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 Managing
Virtual Teams:
Getting the Most From
Wikis, Blogs, and Other
Collaborative Tools

M. Katherine Brown
Brenda Huettner
Char James-Tanny

Wordware Publishing, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brown, M. Katherine, 1965-.

Managing virtual teams : getting the most from wikis, blogs, and other
collaborative tools / by M. Katherine Brown, Brenda Huettner, and
Char James-Tanny.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index
ISBN-10: 1-59822-028-4 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59822-028-5
1. Virtual work teams--Computer network resources. 2. Teams in the workplace--
Computer network resources. 3. Business communication--Computer network
resources. 4. Project management--Computer network resources.
I. Huettner, Brenda. II. James-Tanny, Char. III. Title.

HD66.2.B76 2006
658.4'022--dc22 2006037027

© 2007, Wordware Publishing, Inc.

All Rights Reserved
1100 Summit Ave., Suite 102
Plano, Texas 75074

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by

any means without permission in writing from
Wordware Publishing, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN-10: 1-59822-028-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59822-028-5
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
0611

All brand names and product names mentioned in this book are trademarks or service marks of their respective
companies. Any omission or misuse (of any kind) of service marks or trademarks should not be regarded as
intent to infringe on the property of others. The publisher recognizes and respects all marks used by companies,
manufacturers, and developers as a means to distinguish their products.
This book is sold as is, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, respecting the contents of
this book and any disks or programs that may accompany it, including but not limited to implied warranties for
the book’s quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Neither Wordware
Publishing, Inc. nor its dealers or distributors shall be liable to the purchaser or any other person or entity with
respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

All inquiries for volume purchases of this book should be addressed to Wordware
Publishing, Inc., at the above address. Telephone inquiries may be made by
calling:
(972) 423-0090
Contents

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Part I: Building and Managing a Virtual Team

Chapter 1 Understanding Team Dynamics in a Virtual Environment . . . . . . . 5

Lifecycle of a Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Characteristics of an Effective Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Shared Team Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Ability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Desire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Characteristics of an Effective Team Leader . . . . . . . . . . 13
Challenges and Opportunities with Virtual Teams . . . . . . . 18
Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Personnel Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chapter 2 Setting Up a Virtual Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Hiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Before You Need to Hire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
During the Hiring Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Selecting Team Members from within the Organization . . . . 41
Establishing Team Structure and Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Structure, Roles, and Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Core Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Associated Subject Matter Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

iii
Contents

Localization and Other Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Setting the Ground Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Initial Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Teambuilding Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
In Person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Virtually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Building a Team Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Chapter 3 Evaluating Your Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
What Are You Trying to Accomplish? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
What Are Your Current Capabilities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Hardware/Software Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Communication Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Who Is on Your Team? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Which Tool Is Appropriate for Each Task? . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Chapter 4 Communicating with the Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . 80
One-to-One Conversations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
One-to-Many Email . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Sample Email Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
One-to-Many Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Many-to-Many Team Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Before the Meeting Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
During the Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Special Notes for Voice-Only Meetings . . . . . . . . . 90
Special Notes for Text-Only Meetings . . . . . . . . . . 91
When the Meeting Is Over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Chapter 5 Project Planning and Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Scope of the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

iv
 Contents

Cost Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Tracking Your Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Incorporating Progress into Your Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Chapter 6 Collaborating and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Working Collaboratively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Agile Environments and Virtual Teams . . . . . . . . . . 116
Working with Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Localization/Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Components of an RFP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Evaluation Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Production or Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Contractors/Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Challenges for Virtual Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Do Not Leave Anyone Behind! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Managing Conflict within Your Team . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 7 Conducting Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Content Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Technical Reviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Get the Right People Involved Early . . . . . . . . . . 143
Identify the Review Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Plan and Prepare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Provide Clear Objectives and Instructions for
Each Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Clearly Identify the Purpose, Audience, and Scope . . 146
Provide Sufficient Time for the Review . . . . . . . . 147
Manage the Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Follow-up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
In-country Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Problems that Can Arise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Why In-Country Reviews Go Wrong . . . . . . . . . . 154
Reviewer Skills Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Best Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Sign-off (Approval) Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Performance Appraisals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

v
Contents

Project Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Milestone Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Who Should Attend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Reporting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Post-Project Evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Preparation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Follow-up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Chapter 8 Managing Risk and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Changes to Team Structure or Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Planning for Personnel Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Welcoming New Team Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Preparing for the New Arrival . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Integrating the New Person with the Team . . . . . . 179
Handling Personnel Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Product Design or Documentation Changes . . . . . . . . . . 181
Best Practices in Change Management . . . . . . . . . . 181
Integrating Localization into the Process . . . . . . . . . 184
Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Chapter 9 Evaluating Project Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
What Are Metrics? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Where Do You Start? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
What Do You Measure? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
How Do You Measure? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Automatic Tracking Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Manual Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Using Survey Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
After You Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
1. Compare the Numbers within Categories and
Across Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
2. Look for Trends and Trouble Spots . . . . . . . . . . 205
3. Store the Information so that Your Team and
Other Teams Can Access It in the Future . . . . . . . 207

vi
 Contents

4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Part II: Evaluating the Tools

Chapter 10 Comparing Features, Tools, and More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Comparing Tasks and Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Chapter 11 Installation, Customization, and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Installing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Using Fantastico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
General Installation Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Customizing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Implementing Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Challenge Emails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
CAPTCHA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Whitelists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Role-based Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Chapter 12 Collaborative Software Suites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Chapter 13 Meeting and Communication Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Instant Messaging (IM) Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Customizing IM Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Adding Security to Instant Messaging . . . . . . . . . . 240
IM Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Web-based Meeting Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Web-based Meeting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Chapter 14 Information Broadcasting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Blogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Blog Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Podcasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Creating a Podcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Finding Existing Podcasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
The Future of Podcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Podcast Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

vii
Contents

Chapter 15 Information Sharing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Calendars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Calendar Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
File Sharing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Forums and Bulletin Boards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Application Sharing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Chapter 16 Information Gathering Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Time Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Chapter 17 Wikis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Chapter 18 RSS Feeds and Other “Push” Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Emails, Faxes, and Voice Mails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Newsletters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
RSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Creating and Validating an RSS File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Using HTML in RSS and Atom Feeds . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Applying Formatting to RSS and Atom Feeds. . . . . . . 295
Vulnerabilities in RSS Feeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Syndicating an RSS Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Using an RSS Aggregator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Vulnerabilities with Aggregators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Appendix A It’s a Wiki Wacky World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Appendix B Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

viii
Acknowledgments

It has been said that books are not written in a vacuum.

A book on the subject of virtual teams by three authors
who live in different time zones definitely proves that
statement.
We would like to thank Mike Markley, Judy Herr, and
our editor, Beth Kohler, for their assistance in reviewing
the book. Brian Walker shared information on accessibil-
ity for different applications. Thanks also to Paula Berger
for her support and advice.
We are also grateful to our friends and colleagues in
the Society for Technical Communication and IEEE-Pro-
fessional Communication Society for their years of advice,
mentoring, support, and encouragement.
Kit would like to thank her family, particularly her
grandmother Virginia Brown, for their support and
encouragement, and Merlin the wonder dog for keeping
her sane. Keri Webster, Stephanie Bates, Jean Labrenz,
Dave Antonie, Sarah and Todd Harris, Elton and Kathy
Hall, and Elizabeth Greene have been stalwart friends
and advisors. Many thanks to Lisa Claypool-Lund, Dave
Hoekstra, and the rest of the Loomis Social Club for the
many years of friendship, support, twisted humor, and
gaming. Without you, Kit would not be the person she is
today.
Brenda would like to thank everyone who has
inspired her in so many ways. The desire to learn new
things and the urge to share that knowledge comes from
her parents, James Phalon and Mary Phalon Ondrick,
who though very different from each other, both contrib-
uted to her today. The opportunities to fulfill that desire

ix
Acknowledgments

and satisfy that urge come from the constant support of

friends, family, and colleagues, new and old.
Char thanks her son, Jesse Freeman, for having so
many interests and making life so fascinating (not many
authors get to keep baby corn snakes warm while
researching the latest application features!), and her hus-
band, Jim Freeman, for making our home into a virtual
working environment (because otherwise, there would be
no “backyard office”). The group at HOT made sure that I
knew what was going on in the world when I did not
have time to read the latest news sites, and kept me
entertained with links, videos, and games. And I truly
appreciate all those on my buddy lists who answered
questions, provided late-night conversations, and made
me laugh… you know who you are.
Thanks to the following for allowing us to use their
works: Laurel Wagers, editor of MultiLingual magazine,
for granting permission to use significant portions of the
following 2006 articles by M. Katherine (Kit) Brown:
“Working on multicultural teams,” “Integrating localiza-
tion into change management,” “Developing an effective
request for proposal,” and “Effective in-country reviews:
best practices”; Dr. Bernard Bass for his “Key Dimensions
of Leadership” table, which appears in Chapter 1; the San
Francisco chapter of the Society for Technical Communi-
cation for the “Ten Proven Ways to Get Along with
People” article in Chapter 6; TECHWR-L for allowing us
to use a 2001 article by M. Katherine (Kit) Brown that
appeared on TECHWR-L (http://www.techwr-l.com/
techwhirl/magazine/writing/effectivetechreviews.html)
for significant portions of the technical review section in
Chapter 7; and Roland Tanglao for his “How Blogs Work
in 7 Easy Pieces” diagram in Chapter 18.

x
Introduction

There are lots of good books available today about how

to use collaborative tools like wikis, blogs, RSS, and
messaging systems. They usually cover the conceptual
basics needed to implement the specific tool, and then go
into detail about how to implement and manage the vari-
ous tool features. Tools books are often designed for
technical people who already have a grounding or experi-
ence in what the tool is and why they want to use it.
There are even more good books available about how
to manage teams, how to manage projects, and how to
manage cross-cultural or international teams. Typically
aimed at managers, these books are packed with theory
and many good tips on how to get along with various
types of people, but are often vague about the specific
tools that are available for project management.
We wanted to write a book that brings these two areas
together. Managers need to understand what tools and
technologies are available in order to make good choices,
and they need to be able to use these tools to support
good management practices. As businesses grow increas-
ingly global, and companies are outsourcing to vendors
across town, across the country, and across the world, we
decided to focus specifically on how to choose and use
tools to manage virtual teams.
This book does not specifically recommend any one
tool over another. We believe strongly that the “best tool”
is going to be different for every situation. Rather, this
book attempts to explain the types of tools available, to

xi
Introduction

describe what kinds of things you can do with these tools,

and to show a sampling of how some of the current tools
compare to each other in order to help you make better
choices.
Part I, “Building and Managing a Virtual Team,” cov-
ers the basics of team and project management with
particular emphasis on the unique challenges of virtual
teams and plenty of cross-references to the tools you need
to be successful. Part II, “Evaluating the Tools,” describes
the different features of each type of tool, and shows
some of the differences (and similarities) between the
tools available today.

Caution: New virtual and collaborative tools are

being released every day. Rather than attempt a compre-
hensive list of all available tools, we have chosen a
variety of tools that are representative of the functional-
ity that is currently available. Read this book to gain a
general understanding of what to look for when evaluat-
ing tools, then refer to the references listed throughout
the book and to the companion wiki at
www.wikiwackyworld.com for more complete lists of
tools.

Since we three co-authors were collaborating in a virtual

environment, we actually used many of the tools dis-
cussed while creating this book. Many of the examples we
use throughout the book are based on our experiences as
co-authors. The primary tool, a wiki we called “Wiki-
WackyWorld,” became a critical resource not only in our
planning and writing efforts, but in our delivery to our
reviewers and to our publisher. Now that we have finished
writing the book, we are opening the site so that you can
see a real-life example of a wiki at work. Appendix A lists
many of the features available on WikiWackyWorld and
how to use them.

xii
 Introduction

Appendix B is a glossary of many of the terms used

throughout the book.
If you have comments or questions about the book,
or about the topic of virtual collaborative tools, go to our
wiki site at http://www.wikiwackyworld.com to partici-
pate in our growing community. You can email us at
authors@wikiwackyworld.com.

Kit Brown
Brenda Huettner
Char James-Tanny

xiii
This page intentionally left blank.
 Part I

Building and
Managing a Virtual
Team
A recent study by the American Business Collaborative
found that over 80 percent of the workers surveyed are
involved in some way with virtual work teams. These
teams include those who work from home, those who
work at a customer site, and teams who work in offices
across town, across the country, or across the world.
In all cases, the primary challenge to the arrangement
was found to be cultural. When you are working with
someone who is not physically in your office, it is much
harder to drop by for a chat, call last-minute meetings, or
share hardcopy information. However, you can make
adjustments to your processes and work habits to increase
teamwork and productivity in a virtual environment. Pro-
cesses need to be more explicit in the virtual environment
precisely because the water cooler and coffee area con-
versations occur less frequently for virtual teams. Even
casual interactions depend on technology, such as instant
messaging. Frequently, you will have to make adjustments

1
Part I

to the IT (information technology) infrastructure or

policies to make effective use of such tools.
The chapters in Part I of the book describe the typical
steps for planning, setting up, managing, and evaluating a
successful virtual team. While the focus is on the team
interactions, we also include recommendations for the
tools that work well for each step along the way, and
cross-reference, where appropriate, with the tools chap-
ters in Part II.
n Chapter 1 provides an overview of the way teams
work and how virtual teams may differ from colocated
teams.
n Chapter 2 describes the process of setting up a team
and explains the factors that you need to consider
when choosing team members.
n Chapter 3 looks at the types of tasks that every team
needs to perform, regardless of project or location,
and then offers suggestions on tools that might help
with those tasks.
n Chapter 4 discusses issues that may occur once your
project is underway by focusing on improving commu-
nication between your team members, even though
they may be in different cities, countries, or time
zones.
n Chapter 5 looks at ways you can track your progress
and identifies the types of tools available to help you
do so.
n Chapter 6 focuses on the interactions between your
team members, addresses some of the things that may
go wrong, and offers some suggestions for what you
can do to minimize conflict.
n Chapter 7 discusses the different types of reviews you
will encounter throughout the course of a project and
how to conduct reviews in a virtual environment.

2
 Building and Managing a Virtual Team

n Chapter 8 helps you to prepare for the inevitable

changes that occur during the course of any project,
whether changes are in your team, the project goals,
or the design.
n Chapter 9 discusses ways to measure the success of
your team and to prepare for making your next project
even more successful.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions,
please visit our wiki at http://www.wikiwackyworld.com
for the latest updates, corrections to the book, and more.
And please feel free to modify wiki pages and participate
in our wiki community by entering comments, adding
pages, or editing content that is already there.

3
 Chapter 1

Understanding Team
Dynamics in a Virtual
Environment
“ Virtual teams must be especially conscious of their
dynamics. Behavioral clues are spread out not only in
space but usually over longer timeframes than they are
with comparable collocated teams. Virtual teams need to
design for this supercharged eventuality.

— Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps,

Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time
and Organizations with Technology

For as long as two beings have worked together toward a

common goal, teams have existed. For as long as compa-
nies and institutions have had multiple offices, virtual
teams have existed. What has changed is the ease with
which teams can communicate across space, time, and
organizations (Lipnack and Stamps, 2000). And, since

5
Chapter 1

Lipnack and Stamps made that observation in the first edi-

tion of their book 10 years ago, technology has continued
to advance exponentially to where most companies now
take email, high-speed Internet access, and instant
messaging for granted, and are beginning to devise ways
to integrate wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, VoIP (Voice over
Internet Protocol), and other collaboration technologies
into their daily work.
Not surprisingly, however, the people side of the equa-
tion has evolved much more slowly, as evidenced by the
fact that most organizational development consultants
still use some variation on Bruce Tuckman’s model of
team lifecycle, which Tuckman originally developed in
1965. It is important to remember, as we embark on this
journey, that technology is at best a tool and a facilitator
of efficiency. The best technology in the world cannot fix
the oh-so-very human issues that sometimes sabotage
even the best teams.

Lifecycle of a Team
Tuckman’s model defines several stages: forming, storm-
ing, norming, performing, testing (added later by Lipnack
and Stamps), and adjourning. This model still character-
izes most teambuilding theory and practice, in part
because it provides a practical, replicable view of the team
lifecycle, and like most natural systems, seems to follow
an “S” curve, with easily identifiable periods of stress and
conflict (Lipnack and Stamps, 2000). Peter Senge, author
of The Fifth Discipline and other books about applying sys-
tems theory to organizational development, validates the
“S” curve idea in his description of the slowing and grow-
ing phases of team lifecycles.

6 Part I
 Understanding Team Dynamics in a Virtual Environment

As a manager, you can use the team lifecycle to help

Chapter I
you determine the most effective course of action in par-
ticular situations, so that you can be proactive about
managing the natural stress points that occur during the
lifecycle.
The stages of the lifecycle are as follows:
n Forming: The “trial balloon” phase. Someone has a
bright idea and starts building interest, sponsorship,
and alliances. During this phase, many discussions
occur, serving to build support and consensus about
the vision. The leader is selected and begins pulling
together a team. Toward the end of this phase, you
might get a “honeymoon” period. Everyone is excited
about the project, getting to know each other, and
busy ensuring that all the infrastructure and executive
support is in place so that the project can succeed.
Managers can harness this initial burst of energy and
productivity by setting appropriate expectations,
ensuring a clear path free of bureaucratic obstacles,
and directing activities.
n Storming: Similar to the first year of marriage, this
stage lays bare all the differences and conflicts about
vision, expectations, work style, and communication
style. During this phase, the guidelines are honed,
compromises are made, and often, real bonding takes
place. Managers can help shorten this period of con-
flict by facilitating discussions, documenting decisions
and guidelines, modeling expected behaviors, ensuring
that everyone is heard, short-circuiting power strug-
gles, and when necessary, redirecting people to the
larger purpose.

Building and Managing a Virtual Team 7

Chapter 1

n Norming: Teambuilding begins in earnest as individ-

uals become comfortable with each other and their
roles. The team begins identifying “low-hanging fruit,”
those activities or solutions that are easy to implement
and have a positive impact on the direction and pace
of the project. Managers can assist the team by provid-
ing opportunities for social interaction and encourag-
ing open discussions and creative problem-solving, as
well as identifying the “go-to” people for specific
activities.
n Performing: The “zone.” The team is working well
together, knows where it is going and how to get
there, and works interdependently. Managers can max-
imize the benefit of this stage by ensuring that road-
blocks get removed, verifying that the team has all the
tools it needs to accomplish the tasks, ensuring that
the criteria are established and known, and working to
delegate tasks appropriately.
n Testing (added by Lipnack and Stamps): The “verifi-
cation” phase. As pieces of the project are completed,
they are verified against the specifications and other
components of the project. Problems are identified and
corrected. Managers can facilitate the testing phase by
ensuring that the tools and processes are working cor-
rectly and that open communication exists between
the developers and the testers.
n Adjourning: The “wrap-up.” The team is finishing its
tasks, evaluating how things went, and preparing to
move on to other things. Conflict often occurs during
this stage because of deadline stress, and because of
the uncertainty associated with transition and change.
Managers can ease the transition by making sure that
team and individual efforts get recognized, providing
an opportunity to discuss the project and evaluate les-
sons learned, and providing clear direction on what

8 Part I
 Understanding Team Dynamics in a Virtual Environment

team members should focus on next. (See Chapter 7

Chapter I
for information on conducting reviews.)

Characteristics of an Effective Team

Most of the work done by companies today is accom-
plished by cross-functional teams, many of which are also
geographically dispersed and multicultural. But what dis-
tinguishes an effective team from one that merely limps
along or falls apart? Technology is not enough. Lu Ellen
Schafer, in her training program “How to Make Remote
Teams Work,” describes five essential components:
n Shared team objective
n Knowledge of what to do
n Equipment to do it
n Ability to do it
n Desire to do it
Without all of these components in place, teams will
struggle and, ultimately, will fail.

Shared Team Objective

“Only a few things about teams are sure, and one is this:
successful teams have clear goals.” So begins the chapter on
goal setting in Glenn Parker’s book, Cross-Functional
Teams. Without a shared vision and goals to support that
vision, teams will fracture along political or functional
lines and the project will fail. It is from this shared objec-
tive and vision that the project goals arise.
The project sponsor and team leader must set clear
expectations and goals from the very beginning, and
encourage the team to refine the goals so that the team

Building and Managing a Virtual Team 9

Chapter 1

gains ownership of the project, gains synergy, builds

cooperation, and reduces the areas of conflict. Parker
recommends the SMART approach to goal-setting:
n Specific: Each goal identifies a specific problem that
you are trying to solve. The specificity helps establish a
direction and focus. For example, “Company A wants
to reduce localization costs.”
n Measurable: You must be able to determine whether
or not you have successfully achieved the goal. For
example, “Company A wants to reduce localization
costs by 20 percent.”
n Attainable: The team must be able to achieve the
goal. You want the goal to be challenging but achiev-
able. You might need to do some research to deter-
mine whether the goal is achievable and, if so, in what
time frame. For example, reducing localization costs
by 20 percent in three weeks is probably not attain-
able; however, doing it in the next product release
cycle might be.
n Relevant: The goals of the team must mesh with
those of senior management and with the overall cor-
porate strategy. For example, if the company’s global-
ization strategy targets China as the next new market,
and the software product is not double-byte enabled
and there are no plans for making it so, the team goals
are not aligned with the corporate objectives.
n Time-bound: Without a deadline, the project will
not be given the appropriate priority. However, the
deadline needs to be realistic (something that upper
management often forgets in the push to compete).
As a manager and team leader, part of your job is to
“push back” on unrealistic deadlines and other
requests. This goal strongly correlates with the goal
of being attainable. Many good projects have failed

10 Part I
 Understanding Team Dynamics in a Virtual Environment

because the team was not given enough time to

Chapter I
succeed.
Each goal should be documented and tied to the overall
team vision and objective. In addition, the goals should be
prioritized, so the team knows which goal is most impor-
tant in the event that a trade-off needs to be made.

Knowledge
The team must understand what it needs to do and what
the parameters are for doing it. Expectations must be clear
and explicit (and preferably documented on the project’s
wiki or intranet so everyone has access to them). The
team needs to know what standards it is using, as well as
which arm of the resource triangle is most flexible:

Figure 1-1: The resource triangle

There is an old saying that “you can have it fast and cheap
or fast and good, but you cannot have it good, fast, and
cheap.” Management must communicate to the team
which of these components is most flexible. For example,
most medical manufacturers will sacrifice the schedule to
ensure that quality and safety are high. On the other
hand, many software vendors will sacrifice features and

Building and Managing a Virtual Team 11

Chapter 1

quality to get the product out the door on time. Guy

Kawasaki is famous for describing this software industry
phenomenon of “don’t worry, be crappy” and “churn, baby,
churn” in his book Rules for Revolutionaries.
Teams must also know what types of decisions they
can make. If a team is not empowered to make a decision
that affects the outcome of the project, its members are
less likely to take ownership and to be fully engaged.
Responsibilities and lines of authority need to be clearly
drawn from the beginning of the project.

Equipment
If teams do not have the right tools for the job in the form
of equipment, technology, processes, infrastructure, and so
on, it does not matter how good the team is; it will not
succeed. This axiom is particularly true of virtual teams,
which depend on technology to facilitate communication
and to manage workflow.

Ability
Besides a clear vision and the right tools, teams need to
have the right people with the right mix of abilities. All
the technology in the world will not help a team succeed
if its members do not have the technical expertise or the
time to complete the project. In many cases, managers can
provide the necessary training or build research time into
the schedule so that team members can learn as they go.

Desire
As Lou Holtz (a former American college football coach)
once said, “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motiva-
tion determines what you do. Attitude determines how

12 Part I
 Understanding Team Dynamics in a Virtual Environment

well you do it.” You can have information, tools, and capa-

Chapter I
bility at your disposal, but if you are not willing to do it,
you will fail. In team situations, one or two cynics can
derail the entire team. Managers can monitor and coach
but cannot instill desire in someone else. Desire must
come from within.
Search and rescue personnel have long puzzled over
an interesting phenomenon that occurs when people are
lost in the wilderness. Often, the lost person is found
dead, propped up against a tree or rock, without a scratch
on them, as if they had just given up. Other times, a per-
son will suffer serious injuries, and yet survive for days or
weeks until they are found or rescue themselves. No one
really knows why some people have the drive and others
do not in these situations. The same is true in team
situations.
Where strong desire and determination persist, people
can overcome all kinds of adversity, including lack of abil-
ity, in order to succeed.

Characteristics of an Effective Team Leader

According to Lipnack and Stamps, “Virtual teams can be
successful only if people cooperatively manage the coordi-
nation involved in membership and leadership,” meaning
that managers must give up the ideas of power and con-
trol, and replace them with service leadership. In the old
days, the people who held onto the knowledge, data, and
so on held the power in an organization. Today, the people
who readily disseminate information, connect people with
each other, and facilitate hold the real power in an
organization.

Building and Managing a Virtual Team 13

Chapter 1

The following information originally appeared in Transformational Leader-

ship by Dr. Bernard Bass and Dr. Ronald Riggio. It is reprinted here with the
publisher’s permission. When reading the list and definitions, keep in mind
that it was originally created for a North American audience, and that you
might need to make some cultural adjustments to relate them to your par-
ticular locale.

Table 1-1. Key dimensions of leadership

Leadership How Do You Demonstrate This?
Dimension
Charisma Make others proud to be associated with you. Instill
faith, respect, and trust in you. Make everyone around
you enthusiastic about assignments. Have a special gift
of seeing what is really important for [the team] to con-
sider. Transmit a sense of mission to [the team].
Individual Coach, advise, and teach [team members] who need it.
Consideration Treat each [person] individually. Express appreciation
for a good job. Use delegation to provide learning
opportunities. Let each [person] know how he/she is
doing. Actively listen and give indications of listening.
Give newcomers a lot of help.
Intellectual Get [teammates] to use reasoning and evidence, rather
Stimulation than unsupported opinion. Enable [the team] to think
about old problems in new ways. Communicate ideas
that force [the team] to rethink some of their own ideas
that they never questioned before.
Courage Be willing to persist and stand up for your ideas even if
they are unpopular. Do not give in to group pressures
or others’ opinions to avoid confrontation. Be willing to
give negative feedback to a [teammate] or superior.
Have confidence in your own capability and act inde-
pendently. Do what is right for the company/[team],
even if it causes personal hardship/sacrifice.
Dependability Follow through and keep commitments. Meet dead-
lines and complete tasks on time. Take responsibility
for actions and accept responsibility for mistakes. Work
effectively with little contact with the boss [or project
manager]. Keep the boss [or project manager]
informed on how things are going, take bad news to
him/her, and readily admit mistakes to boss [or project
manager].

14 Part I
 Understanding Team Dynamics in a Virtual Environment

Chapter I
Leadership How Do You Demonstrate This?
Dimension
Flexibility Maintain effectiveness and provide stability while
things are changing. See what is critical and function
effectively within changing environments. Remain calm
and objective when confronted with many and different
situations or responsibilities at the same time. When a
lot of issues hit at once, be able to handle more than
one problem at a time and still focus on the critical
things. Be able to “change course” when the situation
dictates or warrants it.
Integrity Adhere firmly to a code of business ethics and moral
values. Do what is morally and ethically right. Behave
in a manner consistent with your professional responsi-
bilities. Do not abuse management privileges. Gain
and maintain the trust and respect of others. Serve as a
consistent role model, demonstrating and supporting
corporate policies/procedures, professional ethics, and
corporate culture.
Judgment Reach sound and objective evaluations of alternative
courses of action through logical and skillful intellec-
tual discernment and comparison. Put facts together in
a rational and realistic manner to arrive at alternative
courses of action. Base assumptions on logic, factual
information, and consideration of human factors. Know
your authority and be careful not to exceed it. Make
use of past experience and information to bring per-
spective to present decisions.
Respect for Honor and do not belittle the opinions or work of other
Others people, regardless of their status or position in the
organization. Demonstrate a belief in the value of each
individual, regardless of their background, etc.

Note that the original used the term “subordinates,” which has been
changed to “the team” or “teammates” here.

Building and Managing a Virtual Team 15

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 Var 12 1. I am sacrifice unto him in four pieces who sees
Guru and God as one in form (who accepts Guru as God). 2. I am
sacrifice unto him in four pieces who does not harbour duality in his
mind. 3. I am sacrifice unto him in four pieces who accepts and
tolerates others' vices and still do virtuous deeds towards them. 4. I
am sacrifice unto him in four pieces who says not an insipid or
hurting word to anyone. 5. I am sacrifice unto him in four pieces
who remains naive at heart and is easily cheated by others as the
others may feel. 6. I am sacrifice unto him in four pieces who does
good to others and enjoy doing or having done it. 7. In the court of
the carefree Lord, those who are 8. Guru is complete. He who
recognises Guru's word become like him. (fin jata so tis hi jeha).(S)
In Essence A Sikh is a student/disciple all his life. He is well informed
and acquires knowledge because he knows that gyan is essential for
his salvation. versa. Page 612
3.
 6. Detached State of a Sikh 1. I am sacrifice over those
Sikhs of the Guru who lose their self and unite with the True Guru.
2. I am sacrifice unto those Sikhs of the Guru who live in mayalzden
atmoshphere and yet remain detached/ renounced from it. 3. I
sacrifice myself over those Sikhs who adopt Guru's teachings and
remain engrossed in his lotus-like feet. 4. I am sacrifice unto those
Sikhs who dispense Guru's teachings and attach other Sikhs with
Guru. 5. I am sacrifice unto those Sikhs whose minds have turned
away from the worldly attractions and are looking inward. 6. I
sacrifice myself over those Sikhs who may have desires in their heart
but remain detached from them. (They are free of all distresses). 7.
Those are the Sikhs, who have firmed up the teachings of the Guru
in their mind and have helped others to repose more faith on him.
(6) In Essence Like the previous pauri, Bhai Sahib is still continuing
to describe the magnificence of a Sikh and his praiseworthy
attributes. Page 614
 Varan Bbai Gurdas Ji P. Itf^ dK>f£oT tJcJT G^O f%f% tfrf
Sd'e1 I 3. often >?ru^r >>fru did'kw ^fk faparn 8. W TO ^*l'<5tf
^3Wft ufe w fw^ I 5. ppgr ^3" WaPMIJfll 1 . Brahma vada akhaeda
nabh(i) kaval d\ nal(i) samana. 2. Ava gavan(u) anek jug orak vich(i)
ho-a hairana. 3. Orakfri) kitusCu) apna ap gande-ai bharam(i)
bhuland. 4. Chare bed vakhanda chaturmukhi hoe khara sidnd. 5.
Lokan no samjhdeda dekh(i) sursati rup lobhdnd. 6. 7. Akath kathd
net net vakhana.(7) Page 615
 Var 12 7. The Deeds of Brahma 1. Brahma considered
himself to be great and mighty. He set out to find the extent of the
stem of the lotus that was believed to have the abode of the Lord in
it. % For epochs, he roamed up and down in the stem and felt
highly confused and perplexed. He could not even reach its any end.
3. After striving for ages and remaining unsuccessful, he remained in
doubt and suspicions. 4. He read all the four Vedas (Sam, Rig, Yajur
and Atharv). These became his four mouths and thus with their
knowledge, he became famous as a great intellectual and wise. 5.
He would teach others not to go near other's women but was
himself infatuated by the beauty of Saraswati. 6. Thus he wasted
away the knowledge of all the four Vedas. He remained proud and
arrogant. He then felt repentant. 7. In short, the narration of Lord's
greatness is beyond words and description. Even the Vedas say, "Not
this, Not this, not even this."(7) In Essence No one has known the
extent of the Almighty. Guru has also aptly stated : Nal(i) kutanbCu)
sath(i) varaata Brahma bhalav sris(Ci) gain. Agai ant(u) napaeo (a
ka, kans(u) chhedd) kia vada {SGGS, p. 350) Page 616
 d. Hfddjd Vd^" ^ tfc»F TFT Hdlfe Hdttdl ^ I 3. u§h wfo
orrfa" fertiitii 1. Bisan lae avtar das vair virodh jodh saghare. 2.
Macbh kachh vairah rup hoe narsingh bavan baudhare. 3.
Parsrdm(u) ram(u) kisnu hoe kiluk(i) kalanki at(i) ahankare. 4. Khatri
mdr(i) iklh vdr rdmaen kar(i) bharath bhare. 7. Haumai andar(i)
kar(f) vikare.(8) Page 617
 Incarnations Vishnu incarnated ten times. He destroyed
such valiant warriors who had the ability to fight ten thousand
soldiers at a time. 2. He came in the incarnations of Machh, Kachh,
Sukar, Narsing, Bavan and Bodh, 3. Then there were Parasram, Ram
and Krishan. And proud Kalaki who has yet to take birth. 4. Parasram
freed the Earth from the burden of Khatris twenty-one times. Ram
(as per Ramayan) waged mighty battles against the powerful ruler
named Ravan. 5. In short and to be precise, none of them sorted
out their vice and evil trait of kdm (Lust) and krodh (Anger), nor
overcame their avarice, attachment and pride. 6. True Guru who is a
complete person, without whom no one has ever achieved peace
and emancipation. Kisai sant(i) na aid, bin(u) SatCOgur ke updes(u).
7. All deeds performed under the influence of ego are base and
false.(8) In Essence The ten incarnations faced discords with
demons and evildoers. Guru Nanak Dev Ji who took birth in the dark
age (Kalyug) preached that God alone is the doer of all acts and
deeds. Since all the deeds of these ten incarnations were performed
in ego and pride, Bhai Sahib has used them as paradigm. Page 618
 3. W Mdd1 tj'^e' ^H7 H^t HH^I 8. V§ Hfcj TO ^fe eft 3d'e
I £. fmf<5 Hurt HTHFft HdJ 7> fdj 7> rJdTO I .9. dwfV g*r ^
HdTCiitfn 7. Mahandeu audhut(u) hoe lamas andarfi) jog(u) na janai.
2. Bhairo bhut kusiit vich(i) khetrapal baital dhinganai. 3. Ak dhatura
khavana rati vasa marl masanai. 4. Paihne hathi sih khal dauru vae
karai hairanai. 5. Natha natb sadaeda hoe an 6. Sira(h(i) sangharai
tamsljog(u) na 7. Gurmukh(i) sukh phal sadh Page 619
 9. Maha Dev, Shiv 1. Mahadev, who despite being a Yogi
remained in of Tamos gun. He could not practice and apply the
discipline in his life. He could not succeed in exercising control over
his mind. 2. In the ill deeds of Bhairavs and goblins, he perpetrated
his will against the dynasty of Khetarpals. 3. Thorn apple (Dhatura)
and Akk (calotropis procera) were his survival food. He used to live
in graveyards and cremation grounds. 4. He would wear the skin of
an elephant on his body and lion's skin around his girdle. He would
play on his tabor and disturb the peace of the people. 5. He called
himself Master of the destitudes but did not enjoy Lord's love by
becoming an orphan himself. 6. On the day of judgement, it befell
upon him to come into the undesirable propensity of dark age and
destroy the Universe. He did not recognise the spiritual aspect of
yoga by becoming peaceful and dispensing peaceful 7. Joining the
company of Gurmukhs, one is blessed with peace and happiness.(9)
In Essence Many tales are associated with Shiv Ji. He had a weird
way of life, full of anger but easy to please as is generally believed.
Despite being a yogi, he had not shown any divine traits so essential
in a god. Bhai Sahib has described him to be bereft of Satsang due
to which he faced plenty of tribulations, despite being a great name
in the Hindu pantheon of gods. Thus without the holy company of
God-loving persons, emancipation of anyone is not possible. Page
620
 % w fs^r ^ t^r wt w#i 8. HH ^Wkfe Pddt-fW tjfe wf& ?>
>HT# I M. HHT i^T mf 3V #H fHH^S" ?7 HZFt I »ry Hd'fy Tiufrr
hh^ ihoii 2ft (Indra te Brahma) 1. Vadi arja indra d\ indra pun vich
raj(u) kamavai. 2. Chaudab indra vinash(u)kal(i) brahme da ik(u)
diuas(u) vihavai. 3. Dhahdhe hi brahma marai lomas da ik(u) rom
chhijavai. 4. Ses mahes vakhaman(i) chiranjw hoe- sant(i) na aval 5.
Jog bbog jap tap ghane lok ved simran(u) na suhavai. 6. Ap(u) janae
na sahaj'(i) samavai.(lO) Page 621
 Var 12 10. Ihdra and Brahma 1. Indra has a long life and he
rules the heaven. 2. When fourteen Ihdras live through their lives,
that period becomes equal to a day of Brahma. (Fourteen Ihdras rule
during a day of Brahma). 3. Brahma remains engrossed in his
involvement of creating the Universe. Sage Lomas just pluck away a
trichome from his beard so that he is not to shave off his head at the
death of his father-Brahma. 4. Both Sheshnag and Shiv could not
find peace despite their long lives. 5. Many people indulge in
practices of Yoga, Jap, Tap and recitation of Vedas to impress others.
They are not liked/ appreciated by God. 6. They only make
themselves count as great. They would not be able to attain the
state of equipoise.(lO) In Essence Sage Lomas enjoyed longer life
than Brahma, while Brahma lived for far more years than gods and
human beings. Yet no one could achieve peace. They all remained
immersed in their self. One who has overcome pride enters the state
of equipoise and realises God. One does not find the bliss of Lord's
union by living long life. Page 622
3. TO ifa HrtoCfecli TO HFiH
 Varl2 11. Sage Narad and Others 1. Sage Narad knew all
the Shastras and yet could not find the patience and peace. He could
not stop wandering. 2. He would listen to everyone's arguments and
view-points and indulge in backbiting and slander. 3. Sanakadiks
(Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatan and Saht Kumar four sons of Brahma)
too remained childlike in their intellect. And thus they too remained
bereft of emancipation. (They were quick to fly into rage and impose
curses on others). 4. Once they went to heaven to see the Lord.
They were stopped at the gate by two door-keepers named Jai and
Vijay, who did not permit them to go inside without permission. They
flew into rage and cursed them to become demons. 5. Because of
his pride, sage Sukdeo spent twelve years in the womb of his
mother and did not take birth. He too remained a victim of his ego.
6. The Moon and the Sun are also full of accusations. And thus they
are busy rising and setting since ages. All of them faced their fall
due to their involvement and influence of maya.O-l') In Essence
Quoting the tales of sages and hermits, Bhai Sahib is impressing
upon us not to be caught in the web of pride and ego. All these
great souls had suffered at the hands of ego. Uniting in the holy
gatherings remove pride and ego. So, stop depending upon these
gods who themselves are full of faults. They cannot emancipate you.
Take shelter of Guru, discard ego and live life in a holy congregation.
Page 624
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frpj ?T§ 3vJ VBT offo U§H f%f% ofcTfe ofUH^t I 3. Wfd WS" HJH
f%fe tffa tffe H^e ^fk W3T3\ I 8. fe>)f tdcJHrt Ufe Srdfd'tf1" 0-
*d'F3t I M. djd>ffa ^d7> >H^T5 Ufe 3d7 HB"d7 HTO Hd'dl I 1. Jatt
sati santokhid fat sat jugat(i) santokh na jdtl 2. Sidh nath(u) bahu
panth kar(i) haumai vich( i) karan(i) karmdti. 3. Char(i) varan sansar
vich(i) khaih khaih tnarde bbaramO) bharati. 4. Chhia darsan hoe
vartia bdrah vat uchaf jamati, 5. Gurmukh(i) varan avaran hoe rang
surang tanbol suhati, 6. Chhia rut(i) bdrah mdh vich(i) gurmukh(i)
darsan(u) sujh sujhdtl. t^dHrt HFHS'dl I 12, (JaU Sati ddik) Page
625
 M2 12. Jat% Sati etc. 1. Famous practitioners of Jat, Sat
and Santokh have not truly known the method and ways of Jat, Sat
and Santokh repsectively. 2. Sidhs and Naths also commenced many
cults. In their pride and ego, they started impressing people with
their miracles. 3. The four sections of society are destroying
themselves fighting with each other. 4. Six schools of philosophy
were propagated. Jogts divided themselves into twelve sects. They
became a class of renunciators and started roaming from one place
to the other. 5. Gurmukhs are classless. They are not divided into
sections. Just as the chewed colour of betel leaf, nut, catechu and
lime is dark red, so is the colour of Gurmukhs who have discarded
the four sections of society and all their pride/ego. 6. Just as the Sun
shines equally during all the six seasons and the twelve months of a
year; so is the glimpse of Gurmukhs that is free of all ingnorance. 7.
Gurmukhs have known only the love of the beloved and they have
become one with Him.(12) In Essence One who loves his beloved,
becomes/acquires the traits of the beloved. He loves with
blemishless mind, free of arrogance and with emotion of love.
Without love, aWJatis, Satis, Santokhi, Sidhs and Naths and
followers of the six philosophies suffer and face tribulations. On the
other hand, Gurmukhs sail through the worldly ocean. find) jata so
tis hijeha. Atd) nirmaeKu) sijhas(i) deha. (.SGGS, p. 931) One who
loves his dear one takes the form of one's beloved. Such a person
loves with clean mind, free of all arrogance, pride and ego. Page 626
 t\. iJtT ira^i* orfe Trow*? irant Hfe 3. vn^t wfo wfe irfo
xra^t wfo uftw ip^t i 3. frra- d«^'d w tfe Pnfe w aRpafrinaii Z5.
(Dbarti te Bricbb) 1. Panj tat parvan(u) kar(i) dharamsal dharti
rnanQ) bhani. 2. Pant ahdar(i) dharatd) dhar(i) dharti andarfi) dharia
pant. 3. Sir talvae rukh hoe nihchal(u) chit nivas(u) bibani. 4.
Parupkari suphal phal(i) vat vagae sira(h(i) varusani. 5. Chandan
vas(u) vanaspat chandan(u) hoe vas(u) maihkani. 7. Abigatd) gat(i)
at(i) akath kahani.(13) Page 627
 13. Earth and Tree 1. Bringing the five elements together in
a certain proportion, the Earth was created and it was named as
Dharamsal The seeds of one's deeds are sown here that brings forth
fruit of the actions. 2. The Earth is created in water and yet the
Earth has water 3. The trees here grow upside down and live their
lives in wilderness with their minds stable and at rest. (They seek no
one's help). 4. These trees are laden with good fruits and thus are
stone at them, they shower fruits on the ground. They provide much
needed shade even to those who may put saw on their
limbs/head/body. 5. And Sandalwood tree is one of these trees
whose fragrance spreads throughout in the jungle.
(Chandansandalwood — means Sadh Sangat here). 6. The ambrosial
precepts of the Sadh Sangat is comforting and peace-giving. And
immersed in the love of that precept, Gurmukhs go into a state of
trance where no other thought comes to them. 7. The great souls of
such Gurmukhs are emancipated. It is not possible to describe their
state.(13) In Essence The above pauri explains the following lines
from Jap(u) bant of Guru Nanak Dev Ji : Kagadd) kalam na
likhanbaKu). Manne ka baih karan(i) vtchar(u). (SGGS, p. 3)
Gurmukhs are like sandalwood tree that spread its fragrance all
around and injects the other trees with it as well. Gurmukhs change
the life of those who come into their refuge. in it. throws Page 628
 — % "q vfdrt'td wifftre- gfo tT^of ^re1" I 8. §tf F^te* W
W B^T ttsf'd1 I M. fa HOT offo W fwi dieT« r^ditje' tiddio ITS' >Fcf
feVTS1" I 0. dJcTHftf M^Ufe ■Ud^^T i^aii /4. (Dhruvadi sakam 1.
Dhru prah(i)lad bhabikhano anbrik(u) bal(i) janak vakhand. 2. Raj
kudr hoe rajas! asa bandhl choj vidand. 3. Dhru matrei chandia pio
phard) prah(i)lad(u) ranana, 4. Bhed bhablkhan(u) lank lai anbrik(u)
lai chakra lubhdnd. 5. Pair karahe janak da kar(i) pakhand dharam
dhingand. 6. Ap(u) g'anae viguchana dargah pae mdn(u) nimana. 7.
Gurmukh(i) sukh Page 629
 Var 12 14. Dhru etc., the God-loving Devotees 1. Dhru,
Prahlad, Bhabhikhan, Ambrik, Bali and Janak are always described
during spiritual discourses. 2. All the above were princes or belonged
to ruling class. So, their Rajas traits of maya were always
paramount. 3. Dhru was troubled and peeved by his step-mother.
Prahlad was much distressed by his father named Hiraakshyap. 4.
Bhabhikhan disclosed the secret of his home and acquired the
kingship of Lanka. Ambrik was enamoured by Chakra, * 5. Janak
had his one foot in the hot oil pan. He too lived a righteous life
through hypocrisy. 6. Asserting oneself, one is bound to be
degraded. One who is humble receives honour in the court of the
Lord. 7. This fruit of comfort and happiness has befallen in the lot of
Gurmukhs. Their honour is always upheld.(l4) In Essence Bhai Sahib
describes the praise of Gurmukhs as compared to various
incarnations, gods, sages, devotees, liberated persons and
practitioners of Jap, Tap and Hath. Gurmukhs acquire equipoise and
self-freedom due to their perpetual engrossment in Lord's
meditation. They are never under any pressure, attraction, fear or
compulsion, whereas all the above personalities worshipped the Lord
with some desire in their heart. The Sikhs of Guru worship Him out
of love and not desires. Gurbarfi has aptly said : Raj(u) na chahau
mukt(i) na chahau man(i) prit(i) charan kamlare. (SGGS, p. 534) I
do not want to rule kingdoms nor salvation of the conventional form.
All I want is that my mind should remain immersed in the love of my
Lord's holy feet. Mukt(i) bapuri bhi giant tiage. (SGGS, p. 1078) A
knowledgeable person gives up the offer of conventional salvation in
favour of oneness with the Lord. Page 630
 M. tfe IPtf1- >HftPH73Hl' te 7>faj TO M^fr TTStl ir^ror utf
Bra" tot* fern Hvrnti /5. (AfrJb few/ nisbkam bhagat) 1. Kaljug nama
bhagat(u) hoe pher(i) dehura gae jivai. 2. Bhagat(u) kablr vakhanlai
bandi khane te u\h(i) jal. 3. Dhanna ja((u) udharia sadhna jat(i)
ajat(i) kasai. 4. Jan( u) ravidas( u) chumar( u) hoe chahu varnan
vich( Q kar( i) vaiial. 5. Ben(i) boa adhiatmJ saiy(u) nich kul(u)
andar(i) nal. 6. Pain pai pakhak hoe gur sikhdn vich(i) vad,\ samai.
7. Alakh lakhae na alakh(u) lakhal(15) Page 631
 Var 12 15. Desireless Devotees of Low Caste 1. Nama was
a low caste devotee in the dark age (Kalyug). He turned the temple
around and also brought the dead cow to life. 2. Bhagat Kabir is
often quoted with respect and reverence. He escaped from prison. 3.
Dhanna, a peasant achieved salvation. Sadhna who was a butcher,
also achieved liberation from the cycle of transmigration. 4. Ravidas,
a cobbler was praised in all the nooks and . corners of the world. 5.
Bhagat Beni was a desireless devotee. Bhagat Sain was born in the
low caste family of barbers. 6. All of them practiced humility. They
virtually became dust in the dusty feet of everyone. Thus is the great
trait of tolerance in the Sikhs of the Guru. 7. They could understand
the true form of the Lord and yet remained humble and His slaves.
(Kane re bakbad(u) In Essence One who discards all his desires,
becomes detached and free of pride and acquire humility is definitely
close and by the side of God. Such people are higher than other
devotees spiritually. Humility is a magnificent virtue. Page 632
 38 % TTfeMT §^>f for t# H¥ £| fw^ fe^ HUtT HTO1 ^.
grayftr m ^ 7ti t^fii^ii 76! (Kaljug di uttamtat) 1. Sat(i)jug(u)
utam(u) akhlai ik(u) pherai sabh des(u) duhela. 2. Tretai nagfi plriai
duapar(i) vans(u) vidhuns kuveld. 3. Kal(i)jugO) sach(u) niau bai jo
bijai so lunai ikela. 4. Parbrahm puran brahm( u) sabadd) surat( i)
sat( Qgurgur chela. 5. Nam dan(u) isnan(u) drir sadhsangat(i) mil(i)
anmrit vela. 6. Mitha bolan niv chalan(u) hathoh dena sahaj suhela.
7. Gurmukh(i) sukb pbal(u) nehu navela.(l6) Page 633
 Varl2 16. The Greatness of] 1. Satyug is remembered as
supreme. But if one person committed an offence, the whole country
was punished. 2. In Treta Yug, the whole city was taken to task
while in Duapar the dynasty was made to face the wrath. 3. The true
justice is only in Kalyug (Dark age). Whosoever sows, he reaps the
fruit. 4. Satguru is complete embodiment of the Lord (both
Transcendental and Immanent). Whoever engrosses his mind in his
word is an honourable disciple. 5. Such a person is firm on rising in
the ambrosial hour, bathes and meditates on Lord's name and makes
charity of all that he has acquired. (He helps others meditate). He
spends much time in Sadh Sangat and listens to the singing of the
divine words. 6. He speaks sweetly and lives a humble life. He feels
happy and comfortable by donating and giving to the needy. He
never feels a frown on his face when he has to give. 7. Such
Gurmukhs acquire peace and comforts. They are ever in love with
the Lord.(l6) In Essence Those who remember Lord all the time with
their heart and soul, their love never fades away. It remains fresh
and new. And those who do not meditate on the Lord's name in the
Dark Age, leave the world in repentance. Many people make an
excuse of non-availability of time during a particular part of the day
— say ambrosial hour. To them, the advice is — "Join in the holy
congregation at any time. There is no laid-down time to express
your love for the Lord." Kabir, ek ghari ddhi gbari, adhx bun te ddh.
Bhagtan sell goste, jo klne so ldbh(u). (SGGS, p. 1377) Page 634
 %, fodol'd offe Hfe flflf >H^U feffwi £. uorfk ^wftr BT^t ^
wftw i J. Nirankar dkar(u) kar(i) jot(i) samp anup dikhaia. 2. Bed
kateb agochara Waheguru gur sabad(u) sunaia. 3. Char(i) varan
char majhaba charan kaval sarnagat(i) aid. 4. Paras paras(i) aparas
jag(i) asfdhatCu) ik(u) dhat(u) karaia. 6. HukamO) rajai chalana
gurmukh(u) gadi rdh(u) cbalaia. 7. Pure pura Page 635
 17. Waheguru — The Incantation 1. The Absolute Lord
created a body form of five elements and placed His effulgent self in
it. 2. Beyond the knowledge of Vedas and Katebas, he gave the
incantation of Waheguru as the Word. 3. And that is how the four
sections of Hindu society and four religious cults of Islam came into
the refuge of Guru Ji. 4. The philosopher's stone-like Guru touched
the lives of these eight sections/religious cults put together and gave
one single pious and blemishless religion to the impious world. 5.
Taking them into his refuge and dispensing them with the divine trait
of humility, he destroyed the chronic illness of ego from their lives.
6. And thus he created the path of Gurmukhs whereby the followers
would love spending life in His will. 7. The complete Satguru
arranged and defined the true path to salvation.(17) In Essence
Those who live in His will are True Sikhs of the Gurulike Bhai
Bhikhari. Obedience and going by the will of the Lord is a very
difficult precept for acceptance. Our ego, pride and arrogance
always become an impediment in our spiritual progress. Page 636
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