In a closely tracked world of tasks and deliverables, people know what to do, and do it. Fortunately, humans are also social beings, which means there’s a whole lot more to the work we do than checklists and achievements.

People need contact. They need connection. And when they work in disparate parts of the globe - as many open innovation projects (and most of our teams) do - they need be more intentional about keeping the work human. The best-functioning geographically distributed teams use tools, techniques and practices to the extent that they foster connection and productivity, and never as ends in themselves.

These are just a few take-aways from this Monday’s LearnFWD session with Homa Bahrami, senior lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Homa specializes in sociology and organizations, and brought her expertise to Mozilla as part of a study on how Mozillians get stuff—LOTS of stuff—done in various corners of the globe. When she presented her research findings to Mozilla in September, we knew our far-flung teams would benefit from her insights.

Check out her wisdom here and let us know what resonates with you and your teammates!