So many things come into play when we collaborate, or plan to. Collaborative value of any kind is dependent upon factors that are very obvious, such as clear capacity and trust. But there are other factors that we may pay less attention to and yet their accumulative power is such that they can make all the difference in the final outcome. For instance, did you know that “engineers who shared space were 20% more likely to communicate digitally and emailed four times more frequently when collaborating on a project. The result: their projects were finished 32% faster than those from staff working in different places”? Or did you know that people in positions of power tend to network more than others? These may be small, even negligible, considerations in the way some of us currently operate, but, unless we embrace some of the findings, we may be ignoring factors that can make our work impact matter. You can read more about these in this week’s recommended readings.

The Unexpected Value of Business Collaboration

Collaboration is the fuel of any business, whether it is between employees, partners or customers. It is a driving force for continued efficiency among everyday tasks and a necessity for improving the outcomes of many business activities. According to Clinked, 75 percent of businesses say online collaboration tools will be important or somewhat important to their business during 2013. Online tools and platforms have helped reinforce the benefits of collaboration as well as introduce some unexpected value to businesses…READ ON

How To Network Without Feeling ‘Dirty’

It’s likely everyone has met someone who bears no shame in using intrusive networking habits. Like the type of person who enters conversations with the sole purpose of explaining how great he is and then exits without showing even a glimmer of curiosity about the people who listened to his drawn-out monologue about his accomplishments. Or the person who asks virtual strangers to put in a good word for him as he hands out business cards like they’re autographed copies of a rare baseball card…READ ON

Forget What You Think You Know About The Office Of The Future

That includes knowing which tasks can be breezed through with the help of a playlist, or exactly when to down that cup of coffee (or switch to another beverage) and when to mindlessly surf the web. According to a new report published in Harvard Business Review, the key to unlock the greatest productivity isn’t necessarily in the hands of the individual employee. Rather, authors Ben Waber, Jennifer Magnolfi, and Greg Lindsay posit that chance and face-to-face encounters are the way anyone working in the knowledge economy is going to improve performance. That’s in spite of technology that keeps us “connected,” even when we work remotely…READ ON

Why Peter Thiel Doesn’t Hire MBAs, Hates Suits, And Thinks Silicon Valley Can Be Awful For You

Peter Thiel — the billionaire cofounder of PayPal and early Facebook investor — took to Reddit on Thursday for an AMA as part of the run-up to the release of his new new book “Zero To One,” which will be available on Sept. 16. The whole thread is worth the read, but we were intrigued by three targets of Thiel’s hyper-articulate ire: b-school grads, the overly dressed, and the cult of Silicon Valley…READ ON

New Trimble and Frank Gehry collaboration to transform construction industry

Construction solutions company, Trimble has announced they’ve acquired software and consulting services business Gehry Technologies, and are beginning a new strategic alliance with Frank Gehry himself. In a media statement released this week, Trimble predicted that their alliance would further connect office to on-site construction technologies and will transform the construction industry…READ ON

A Speech Is Not an Essay

Reading an essay to an audience can bore them to tears. I recently attended a conference where a brilliant man was speaking on a topic about which he was one of the world’s experts. Unfortunately, what he delivered was not a speech but an essay. This renowned academic had mastered the written form but mistakenly presumed that the same style could be used at a podium in the context of an hour-long public address. He treated the audience to exceptional content that was almost impossible to follow — monotone, flat, read from a script, and delivered from behind a tall podium…READ ON

Innovation in frontline healthcare strengthened by new collaboration

Led by the University of Exeter Medical School, the Exeter Collaboration for Academic Primacy Care (APEx) will bring together partners including GPs and healthcare providers. It will establish the South West Peninsula as a national centre of excellence for research and education in Primary Care – the day-to-day care given by a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional. APEx was launched at the St Luke’s Campus last week, with a key note speech from Dr Mike Bewick, Deputy Medical Director of NHS England. Dr Bewick said: “I am delighted to help launch the APEx programme. Its focus on primary care research at a very practical level supports NHS England’s work to transform primary care. I look forward to learning of its progress and success.”…READ ON

Smithers CEO: Collaboration could add value

Collaboration — when done wisely and with the proper entity — can be a vital tool in driving innovation in the tire industry, according to Michael Hochschwender, CEO and president of Smithers Group. As research and development budgets stay flat, and demands from shareholders, customers and consumers increase, Mr. Hochschwender said collaboration could be an avenue to success for some companies. “It’s very important to understand what you collaborate and why and with whom,” Mr. Hochschwender said this week during his keynote address for the Tire Society meeting, held during the International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC) in Akron.…READ ON

…and now for something completely different…

Fighting FOMO: 3 Strategies To Beat Your Fear Of Missing Out

OMG, do you have any idea what you’re missing right now? Have you checked Facebook in the last two minutes? If so, you know that everyone (and by that I mean everyone but you) is out there totally rocking life. Your BFF (that is, your former BFF) and her new BFF are trekking through Ladakh. Your college roommate has built an Internet empire. Your cousin’s at a wacky costume party, LOL — no, ROFL! Right now, everybody out there (except you) is whirling ravishingly through the good life! Together! In flash mobs! What R U doing?…READ ON