There was a time in business history when collaboration was only for the brave. It was also for business connoisseurs; those prepared to try things others could not even imagine. Today, collaboration is mainstream, notwithstanding the fact that we still have a long way to go in reaching its optimum potential. In this week’s selection of recommended reading you can see how many people feel about the necessity for collaboration in business. To some that may be preaching to the converted. For others, it may be just what is needed to aid in building a strong collaboration culture. I was particularly intrigued by the argument of bestselling author Rodd Wagner from BI WORLDWIDE, who questions the traditional way of measuring employee engagement. Predictably he points to collaboration as one of the factors contributing to better employee engagement.

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

Business must collaborate – without it the world is brutal and terrifying

I was recently introduced to Pandemic. Unlike zero-sum competition games such as chess, Pandemic is a cooperative board game that helps focus the mind on winning in the context of sustainability. The threat in Pandemic is the end of the world and, although the focus is public health rather than ecological collapse, the same principles apply…READ ON

Stop Using Employee Friendships to Measure Engagement

Here’s a question that has been touted by human resources consultants and practitioners for the better part of two decades as an important way to measure employee engagement: “Do you have a best friend at work?” While a principal of the polling organization Gallup, I prominently defended and helped popularize the concept…READ ON

Collaboration and the making of a social supply chain

Businessman pressing add friend icon on visual touch screen concept for social media, network, community and internet marketing

I received a somewhat confusing email a few weeks ago – an invitation, from a colleague, for me to join Yammer. The invitation didn’t provide much information about why I should be joining, so naturally a few questions ran through my head. Why have I been invited? Is this related to a project? Am I supposed to know? Did I miss something at the last team meeting? I bit and created a Yammer account thinking that these burning questions would be answered…not so much. After poking around the home page, which resembled my Facebook news feed, I went straight to the source – the person who invited me. Turns out my colleague had been invited by someone else, and then invited me to join along with a few other team members. Which got me thinking…READ ON

How Great is Collaboration? Ask Google

Efficient ongoing collaboration has a significant impact on business innovation, performance, culture and even the bottom line. So says Google and this time it is not just talking up its array of enterprise productivity and collaboration tools in the Google for Work suite. This was the finding of original cross-industry research Google decided to conduct to measure workplace collaboration…READ ON

Simplicity of Web-based collaboration tools gains appeal

Nobody in IT ever worries about whether bandwidth, storage or critical applications like email will go unused. The same can’t be said for traditional desktop UC clients, which have a habit of getting in their own way with occasionally clunky user interfaces or unnatural workflows. Enterprises purchase and install expensive, on-premises unified communications (UC) equipment, and then IT pros typically cross their fingers and hope employees use the tools often enough to yield a decent return on investment…READ ON

Business Etiquette Around the World

Source: http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2015/6/25/business-etiquette-around-the-world.html

Community collaboration gives hope to Sunshine Coast homeless

Late last year, community services groups were charged with surveying the homeless population on the Sunshine Coast. They spoke to about 200 people with about 70 people declining. Coast2Bay Housing Group CEO Morrie Evans said the survey was used to find what led to people becoming homeless and sleeping rough. “What we found was there were a whole range of issues ranging from general health issues, mental health issues, domestic violence issues, substance abuse,” he said. “[There were a] whole range of challenges people have faced … which meant they have disengaged…READ ON