One year ago, I waited anxiously with my teammates Ray Bellantoni and Jennifer Carole to get word on our new friend – and Cisco colleague – Brian Dickinson. He was ascending Mt Everest.

Brian had contacted us about doing a WebEx from base camp. He thought it would be cool to put our technology to the test and Ray, who produced events, jumped at the opportunity.

Little did we realize Brian would become a friend we cared about in a very personal way. As we learned more about his journey, we started to understand the dangers involved in the climb and the risks to his safety. It was a nerve-wracking time.

Brian’s over all goal, to reach the Seven Summits around the world – with Mt Everest possibly posing the greatest challenge. We ended up holding three WebEx events with Brian where many of you joined us to learn about his commitment and drive.

Before, During and After the Climb

For me, the most exhilarating WebEx was the one he did from base camp. To see him nestled in the mountain tops, glistening white in the background, was thrilling. At one point, we had to pause while we waited for a helicopter to fly out carrying climbers who had succumbed to altitude sickness.

As it turns out there was good reason for us to feel anxious that day. Read More »

Tags: leadership, sports, WebEx Channels

Leadership is not reserved for the people at the top of an organization.

For a team or organization to truly move forward in an aligned and synergistic way, everyone has to be involved and feel that they can contribute in a meaningful way—no matter their role.

You can make a difference and tap your leadership skills. Learn how in this free WebEx webinar on Wednesday, May 23.

Register now. [Post event, click here to listen to the recording.]

In this webinar, Read More »

Tags: Blanchard, business, event, free, leadership, Recording, WebEX, WebEx Channels, webinar

This blog comes at the request of a tweet from @AlisonScammell.

“I’m looking at #webinar ice breaker ideas. Does anyone have any suggestions? #webex”

What a great question!

WebEx is incredibly useful for online meetings, but bringing a group of people together across time zones in remote locations can present some challenges when it comes to warming up the room. We posted some tips last week for adding color to your meetings which creates a mood. And we’ve talked about using polls and the whiteboard.

But what else can you do to get things moving? Here are 15 ideas that we think are well suited for online meetings or webinars. Read More »

Tags: fun, how to, leadership, meetings, online meetings, tips, video conference, WebEX, Webinars

It’s not enough just to hire the best people for your business; good managers become their guide, coach and cheerleader as well.

Your employees want to do well and you have the opportunity to help them. Here are five things you can do to encourage them. When you are getting the best out of everyone on your team, you will also succeed.

1. Give Your Team a Clear Purpose

How your business performs is by and large dependent on its people, and those people need to know that their individual goals are helping move the company forward.

Derek Johnston, senior executive at the Centre for Competitiveness, recommends that all team members need to know exactly what they are trying to do, just as a sports team agrees what the objective is (get the ball in the net, cross the line first). This is one of the first things you can do to make team members work effectively.

Read More »

Tags: business, how to, leadership, Recording, tips, WebEX

Here are tips from the experts. They feature advice and case studies of how teachers and districts are using tech in education. All of these WebEx sessions are on-demand, so you can watch them when you have time.

Blend Traditional and Online Learning

Blending traditional classroom instruction with online learning is bridging the achievement gap, as many public schools now offer hybrid classrooms.

Aventa Learning/K12, Inc. in partnership with the Santa Clara County of Education, explain the blended model: how it can build a broader range of engaging and rigorous courses, how to customize an online learning solution and they provide insight into the financial and educational benefits. Watch it.

The Power of Writing

California’s 2007 Teacher of the Year Alan Sitomer talks about sensibly incorporating technology and new literacies.

He explains why Read More »

Tags: education, learning, Recording, school, teachers, WebEX, WebEx Channels, webinar

While your next online meeting may happen on WebEx, that doesn’t mean it’s the only channel you should use to make your meeting successful. Social media can be a wonderful compliment to your meeting or event.

Here are a few tips for using the most popular channels in your meeting mix.

Facebook
If the meeting is public, Facebook is great for posting pre and post event information. Before the meeting, post the invite with registration information. Post event, post a blog or screen grabs with links to the recording or a post-event whitepaper. To reach new people, consider a Facebook advertisement. It’s easy to target your reach and control your spend.

Twitter
Twitter is a great channel for driving pre and post event traffic to your site: ahead of time for registration and afterward for the recording. But Twitter is also an excellent way to engage folks during your meeting. By creating a “back-channel” conversation, you can get feedback and ideas from participants who may be too shy to speak up during the meeting. You can also grab great sound bites during the meeting and tweet them so others will be drawn to your content. Use hashtags to extend your reach.

LinkedIn
Publicize your events on LinkedIn to attract a business following. Make sure your company page is up to date and turn on the status updates feature that works very much like Facebook. You can also create a LinkedIn group to create a special interest Read More »

Tags: event, facebook, Google, linkedin, Online Meeting, Pinterest, Recording, social media, twitter, video conference, WebEX

It’s hard to improve your leadership skills when you are stuck in the trenches actually doing the leading! Since making time to learn can be a challenge, we pulled together some of our best recorded information from the experts who offer specific tips for building your skills.

UPDATE: The Ken Blanchard Group has just announced a new event on April 25th. Register here. After the event, watch here.

They are all available on demand so you can watch whenever you have a few minutes.

Yesterday, in part one we focused on goal setting, vision and leadership. Today, in part two we take a look at motivation and team dynamics. Each tip has an on-demand WebEx you can access at any time -- you don’t need to download any software to participate.

Step 4: Tune up your leadership effectiveness

Best-selling authors Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller offer four keys to increase influence, impact and leadership effectiveness. Based on their book, Read More »

Tags: business, how to, leadership, management, Recording, tips, webinar

Getting others to willingly follow your lead requires several important skills, like vision, effectiveness, motivation and setting clear goals.

We’ve pulled together some powerful resources that will help you achieve better results, whether you’re a CEO or an entry-level employee. You can use the techniques here to design a long-term plan to improve your leadership skills, which we hope will help you succeed professionally and personally.

Today, in part one, the focus is on goal setting, vision and leadership. Tomorrow, in part two, we focus on motivation and team dynamics. Each tip has an on-demand WebEx webinar you can access at any time -- you don’t need to download any software to participate.

Step 1: Recognize the importance of goal setting

The best business leaders are most effective at using goals to drive business results. Goal setting is one of the most powerful tools available to support your business. In this webinar, Steve Hunt, Principal Director, Business Execution Practices at SuccessFactors explains common mistakes and shares steps to address them, including some frequently overlooked techniques. Watch it.

Step 2: Set a clear vision

A leader with a clear vision has Read More »

Tags: business, how to, leadership, Recording, WebEX, WebEx Channels, webinar

So you have put together a great webinar. Used our tips for doing things right and avoiding mistakes. But you need to get people to come!

That’s where social media can help.

We have a few short webinars we created based on what we do at WebEx for our events. We use our blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to spread the word both before and after our events. We also recommend recording your webinar to you can enjoy the long tail of engagement.

I have put together a short WebEx that explains how we promote our events at WebEx. Watch it here.

And remember, you can always Read More »

Tags: event, how to, Record, social media, WebEX, WebEx 8, WebEx Channels, webinar

Watch this on-demand WebEx to learn five key steps for delivering a successful webinar.

This is one of two webinars expert Sharon Burton has recorded for us to help you create a successful event.

From her book, “Eight Steps to Amazing Webinars,” Sharon runs through five key areas that are often neglected when producing a webinar. In this short session, you’ll learn how to manage the process, add value to your event, extend the reach of your event and more.

Read More »

Tags: event, how to, Recording, WebEX, webinar

We found four organizations that are taking full advantage of technology and using webinars to add value to their brand, reach new customers, educate their audiences and/or support their current staff.

We hope these folks offer inspiration as you plan your next event.

The eLearning Guild

This is a member-driven organization of e-learning professionals that use webinars for showcasing the latest ideas from a range of expert speakers. Their hour-long webinars teach new techniques and strategies. The monthly events are recorded so users can view them at their leisure. For example, on January 17, 2012, “The Secrets to Rapid eLearning Success” dealt with keeping up with the latest technological demands and producing effective e-learning.

VizThink

An online community interested in the process or the ability to engage people in understanding ideas, not the final product, uses webinars to educated people about visual thinking and about other topics, like “Journalism in the Age of Data.” They have set up a nice page with easy access to their series of webinars that are free to the public. This is a great way to help people find your library and see what you have to offer.

PetSmart Charities

An independent, nonprofit, PetSmart Charities uses online webinars to train volunteers and staff working to help animals. They have programs that save the lives of homeless pets, raise awareness of companion animal welfare issues and promote healthy relationships between people and pets. Read More »

Tags: how to, Recording, webinar

And what to do to avoid them!

A well-run webinar increases leads, adds value to your brand, and educates and informs your audience. A poorly run webinar can make your company look foolish and unprofessional. It’s a high-profile opportunity to shine and we want to make sure you do everything you can to succeed.

Watch the webinar now!

In this 20 minute on-demand WebEx, industry insider Sharon Burton discusses five common mistakes people make when giving a webinar. Learn what those mistakes are and how to avoid them. Read More »

Tags: event, how to, Recording, webinar

You have expertise and that can be a powerful differentiator for you in business.

Use a webinar to share your knowledge, attract new people and even help hone your internal processes. Here are five reasons why using webinars (and WebEx) is good for business.

1. Add value to your brand.

Leverage your in-house expertise using it to distinguish your business leadership. A good webinar parallels all of the information your company is already putting out, but adds depth to a particular area. It also can allow users to ask specific questions. Here’s how Mike Bartkus at SkillSurvey uses webinars to tell people how to avoid bad hires. While you learn new information, you tacitly trust Mike’s advice and expertise.

2. Educate and inform your audience; share your passion.

Seeing is believing. If you have a great widget, show me how it works and what it can do for me and my company. Engage me. Don’t bore me with a slide-show about your company’s history. Show me what your product or services can do and why I can’t live without them.

3. Fill the funnel.

Generate marketing leads with a successful webinar. You’ll attract those people who are most interested in the subject matter which should shorten your sales cycle. The potential audience here is unfettered by time or location, and bonus, the webinar lacks the associated travel costs of a large marketing event. It’s win-win.

4. Create a lasting impression.

“Whatever webinar you’re doing, it’s worth recording it,” says Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch Inc. “We’ve been able to show that 300% to 500% more people watch a recorded webinar than attend a live one,” Carroll said. “If you don’t record it, you’re missing out on more than half of your audience.” Creating an asset that can be used repeatedly over time can save you money and time.

5. Move your business forward.

Webinars can help you train your employees on a new piece of software from your home office, saving you time and travel costs. You can provide employees with everything they need all at the same time, with hyperlinks, and if you record the webinar, employees can refer back to it at a later time if they need a refresher or feel that they missed something the first go round.

Read More »

Tags: event, marketing, Online Meeting, Recording, WebEX, webinar

You want to do webinars.

You want to get your message out there, “leverage your resources” and “do more with less”. But the idea terrifies you and your more afraid of making yourself look bad than the good you can achieve. We get it.

We are here to help.

In the next few weeks, we are going to offer suggestions for helping you put your best foot forward when creating a webinar. We have pulled together information about why you should do webinars and we have examples of people doing it right.

We also have expert Sharon Burton who has put together two on-demand webinars for us talking about what you need to do to deliver the best webinar possible. We’ll conclude with tips on using social media to help you spread the word about your event and create a long tail of engagement should you decide to post a recording.

Using WebEx gives you an audience.

If you use WebEx to deliver your webinar, you get some extra bang for your efforts. With WebEx Channels, you can post your recording -- along with handouts -- to extend your reach and connect with the WebEx network.

You don’t have to be big to look big.

You can do you webinar Read More »

Tags: event, meetings, online meetings, Record, WebEX, webinar

Online meetings are a great day to deliver a product demo. They can save time and money, but doing a great job requires you adapt your skill set so you do a terrific job.

In addition to the marketing and public relations skills you already have, you’ll need to learn to embrace the tools you have for the online demo and then pump up the volume on your “wow” factor since having a nice lunch afterward isn’t on the agenda.

Lessons from the Front

Software product manager Gopal Shenoy writes about his recent experiences conducting three demos during online meetings. Two went well and the third “was an outright disaster”.

The bottom line: You can choose to avoid doing the homework to your own peril or spend the time during discovery to start building effective relationships with your prospects.

Nate Westheimer at Innonate offers some firsthand tips (and examples) for pulling together a great demo.

It pains me when people come to demo and, instead of putting on a magic show — showing off how humans (themselves) and software interact — they try to inspire the audience through their words and by speaking about their ideas; or, just as bad, they flip through a bunch of preloaded tabs in an effort to “show” the product, as if pre-loaded tabs are any better than PowerPoint slides.

Technology Do’s and Don’ts

1. Find out some basics before you set up the WebEx.

Will they be in an office, a conference room? Are there likely to be distractions? Do what you can to help them control their experience so you will be heard and you’ll have their attention. Dialing in on a phone line is probably optimum for them to hear every nuance (it also helps if you decide to record the meeting).

Read More »

Tags: demo, how to, Online Meeting, Recording, tips, video conference, WebEX