Workplace 2005

This isn't your grandfather's workplace. We're five years into the new millennium, and businesses everywhere are changing with the times. It's not just that your monitor is flatter and your cell phone is smaller; it's a whole new world. You can start a global business without ever meeting some of your employees face to face. These are exciting times that also bring new challenges to entrepreneurs. How you deal with those challenges through management and technology will define your business and determine your success.

Between home offices, branch offices, business travel and subcontractors located halfway across the continent, it's a challenge to keep everybody on the same page when you're not even in the same time zone. Still, many entrepreneurs are finding that the advantages of having a diffuse work force outweigh the challenges. Old-fashioned, face-to-face management techniques have to be refashioned and reconsidered. We'll look at what it takes to manage your company and employees in a world where workers are geographically scattered.