This was an awesome post, Tom, and highlights a lot of the reasons we've been careful about automation, as tempting as it often is. In many of the communities that I've worked with, premature automation is actually one of the things stifling their growth! > ...but when I was in these real places, the actual conversations were about > this stuff- "is anyone using the meeting room", "anyone want to go for > lunch", etc etc, and even having to sign in or tick a bit of paper when > arriving means a chat with the receptionist instead of swiping a card- all > these things go a long way to creating a feeling of connection, and not being > part of a machine.
It's easy to over optimize. We keep an eye on a set of very intentional points of friction - even if its as small as manual booking of a meeting room or as complex as starting or changing a membership - because they've been put in place to help maintain relationships that provide far more value than the little bit of pain it causes our team to maintain. > Definitely a balance to be had, but I can see now that members aren't going > to cancel their membership because they can't book a room online (even though > it would be great), they will cancel because they don't feel connected. Some members will cancel because they can't book a room online, but those members are generally junk food members (http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2012/07/tips-for-building-community-after-opening-a-coworking-space/) anyway. :) -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia pre-order my new eBook, "the business of community (http://book.businessofcommunity.com/?ref=email)" On Monday, November 26, 2012 at 11:44 AM, Tom Lewis wrote: > Funny you should mention this Alex, as someone who is MAD about tools and > SaaS systems, I've been wondering how much of the ones I have planned are in > danger of substituting for real life community and conversation. I just come > back from a tour of a long established space in a city near us, and did > another one in the same city last week, and it's made me think hard about the > reality of the community. On the way back I read your latest email > newsletter about the rituals and routines you have at Indyhall, and I thought > about similar conversations with the hub owners we'd met. I could see that > even though they both had great communities, and both formal and spontaneous > stuff going on, it was the personal touch which kept them talking day to day. > All very well having a clever swipe system linked to a membership system > linked to a billing system, and a booking system, but when I was in these > real places, the actual conversations were about this stuff- "is anyone using > the meeting ro om", "anyone want to go for lunch", etc etc, and even having to sign in or tick a bit of paper when arriving means a chat with the receptionist instead of swiping a card- all these things go a long way to creating a feeling of connection, and not being part of a machine. > > I'm still committed to working out some systems to make life easier for us > (the community as a whole), and for the management of our new hub, so I can > spend more time with the community and less time rekeying data, but now more > than ever I'm going to be careful. Many of our members will have chosen to > opt out of the 9-5 corporate life, and swiping in and out, and feeling like a > machine may not be a great way of showing them that this is a new way of > working together. > > Definitely a balance to be had, but I can see now that members aren't going > to cancel their membership because they can't book a room online (even though > it would be great), they will cancel because they don't feel connected. I > think I need to learn a lesson from Facebook and Twitter. Funny how I get > daily signups from people working from home who want to join because they > feel lonely or out of the loop- despite having social media. Technology is > definitely not a substitute for community, and I've learnt today how I need > to respect that when we open the hub. > > On Monday, November 26, 2012 4:30:23 PM UTC, Alex Hillman wrote: > > For all of the talk about what tools there are, I'm wondering if any of you > > who are using these CRM tools can share a bit about your workflow using the > > tools you've chosen, in detail? > > > > CRM tools, as I've experienced them, are more about lead management than > > relationship management and that's made them really clunky for us. > > > > I'm hoping somebody's come up with a workflow that's just not obvious to me > > and can share the workflow is valuable for them! > > > > -Alex > > -- > > /ah > > indyhall.org (http://indyhall.org) > > coworking in philadelphia > > pre-order my new eBook, "the business of community > > (http://book.businessofcommunity.com/?ref=email)" > > > > > > > > On Monday, November 26, 2012 at 11:27 AM, Tom Lewis wrote: > > > > > On this subject, we've tried a few links between Highrise and Google > > > mail, and Colabspot have the most amazing chrome extension which bridges > > > them perfectly, allows you to send emails to a case, shows you all the > > > history within the google mail window, etc etc. It's far and away the > > > best HR to gmail solution we've seen so far. > > > > > > On Saturday, November 24, 2012 5:33:23 AM UTC, Jerome wrote: > > > > This might sound blunt, but I think to "crack the CRM nut", you simply > > > > have to pay. > > > > We use HighRise HQ, but would love more customizability, reporting, > > > > etc. But it does generally work for us. > > > > There's a $5/mo plug-in for our gmail-based email to connect with HR > > > > directly, such as follow-up tasks, etc. > > > > > > > > > > > > Jerome > > > > ______________ > > > > BLANKSPACES > > > > "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself" > > > > > > > > www.blankspaces.com (http://www.blankspaces.com) > > > > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 > > > > 323.330.9505 (office) > > > > > > > > On Nov 23, 2012, at 10:55 AM, Rogelio <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > I'm guessing that other coworkers here have cracked the CRM nut > > > > > (customer relationship management), so I'm hoping the someone here > > > > > could recommend a solution for four remote workers that does the > > > > > following: > > > > > > > > > > 1) is free (zero budget as of yet - total shoe string project!) > > > > > > > > > > 2) is cool and easy ways to hook into gmail / google apps, preferably > > > > > with a way of seeing last emails inside CRM web GUI itself > > > > > > > > > > 3) has cool ways to remind us on prospects for follow up (since only > > > > > first phase of project, we're not really concerned at this point for > > > > > building complex funnels, loyalty programs, opportunities, inventory, > > > > > etc) > > > > > > > > > > 4) is web based (two use Windows, one uses Linux, and one uses Mac), > > > > > but also has interfaces via a smart phone app (both Android and > > > > > iPhone) > > > > > > > > > > 5) PREVENTS VENDOR LOCK IN! > > > > > > > > > > For what it's worth, here is what I've put up so far... > > > > > > > > > > 1) SugarCRM (keep track of contacts) - not always intuitive, but a > > > > > small price to pay to have some flexibility later on if/when this > > > > > grows. We're not wedded to this, but it seemed like a good first > > > > > step > > > > > while we look for other easier-to-use CRMs with better workflows / > > > > > integration features. Super easy (and cheap!) install on Dreamhost. > > > > > Daily chron backups because I don't trust them! > > > > > > > > > > 2) iSugarCRM (iPhone) and DroidSugar (Android) > > > > > > > > > > https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/isugarcrm/id536162467?mt=8 (the one I > > > > > use) > > > > > http://goo.gl/0YNva > > > > > > > > > > 3) Boomerang / Rapportive - hooks into gmail and lets us schedule > > > > > emails and also see online presence of other ppl in group. > > > > > Rapportive > > > > > is free, but Boomerang isn't (but we each already had that). > > > > > > > > > > 4) Rondee / FreeConferenceCall / FreeScreenSharing - how we meet > > > > > together at different coworking spaces > > > > > > > > > > 5) Mailchimp / Survey Monkey (once we narrow down someone who is a > > > > > good candidate and doesn't mind being a part of what we do). Also > > > > > looking into other F/OSS mailing tools once this grows, like PHPlist > > > > > / > > > > > MailMan / OpenEEM (double opt-in, scheduling, click tracking, bounce > > > > > management, etc). > > > > > > > > > > http://alternativeto.net/software/surveymonkey/ > > > > > http://alternativeto.net/software/mailchimp/ > > > > > > > > > > 6) Usual other collab tools -- Skype, Google Docs / PiratePad, Google > > > > > Hangouts, Evernote, etc. > > > > > > > > > > (Goes without saying, but if I can help anyone else here and save > > > > > time, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm also on LinkedIn.) > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > > > > > --- > > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > > > Groups "Coworking" group. > > > > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > > > --- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "Coworking" group. > > > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > > > > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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