Edwin Land, the famous inventor and personal idol of the late Steve Jobs, remarked that ‘politeness is the poison of collaboration’.  That is another way of saying that when people collaborate by ‘going along to get along’ they end up missing the whole point of collaboration.  That’s not to say that collaboration requires people to be harsh and disrespectful to each other.  The trick is in finding the right partners where collaboration, be it internal or between enterprises, is built on a strong level of trust and commitment towards a shared goal.  Some of these lessons can be gleaned from this month’s edition of recommended reading.

Toxic collaboration ruins good projects

The building and construction industry must address and solve increasingly complex problems. This demands knowledge and experience from different engineering specialists, organisations and stakeholders.

Therefore, it is common sense to assume that different people must join forces and co-create solutions. By combining different expertise and backgrounds, it is possible to make two plus two become way more than four. In order to achieve this, various stakeholders and different actors along the value chain have no choice but to come together, establish shared goals and work together to define the problems and to find smart solutions…READ ON

Collaboration Matters Most for Front Line Worker

Are you trying to decide where to start with the new collaboration tools you just acquired? Here’s a tip: don’t start with you, or the other folks in the head office. Instead, seek opportunities at the front line, or out in the field.

The market for enterprise collaboration tools is heating up. Many (most?) organizations are either moving toward Office 365 now, or they will be in the near future. Other offerings — including Slack and Workplace by Facebook — have entered the market with a bang.

There has never been a more impressive array of collaboration and social…READ ON

I studied millionaires for 5 years and realized most peoples’ success comes down to an overlooked factor

Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak. Warren Buffett had Charlie Munger. Larry Page had Sergey Brin.

Some of the most successful people in the world owe their success to the partnerships they forged.

In my Rich Habits Study, I interviewed 233 wealthy individuals (177 of whom were self-made millionaires) with at least $160,000 in annual gross income and $3.2 million in net assets.

According to my Rich Habits research, finding a good partner is one of the fast tracks towards success and wealth. It is, however, also one of the fast tracks to failure or, worse, bankruptcy. Choosing a bad partner can create havoc with your financial…READ ON

Why Finance Executives Should Master and Promote Collaboration

…Effective workforce collaboration is a priority for any business that wants to build more cohesive and productive teams and drive innovation…

Effective workforce collaboration is a priority for any business that wants to build more cohesive and productive teams and drive innovation. But two areas where collaboration really matters, but at times languishes, are at the senior management level and in the finance function.

Obviously, CFOs and other finance executives have an opportunity to improve collaboration in both areas. Mastering collaboration with your peers in the business, as well as encouraging your team to share ideas and skills and work in a more unified way with each other, is good for your organization as well as your career. Here’s why:…READ ON

Adding Just 1 Wrong Person to Your Team Hurts Its Potential. Here’s How to Avoid It

Agile.  Nimble.  Fast.  These are the characteristics that illustrate how many firms are growing and winning market share and outsized profits.  The ability to spot trends, move quickly into new opportunities or markets, and re-think or re-organize your business is vitally important.  While there are many factors that contribute to your ability to remain nimble, agile and fast, none is more important than the size and cohesion of the team.

It may be difficult to believe, but adding just one person who doesn’t share your vision, doesn’t share your commitment, or who simply isn’t willing to take new risks can completely alter your course and especially your pace.  The fact that your success or failure can be dictated by a single individual with different goals or objectives may seem unlikely. But the wrong person is much more likely to disrupt your outcomes than the wrong solutions or targeting the wrong market…READ ON

Microsoft and Intel unite to bring blockchain to businesses

You still may not know what bitcoin is, but soon, you could be working with the technology that powers the cryptocurrency. Intel and Microsoft are working together to bring blockchain into the workplace, and it’s all contingent on a new framework they’re calling Coco. Heralded as a first-of-its-kind innovation, the goal is to jumpstart widespread adoption, particularly among businesses, of blockchain technology. After all, blockchain allows for secure and speedy transactions, which are key to many modern businesses…READ ON