Does Anybody Still Use the Pony Express?

 

From April 3, 1860 to October of 1861 the Pony Express carried mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Before the telegraph, the Pony Express was the most direct means to send a message to points west. During the 18 months the the Pony Express operated, it reduced the time it took for mail to reach California from weeks or months to about ten days. It was state of the art for its day. However, I don't think anyone uses the Pony Express anymore.

Over the Labor Day weekend, I spent a little time on the bike and one of my rides crossed the old Pony Express route. It is a pretty lonely road now, I can only imagine what it must have been like in 1861. I also thought about how communication technology has developed since the days of mounted couriers racing across the desert.

Needless to say, email, text messaging, and instant messaging (and don't forget telecommunications) have changed the way we communicate with each other. Although I didn't check, I'm sure when I was out on the old Pony Express route, I could have taken my cell phone out of my pocket and called home—what a difference 140 some odd years makes.

The big question for us now is, "What's the best way to communicate and collaborate with our project teams?"

I wish I had the magic bullet answer.

If you're like me, email is a very big part of your day. I probably spend about as much time in email as I do any other application on my computer. I also have a text messenger up all the time and my desk phone and cell phone are right next to my computer—not to mention the opportunity to walk over to the next desk and have a conversation. Needless to say, I am very connected (there are also a number of people I communicate with regularly through my project management software, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter). I have found that depending upon the type of communication, what I'm communicating about and who I'm communicating with, I tend to choose the most appropriate method for sending and receiving messages.

As project leaders, we have a lot of communication tools at our fingertips (we also have teams spread around the world). Choosing the right communication and collaboration methods to help our project teams get work done is critical to project success. How do you determine the best way to share information and collaborate with your team?