Using teleconferencing technology has lately become an obvious and financially practical choice to offset rising business travel expenses. Yet sometimes simple chatting doesn't cut it. There has been growing interest in the notion of online conferencing with a "virtual presence" emphasis, which enables people to share information and their very selves with one another with a stronger sense of near-tangible "face time."

We all have a tendency to only look directly at what we're doing today, and not step back and say: "What do I, what does my company, need to be focusing on now, for the future?" Taking that step back is the step toward innovation and away from stagnation.