Some people have worked out long time ago that, at the very least, collaboration equals saving. In itself, this may be all that is needed for a collaboration to produce the desired outcomes. Personally I think might be cutting it short of the full potential that a collaborative approach to value creation achieves. In fact, it is the entrepreneurial attitude in collaboration that focuses on innovation, shared knowledge, and resilient enterprise that enables a collaborative strategy to unlock the potential that both individuals and organisations have hidden in plain sight. There no one way of uncovering collaboration potential. Many, and at times seemingly unrelated, features of work processes offer insights. This week’s selection is a bit of a juxtapose of some resources ROADMENDER is happy to share. Remember, the future belongs to collaboration!

10 tips for easier collaboration between office suites

If you work with data, most likely you are going to have to collaborate on one file or another. If you’re lucky, everyone you collaborate with will be using the same office suite. But chances are, they won’t be. So that data file might pass between Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, iWork, WPS… the list goes on and on. Because of that possible unknown, you want to work in a way that will make the collaboration process seamless and easy. I have 10 tips that will help. Although not every tip may apply to you, many of them should. Let’s take a look at how you can make the collaboration process a predictable success…READ ON

“Collaboration platforms are making it easy for employees to share information and organizations are creating incentives ” – Jacob Morgan
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/09/02/the-evolution-of-the-employee/

Voice and Video are Dead – Why Collaboration is the Next Big Thing

Audio conferencing and video conferencing are not new technologies for business. So why do we still talk about them like they are innovative additions to the workplace? Voice and video have been done. You can find audio conferencing and video conferencing anywhere. Cisco proved you can run it on data links and Microsoft showed us that you can run it with software. There are lots of options and ways to access low-cost voice and, increasingly, low cost video. Many of the consumer applications like FaceTime and Skype are being adopted by businesses around the world. We are all familiar with these applications, but I argue that they don’t offer anything really new or innovative to the team experience…READ ON

Building a Community of Creative Collaborators

Photo credit: Adam Woodhams

Our grassroots partners are at the heart of Segal Family Foundation’s mission and work. I know each and every one of our partners, which is a point of pride with over 150 partners and acronyms like SHOFCO, IEFT, ZISD and BYFC. During site visits, I’ve seen our grassroots NGO partners in action and I’ve met many of the visionary leaders behind these incredible organizations in person during our Annual Meetings, like the one held in early-July in Arusha, Tanzania. Hearing their stories and the impact of our support really drives home why we exist as a funder…READ ON

CMU unfolds BrainHub research effort

If the medical focus of the 20th century was infections, Thomas R. Insel said the 21st century focus is incommunicable diseases, with a big spotlight on brain disorders. And research finally is turning attention to arguably the biggest mystery of science: How does our brain work? “The world has discovered the brain,” said Dr. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. “This is a hot topic. The public is intrigued by the brain, and understanding the mysteries of why we do what we do. It is the question of the decade.” Carnegie Mellon University has gotten on board with creation of its BrainHub — a public-private research collaboration based at the university and involving the University of Pittsburgh and several universities worldwide…READ ON

Collaboration, Consistency, and Community Spirit: How Durham Advances Health

Durham, North Carolina is so richly endowed with health care resources that it is known as “the City of Medicine;” it is home to 95 percent of the companies that comprise the Research Triangle. Yet, while many of the county’s 288,133 residents are thriving, others are not nearly as healthy. A 2004 community health assessment revealed that in Durham’s very diverse population — currently, 38.7 percent black, 42.1 percent white, and 13.5 percent Hispanic — there were high rates of cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and infant mortality…READ ON

Banner-Aetna collaboration saves $5 million

Aetna Inc. and Banner Health Network saved $5 million with a partnership to manage costs and improve quality for Aetna’s Whole Health full-insured commercial membership. In addition to those shared savings achieved in 2013, the average medical cost to members declined 5 percent, while showing improved cancer screening rates, blood sugar management in diabetic members and reduced avoidable hospital admissions…READ ON

One Of The Best Examples Of Collective Intelligence You’ll Ever See (VIDEO)

a colony of ants have transformed into a daisy chain to pull a dead millipede — behavior that’s never been seen before

Individual ants are not very smart, but ants working together in a colony are capable of extraordinary feats. Case in point is this remarkable video in which a colony of ants have transformed into a daisy chain to pull a dead millipede — behavior that’s never been seen before. Ants are what biologists refer to as a superorganism — a species that can only be understood by examining the sum of its parts. Ants are renowned for their ability to band together to complete tasks an individual member couldn’t possibly hope to accomplish, like bandying together to carry large objects or forming bridges out of their bodies. But this chain-linking behavior, which appears to show a Southeast Asian species of Leptogenys ants, is completely new to science…READ ON

Collaboration and innovation needed for quality wheat products: Britannia MD

Varun Berry

Effective collaboration between the stake holders and development of innovative products are the factors needed for bringing in quality wheat products in the market, says Varun Berry, managing director, Britannia Industries Ltd. Speaking at the 7th International Seminar on Wheat and Wheat Products, here on Tuesday, he said that collaboration is required between the stakeholders right from the farmers and millers to end-product manufacturers to bring out innovative quality wheat products, including biscuits in the domestic market…READ ON

…and now for something completely different…

Talking to Strangers Makes You Happy

Consider the times you’ve hopped on a subway, boarded a plane or entered a waiting room. Chances are, you probably avoided engaging with any fellow commuters or patients. But contrary to what we might think, we’d be happier if we did strike up a conversation with a total stranger. In a study, commuters in Chicago were asked to either talk with a stranger on a train, or sit quietly alone, or just do whatever they’d normally do on their commute. Then, they responded to a survey about how they felt…READ ON