Of all the advice I give, the advice to conduct daily meetings encounters the most resistance. My consulting clients are good with the idea, but the pushback from the lawyers on their teams is huge.

It’s funny, because if the leadership can overcome the pushback and hold the meetings until they become routine (18 months-ish), then it’s canceling them that results in pushback. But that’s a story for another day.

So what about technology?

Of course, there’s technology for holding meetings online. We like Skype, but there are some other great options, like Google Hangouts and Zoom.

But the video/audio conferencing technology only works if you’ve committed to overcoming the lawyer resistance to the meetings. You’ll have to resolve yourself to overcoming the “I’m in court today and can’t make it,” “I’ve got a deadline and can’t make it,” and “I have to go to a doctor/dentist/hypnotist/fortune-teller appointment” excuses. It’s tough.

If you’re looking for an approach that, short of a daily meeting, gets people informed and in alignment, then look at Jell. Jell is a central place where people can share their daily plans, accomplishments, challenges, and goals. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it works.

Does it work as well as putting everyone in one place at one time? Does it provide all the benefits of seeing/hearing/feeling one another? Nope.

But does it move the team forward in a big way? Does it get you closer to alignment and collaboration? Does it beat the heck out of a bunch of lawyers doing their own thing, going their own way, and setting their own agendas? Yep.

Jell offers a free account, a $4 per user account, and a top-of-the-line $9 account. The “Basic” $4 per user, per month account makes the most sense. It allows for custom standup questions and keeps an unlimited history. Jell offers a web interface plus iPhone and Android apps.

If you’d like to ease your team toward keeping one another informed, then sign up for a free account and check out Jell. If you’d like to ease your team toward achieving collective goals, then give it a try. If you’d like to shift your team toward shared values, shared insights, and cooperation, then sign up. Find more info at Jell.