Have you heard about ‘mosaic careers’? Or how about ‘bow-tie business to business relationships’? These and many more interesting concepts and ideas about making your enterprise more competitive form part of this week’s selection of recommended reading. As usual ROADMENDER is mostly focused on all things collaboration, but some of the pieces extend into other realms of what makes businesses tick. For instance there is an excellent (well frankly, I think each of these pieces are excellent) piece by marketing consultant Lynn Serafinn who ‘invites you to dive into six investigative questions to help understand your business at its core’. Another article, by career expert Marty Nemko in TIME, explains what mosaic careers are and why they matter. Perhaps the best way to read the entire selection is to treat it like curated chapters that make sense when put together into one mix. The mission of this entire enterprise is to make you think collaboration and be ready for the future. Enjoy.

Sincere thanks to those who have suggested articles for this edition of Roadmender Recommends.

Why Fairness is Key to Collaboration

Earlier this year I looked at some research that was exploring the topic of fairness in the workplace. The research revealed that we’re often quite happy to accept a degree of hierarchy at work so long as the hierarchy treats people fairly. A second study suggests that the fairness of the organization is especially important when we expect employees to collaborate closely with one another. It revealed that when employees believe there is a strong sense of ‘procedural justice’ in their organization, their collaborative efforts are greatly enhanced. If things are unfair however, such as the boss exhibiting favoritism towards certain individuals, then collaboration plummets…READ ON

A deeper look at collaborative leadership

Previously I mentioned that I’d like to delve into what leaders can do to develop a more collaborative and innovative culture, but before I do that I thought I should better define “Collaborative Leadership.” I did previously write a brief post on this earlier inspired by a blog post on the topic…READ ON

Discover 2015 Collaboration Trends and Knowledge Worker Expectations in PGi’s Latest Survey and eBook

At PGi, the world’s largest pure-play provider of collaboration software and services, we are uniquely focused on the changing nature of collaboration, and we’ve helped drive its evolution for over 20 years. To that end, I’m proud to share both our latest survey and newest eBook, where we unearth trends and explore predictions for how collaboration will evolve in 2015…READ ON

Building Exceptional Business-to-Business Relationships

During an interview for a Gallup business-to-business (B2B) study, the CEO of a large consumer goods company told me an interesting story. Years ago, when he was in the company’s sales department, he was part of a team that met with the founder and leader of a major retailer. The retail leader commented that their respective companies had a great relationship, but it was shaped too much like a bow tie…

6 Questions Every Business Owner Should Ask Once a Year – Part 1

Traditionally, the New Year is the time when we make resolutions. Every year we make a plethora of nebulous promises that we’re going to lose weight, give up smoking, drink less, exercise more, etc. And just as traditionally, we joke about the fact that few of us actually succeed in bringing our New Year’s resolutions to fruition…READ ON

The Incredible, Disappearing Job

Last year, at the Society for Neuroscience conference, I gave a talk on how to find work. I expected 20 or 30 people to attend–after all, it was just a concurrent session. Four-hundred and fifty people showed up, mostly people with hard-science PhDs. After the session, about 75 of them lined up to talk with me—most of them telling me they were having a hard time finding a job and wanted advice…READ ON

Do Companies Want Critical Thinkers or Problem Solvers?

Critical thinking — companies say they desperately want more of it, schools try to teach it and job-seekers almost always mention it on their resumes. It seems that the ample supply of applicants who market themselves as critical thinkers would be more than enough to meet the demand for this hot skill. Yet business leaders still constantly grumble about not having enough critical thinkers in their companies. So why do companies complain that their employees lack critical thinking skills? The answer, according to top education and business leaders speaking in a recent Kaplan webinar, lies in the vastly different ways schools and businesses understand critical thinking…READ ON

…and now for something completely different…

What Everybody Needs

“The more personal you are willing to be and the more intimate you are willing to be about the details of your own life, the more universal you are.”…READ ON