It is ok to say ‘no’ to collaboration. (Pop music mega star Adele created a bit of a buzz recently with her refusal to collaborate with another star, Beyonce. Some say it wasn’t true, thus the buzz.) But before we say ‘no’ we should know why, and our reasoning should be based on smart strategic decisions. In fact one way to build your collaboration brand is to be consistent with your choices. Like with everything else, when it comes to your brand, there needs to be clarity. And, in a very large part, that is what collaboration strategy is about; making sure that the businesses you choose to collaborate with know what kind of collaborator you and your enterprise are.

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

How a big U.K. bank uses Facebook at Work for collaboration

In just six months, Facebook at Work’s user base increased from a handful of companies to about 300 organizations. The social network also earned itself a marquee customer for its workplace collaboration and communication product, which is currently available only as a limited pilot: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS is not yet paying for the service, but the deal marks the largest Facebook at Work deployment to date. In July, the financial services firm launched a small pilot that included a few hundred employees…READ ON

Adele turns down Beyonce collaboration

Adele and Beyoncé at Grammy’s
Image source: http://cdn.urbanislandz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Adele-and-Beyonce-Grammys.jpg

Everybody wants to collaborate with Beyonce, except Adele. The British singer recently shunned the opportunity to collaborate with Queen Bey. According to the International Business Times, “She went into the studio with Adele at the end of last year and tried to convince her to collaborate on a track. Adele turned down the offer, so now Bey is putting the song on her new album instead, which everyone is saying will drop before the end of the year.” Adele has been making…READ ON

Co-working spaces’ popularity, success comes from collaboration

When eight-person consulting company Sputnik Moment needed help creating marketing materials for a conference, the solution was just a few feet away. Sputnik Moment enlisted the services of graphic design company Eeko Studio for help with these materials. The two companies work out of Phoenix co-working space Co+Hoots. Sputnik Moment CEO and Founder Pierre Kaluzny said their collaboration simply arose out of casual conversations. “It’s sort of the code here,” Kaluzny said. “If you are here, you’re OK being approached by others.” Co-working spaces like Co+Hoots are dedicated, shared work…READ ON

Allen Toussaint and the Culture of Innovation Through Collaboration

Sometimes, we lose great musicians. Whenever a great force of creativity slides off this mortal coil, it feels like an opportunity to remind ourselves of what truly incredible creators can achieve. And that reflection can serve as an inspiration for innovation, from the life of someone whose career spans many decades and just about every musical genre. Even if we can’t all be geniuses, it’s an opportunity to ask ourselves: What have we done today to be innovative? What opportunities stand before us to collaborate to unlock our creativity?…READ ON

Social Collaboration: How HR Can Bring $19.2 Million In Revenue Opportunity

With each click, share, like, and tweet, the world’s data pool expands faster than we can ever comprehend. In fact, IDC recently estimated double-digit growth rates of real-time intelligence, exploration, and discovery of unstructured information by 2020. As the pace of business accelerates, many organizations struggle with capturing relevant data and distributing it to the right people who can make sense of it all and put it into action. But, here’s a little secret: Your CHRO may have the answer to your data woes. Typically, HR is viewed as a cost center charged with making sure the workforce is engaged, properly skilled, compensated, and retained. However, the function can also impact the entire company in ways that change how employees work…READ ON

Less Division, More Collaboration

The charities and Not for Profit sector is a remarkable success story in Australia. Growth over the last decade has averaged more than 7 per cent a year, outstripping any industry group. Turnover grew from $46 billion to more than $105 billion in less than a decade. The reality is that this growth will be difficult to maintain. Increases in government revenue have stalled, levels of giving as a percentage of average income have not returned to pre-global financial crisis levels and there is increasing competition from for-profit…READ ON