessment to find out what skills match your personality best.
- Know When to Procrastinate - Procrastination is one of the worst time-sucks in the workplace - but there is a time and place to procrastinate. By managing your tasks, you can complete what you feel like completing, and move the other items out to another time.
- Attack the Big Rocks - There are some tasks, however, that need to be worked on right away. Start working on those “big rocks” first thing in the morning. Once you get them done, you’ll feel more accomplished for the day.
- Delegate to Team Members - If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the work in front of you, ask a coworker for a bit of help. Taking 5 minutes to reassign a task and explain it to someone else will free up a lot of task time for you to accomplish everything else.
- Exercise - A mid-day heart rate boost can increase productivity for the afternoon. If you can’t do jumping jacks in your office, a lunchtime walk works just as well.
- Keep Team Members in the Loop - By sharing your to do list with coworkers, you are instantly held accountable for completing that work. Ensure you are using a team collaboration solution that offers transparency and allows team members to see other’s work easily to manage that accountability.
- Eliminate Distractions - Get rid of email, Twitter, Facebook, and other distractions on your computer and get to work. Without the distractions of questions, tweets and status updates, you will find yourself working harder on your task list.
- Work When You’re Productive - There are always going to be times in the day when you are more productive than others. For me, it’s first thing in the morning. Identify these times for yourself, and plan your work accordingly.
- Just Do It - Sometimes the best way to get stuff done is to start working. Get to work and see how much you can do :-)
Being aware of what you have to accomplish can help push you get more done. Learn what tools help you work more efficiently and continue to use them to wow your boss and feel good about your work.
What other tools do you use to keep productive?
Posted by Dana Larson on January 07, 2010
OnePlace is enabling charities and non-profit organizations to continue helping out in a more efficient way by offering free online project management and team collaboration.
New Life Church - located in Foley, MN and currently meeting in the Foley High School - needed a bit of help collaborating with employees and members. They turned to OnePlace as a virtual solution to aid in team collaboration and project management. Now the New Life Church can more easily communicate with team members and keep more organized on current and upcoming tasks.
OnePlace is proud to welcome New Life Church into the OnePlace family. We look forward to giving back to those charities and non-profits that give of themselves as we expand OnePlace and our online project management solutions.
Posted by Steve Kickert on October 25, 2009
After three solid months of work, the NEW and MUCH improved version of OnePlace shipped today.
I would like to thank all our customers for helping us make OnePlace a success and for giving us your valuable feedback. Hopefully, you will see some of your great ideas implemented in this new version.
Click here to check out the new OnePlace.
Click here to see the complete release notes
Regards,
The OnePlace Team
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Posted by Steve Kickert on September 29, 2009
We are getting close. We have been working on a major upgrade for OnePlace for over two months now, and we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are hoping it is not a train. :-)
Back in July, we met with many of you to get your feedback on how OnePlace was working for your team, and to hear what you would like to change about OnePlace. Thanks again for taking the time to do that. We listened carefully, and have made some big changes and a mountain of little ones to OnePlace as a result. We can hardly wait to let you move into your new OnePlace. We are excited to use it ourselves.
Here is an abbreviated list of the changes that are coming:
Posted by Denis Ahearn on January 20, 2009
Once in a while someone will ask us why we decided to create OnePlace, especially when you consider the number of other online tools that are available today for helping manage your projects and tasks and for collaborating with others. We have a pretty standard response to that question that I thought would be fun to share in this blog.
Posted by Denis Ahearn on January 14, 2009
Launching a startup was never considered easy. As if developing a business plan, getting funding, and focusing hard on product development wasn't enough, the entrepreneur has to worry about attracting key employees, taxes and benefits, creating a pleasant working environment, and building a culture of teamwork and collaboration.
But today's startups face an even more difficult challenge: working effectively as virtual teams. Almost every startup these days, certainly in my experience, is at least partially made up of dispersed employees—oftentimes in different cities or states, and sometimes even spread across country boundaries. Many startups, at least in the technology field, are made up entirely of individuals in separate locations. How then do they function? How can the entrepreneur possibly succeed with his or her venture if there's no single "place" where employees can regularly meet and work? Email and instant messaging are not the answer—teams become quickly overwhelmed trying to manage their collective work that way.
Posted by Denis Ahearn on December 31, 2008
2008 was a very busy year at Riverock Technologies. Our sole mission during this entire year was to prepare for successfully launching OnePlace into the market. Every day was spent focusing on this goal, which we achieved back in September when we released OnePlace for general use, and officially opened the proverbial doors for business.
So, before we close the books on 2008 and turn our attention towards the year to come, we thought it would be fun to take one last look in the rear view mirror to see what happened to OnePlace during this past year.
Posted by Graeme Thickins on December 22, 2008
TAH-DAH! We completed another upgrade to OnePlace™ over the weekend! To be precise, it happened on 12/21/08 at 7:30am CST. As you know, we push updates to OnePlace™ approximately once a week—and, in some recent weeks, we've done it even more often that that. We love listening to our customers!
What's the major addition this time? A OnePlace™ "Customer Forum"! It gives you a convenient way to communicate not only with the OnePlace team, but with other OnePlace™ customers as well! Check out this new feature today by simply clicking on the 'Forum' link in the upper righthand corner of your OnePlace™ screen. Or, you can visit the forum directly by going to the following url: http://forum.oneplacehome.com.
Posted by Denis Ahearn on December 12, 2008
One of the keys of effective team collaboration is what we like to call staying in-the-know. Knowing what your teammates have done, are doing, and plan to do is crucial for making sure that your efforts align properly with those of your team.
Unfortunately, keeping informed is not easy. Think about the team you're on right now. How many members does it have? How many initiatives is your team tackling right now? How much new information does your team receive on a daily basis? How much of what you knew yesterday will change today? Did you lose a team member yesterday? Did you gain a new one today? I could go on, but you get the point. Keeping track of all those things is difficult, and you need help.
Posted by Graeme Thickins on December 11, 2008
When we say the OnePlace™ team is ever-vigilant, folks, we're not just a whistlin' Dixie. The dedicated development team here at OnePlace's worldwide headquarters (half buried in snow here in suburban Minneapolis), never rests—constantly stretching their minds for new ways they can make your favorite software better. They never let up in their quest to help you take maximum advantage of OnePlace to boost your team's productivity. Not only did they push an update on December 8, but dog-gone if they didn't follow that with yet another one on December 10! Here's what these two updates included...
Posted by Graeme Thickins on November 28, 2008
One thing we can say about our crack development team, they are ever-vigilant. They upgraded OnePlace™ again on 11/23/08 at 7:30am CST—even though it's been less than a week since the last upgrade! The OnePlace™ team added several enhancements that have been requested by nearly everyone. Here are the highlights of this latest upgrade:
• Project "Save As" - Now you can make a copy of a project!
• List "Save As" - Make as many copies of a list as you want.
• New Bookmarks List type - Share your bookmarks with your teammates, or just keep all your favorite bookmarks in one place.
• Export Tasks preview - If you're using the Export Tasks capability, then you will love this new capability.
• TeamPulse filter update - There are now separate settings for determining: 1) who you're pulsing to, and 2) which pulses do you want to see?
That last feature will strike a chord with Twitter users! (It's part of our recently announced TeamCentral capability.) First, you can actually select who you want following you (something you can't do in Twitter). Secondly, you can select which of your team members you want to follow (same as in Twitter)—so that you're sure to see all their ongoing updates, or "pulses" as we say in OnePlace™ lingo. Best of all, it's easy for you to adjust either of these selections anytime via this TeamPulse "filter."
Posted by Denis Ahearn on November 24, 2008
In the two years that we've been focusing on providing a solution to the problems that teams face when collaborating on complex projects, it never ceases to amaze me how often we bump into people who tell us they basically use nothing more than email and instant messaging to collaborate on projects. When we meet new people related to what we do here at Riverock Technologies, we like to ask them about the tools they are currently using on their team to help them manage projects and collaborate on doing those projects. Time and time again the answer we hear, delivered with a somewhat sheepish expression, is email. Of course, we also hear of tools such as Microsoft Project and Sharepoint being used, but clearly it's in the minority. When we ask follow up questions on the usage of those tools, we usually find out they're not really being used by the people doing the actual work. Most if not all collaboration happens using email.
Posted by Graeme Thickins on November 18, 2008
This past Wednesday evening, Riverock Technologies' fearless cofounders, Steve Kickert and Denis Ahearn, took to the stage at Minnesota's own quarterly Barcamp event to demo the OnePlace™ app in the strictly proscribed time of seven minutes. And deliver it well they did—one of ten presentations to a standing-room-only, information-hungry crowd of developers, founders, VCs and other investors, marketing folks, local media, and tech bloggers, all jam-packed into the theater at Intermedia Arts in Uptown Minneapolis. It was one high-energy event focused on technology innovation in MInnesota, in the form of ten hand-picked, highly promising startups. (In the photo, Steve does the talking, while Denis mans the controls in the foreground. Photo credit: Manish Shrestha.)
Posted by Graeme Thickins on November 15, 2008
New to OnePlace™? Ready to dive in and get get going? Well, do we have a great place for you to start! It's our new "Quick Reference" page—which is instantly accessible via a link in the upper right of your OnePlace™ user interface. (Of course, first you must start a free trial to see it!) We designed it to help you get a good feel for what OnePlace™ is all about, and how you can get the most from it. No other online collaboration software has such a feature! Just another way we show our love for our users... :-)
Posted by Mark Peterson on November 06, 2008
In this day and age, many of us spend at least part of our mental bandwidth worrying about global warming, recycling, carbon footprints, carbon debts, and greenhouse gases. It's amazing to think that, only a few short years ago, most of these terms weren't even part of our vernacular and now they're part of our daily lives.
When thinking of ways to make ourselves more eco-friendly, software isn't usually the first thing that springs to mind. However, using the right software as part of your work and personal routine can indeed reduce your carbon footprint. How so? Mainly by reducing your need to travel.
Posted by Graeme Thickins on October 22, 2008
Joel Dreyfuss has a long history as a journalist; he's a well respected voice in the industry. In his current position as editor-in-chief of Red Herring, he's carrying on the mission of a very famous brand name in technology journalism, which traces back to 1993 and is now in its second coming as a source of news about innovation, technology, financing, and entrepreneurial activity.
Posted by Graeme Thickins on October 14, 2008
Minnov8.com is a news and information site about Minnesota innovation in Internet and web technology. Its About page tells the story: "Borne out of a frustration that there wasn’t a showcase for the talent, brainpower, creativity, and innovation that exists in this Land of 10,000 Lakes, several geeks set forth on a quest to deliver a destination site for just such a purpose." Steve Borsch is the lead geek, and the most frequent writer on the site. Some weeks ago, he met with Riverock's CEO Steve Kickert to learn more about the OnePlace™ online team collaboration and work management system, and later wrote an excellent piece about it.
Perhaps the best excerpt from the Minnov8 article is this one: "What did I like about OnePlace?" Borsch asked. "It’s easy to use and, within 15 minutes, I’d used most of the key features that enabled project/task management; time tracking; reporting; calendar; discussions; file sharing; notes; lists and more. I loved the iPhone interface. Connecting what we do on our desktop computers or laptops to internet/web server functionality 'in the cloud' isn’t enough when we carry around devices like an iPhone..."
Borsch concluded his article this way: "I’d encourage you to go to OnePlace and sign up for the free trial. You’ll undoubtedly see that it already has hit the sweet spot of what’s needed to collaborate with others. If you’re waiting until risk-becomes-reality and you or your company can’t go into the office and you need to collaborate virtually — or even if you figure you’ll just keep emailing around .doc’s and spreadsheets to those with whom you’re collaborating — OnePlace is an offering that is perfect for today’s increasingly mobile and always-on, always-connected workforce collaborating with one another online."
Posted by Graeme Thickins on October 14, 2008
Our local business weekly here in Minneapolis/St. Paul, The Business Journal, regularly reports on promising new startups. Recently, tech reporter Kathy Grayson, in her weekly column, interviewed Steve Kickert about Riverock's OnePlace™ online team collaboration and work management system. An excerpt: "The product offers a Web portal where employees working on group projects can find files, schedules and other information, as well as communicate. It also allows workers to collaborate across different organizations, and access data via mobile phones."
The article goes on to note that OnePlace™ users also get a private personal workplace online "where they can track their outside-of-work schedules. That’s a feature Riverock hopes will make the tool more appealing to workers, who sometimes view mandated collaboration tools as a hassle, said CEO Steve Kickert, who served as chief technology officer at HighJump for 16 years." Our local edition of The Business Journal has a paid circulation of about 12,000 for the print version, and its web site gets more than 137,000 unique visitors monthly, according to recent reports.
Posted by Steve Kickert on October 02, 2008
I have been invited to be on a panel at this years Defrag Conference. The title of the panel is "Re-imagining the metaphors behind collaborative tools". I am looking forward to it.
Posted by Steve Kickert on September 11, 2008
An exchange between two OnePlace users via IM. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.
I thought you would get a kick out of reading it.
[15:03] Peter Gibbons: Am I really going to "enjoy using OnePlace in all facets of my life"? that sounds promising and scary at the same time
[15:06] Joanna: Yes, yes you will.
[15:06] Joanna: And you'll drink the Kool-Aid.
[15:06] Peter Gibbons: Not enjoying it so far... just created my account and it's telling me I already have 3 projects due in the next week and 2 overdue...great, more work!!!
[15:06] Joanna: It's BlackBerry friendly.
[15:06] Peter Gibbons: nice
[15:07] Joanna: suggestion: modify the deadlines at will... see if Bill even notices.
[15:07] Peter Gibbons: will try that
Posted by Steve Kickert on September 06, 2008
Scheduling your work is something that seems so obvious to me now that I am surprised that every productivity application does not do this. The concept is so simple that it is often overlooked. This feature is crucial in helping me manage the chaos in my entire life.
Most people already use a calendar to schedule all their appointments. Some even go so far as to schedule blocks of time for getting their own work done. However, I have yet to meet anyone (other than other OnePlace users of course) who actually plans "when" they are going to do each task on their list. There are countless side effects of not scheduling your work. Here are just a few:
Posted by Mike Yanke on September 04, 2008
Our firm, Misukanis & Odden, is certainly no stranger to the chaos that can ensue if just one team member misses one small (yet critical) piece of a conversation involving a project. Hence marketing's "butterfly effect."
In our video below, Thomas McMahon and I walk through OnePlace's discussion feature, and illustrate how this team collaboration will help to minimize the 30-second heart attacks we can all feel when we realize a team member has not been included in a critical conversation.
Posted by Steve Kickert on August 28, 2008
One of the features that was on our MUST HAVE list since the very beginning of OnePlace was that it had to work in our personal life as well as at work.
Posted by Susan Misukanis on August 15, 2008
Team collaboration is a feature rarely thought of when a firm is making the decision to implement an online project management software solution.
Oddly, while collaboration and management may appear to exist on separate planes, they are far more interrelated than one might think - especially in our everyday lives at Misukanis & Odden.
For example, should just one bit of a discussion involving a client's project be lost to the ether - an entire project or campaign could end up in complete chaos.
In the video below, Susan & Thomas overview the concept of collaboration, and help to illustrate how it is not only a critical component of the OnePlace Chaos Management System, but a critical part of daily life at Misukanis & Odden.
Posted by Susan Misukanis on August 13, 2008
Project management can be tricky thing. This is clearly evidenced by the approximately 245 different online project management software tools available on the market today promising to herald into your firm a new and efficient collaborative environment.
After a thorough run through of what felt like 95% of all available project management tools on the market today, we at Misukanis & Odden, a high tech online marketing & PR firm in the Twin Cities, were lucky to discover the OnePlace Team Collaboration and Project Management System.
What we've discovered most about using OnePlace, and one of the features that truly sets it apart, is the ease in which you can learn its features, and conversely, the beautiful difficulty you have unlearning what you've learned.
For example, if one of our team members were to assign a task and timeline for a project, it may take a quick tutorial to discover the most efficient way to accomplish this. The next time around, not only will that team member not require a tutorial, they will likely be the tutor.
All that being said, we are still in the discovery process with OnePlace.
We truly look forward to sharing this discovery process with you over the next several weeks, both through these posts, and the videos below as produced by president Susan Misukanis, SEO designer Thomas McMahon, and Account Manager Mike Yanke.