Some people simply won’t collaborate. Not really that surprising except when you find there are senior managers in the mix. I suppose, because collaboration is a disruptive process since it is creative and innovative, and as long term researcher into creativity Prof Barry M. Staw points out, most people are not prepared to put in the hard work required to be creative. Be that as it may, the discipline of collaboration is maturing. Some of the selected articles in this week’s edition focus on particular tricky bits; like how to avoid collaboration fatigue, how to balance the ‘we’ and ‘me’ factors, and of course what to do when collaboration frightens people. Perhaps inspiration can be found by hearing what a group of successful female entrepreneurs have to say in the article published by INC.

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

Balancing “We” and “Me”: The Best Collaborative Spaces Also Support Solitude

The open office has a lot of critics these days. But it remains the dominant form of workplace design for a reason: It can foster collaboration, promote learning, and nurture a strong culture. It’s the right idea; unfortunately, it’s often poorly executed—even as a way to support collaboration…READ ON

17 Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets for Success

Successful entrepreneurs are usually inspired by other successful entrepreneurs. That means that if people don’t have great role models–especially role models in whom they can see themselves–they’re at a big disadvantage. That’s among the biggest challenges facing women who want to start new ventures. So, with Women’s History Month right around the corner, here are key quotes from 17 amazingly successful women entrepreneurs. Which do you find most inspiring?…READ ON

When Senior Managers Won’t Collaborate

Today’s professional services firms face a conundrum. As clients have globalized and confronted more-sophisticated technological, regulatory, economic, and environmental demands, they’ve sought help on increasingly complex problems. To keep up, most top-tier firms have created or acquired narrowly defined practice areas and encouraged partners to specialize. As a result, their collective expertise has been distributed across more and more people, places, and practice groups…READ ON

5 Rules to Avoid a Collaboration Hangover

Global collaboration has never been easier and is expected to surge in the next decade.

In a world gone social, an ever increasing number of organizations are chasing the benefits of social collaboration, both inside and outside their own walls. With initiatives such as Google launching its high altitude balloons to wirelessly connect billions of people in remote areas, global collaboration has never been easier and is expected to surge in the next decade. The core drivers to have employees, customers, partners and many other kinds of communities collaborate with each other are obvious: spread knowledge, reduce costs, increase innovation speed and success, share risk, boost market performance and improve operating efficiency…READ ON

In the Company of Givers and Takers

Every day, employees make decisions about whether to act like givers or like takers. When they act like givers, they contribute to others without seeking anything in return. They might offer assistance, share knowledge, or make valuable introductions. When they act like takers, they try to get other people to serve their ends while carefully guarding their own expertise and time…READ ON

…and now for something completely different…

Day dreaming helps the mind in doing complex tasks later

Daydreaming – spontaneous thoughts and associations – is often thought to take away the focus of the mind struggling with a boring monotonous task. But a new study of the human brain has thrown up a surprising result – daydreaming can prepare the mind to better address many tasks by switching on bigger networks of brain cells…READ ON