No matter what kind of work we do we are instinctively concerned with our sense of identity and individuality. Any attempt to create a system where our individuality is threatened is met with firm resistance. To some people, a collaborative way of working is one such threat. Those […]
A quick survey of works about collaboration indicates that there has been a fivefold increase in published books every decade over the past 25 odd years. The clear conclusion is that collaboration is a topic of increasing significance. The interesting thing is that, as a way of work, […]
With collaboration now becoming a mainstream business discipline every bit as important as HR, Marketing, ICT, or Finance, there is an unavoidable rise in offerings of tools and aids. While most are predominantly technology based, not all are tech tools. Business is booming but an entirely separate question […]
Silos are good for storing grain … or guided long-range missiles. They are expensive and valued structures that make sense if your primary concern is food safety or warfare. But when we build them in our workplace, they are nothing more than a major cost to business. There […]
The term collaboration is relatively new when taken in the context of human history. But its essence and concept go a long way back. When we apply contemporary understanding to what collaboration is, we can see many notable achievements across many fields. Here are four offering inspiration and […]
A few things make a business as competitive as its capacity to remain relevant. That is easy to disregard as many business managers tend to ignore disruptive factors. Relevance in the marketplace can be achieved by many means. Collaboration has emerged as an indispensable strategy to maintaining relevance […]
I sometimes wonder if people think that a collaboration strategy is some kind of office mantra where people walk around like zombies repeating ‘collaboration, collaboration, collaboration’ in perfect harmony. To be fair, more people are getting used to the idea that collaboration is a specifically focussed business strategy […]
How does trust affect collaboration? This is an important question that every collaboration focused organisation needs to tackle. Most of the stuff that has been written about collaboration over the past 20 years includes references to trust as a major factor. And much of these have been written […]
Clients are not what they used to be. While the idea of a client as someone who wants their needs met has not changed over decades or centuries, what has changed is how well clients understand their needs and, more importantly, communicate them. I recall a conversation with […]
A rising aspect of collaboration is the human-machine work coexistence. A steady increase in this specific form of collaboration is also raising quite a concern: technological unemployment. Study after study confirms people are convinced that robots will take over a lot of human jobs. The Pew Research Centre […]
“Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.” Arthur Ashe Research suggests that collaboration is good for business on many levels. Consider these findings by Deloitte: companies that prioritise collaboration are: Five times more likely to experience a considerable increase in employment Twice […]
When we consider collaboration, productivity matters a lot. Whichever way we look at it there is no escaping the fact that poor, albeit well meaning, collaboration can be costly. This issue can be tackled but it does take one specific bent; understanding that collaboration is about smart strategy […]
Every organisation has a story. Some stories are great and some are just, well, yarns. What makes the story of an organisation great is how well it manages the inevitable gap between what it says and what it does. It’s about congruence. It is normal for a gap […]
Business collaboration started off as a necessity for some industries. It slowly become a clever competitive strategy, then a norm. Businesses that get collaboration also get the fact that collaboration is not a real choice; sloppy collaboration is a cost no business can sustain. Some are learning this […]
It is always exciting when a new book about collaboration is released. It is simply a good sign. More research, more thinking, more reflecting on growing this strategic discipline is welcome news, not just for those who focus on collaboration but also those who want to innovate their […]
“If you thought collaborating with the humans was hard, wait till you get assigned to a job that requires you to collaborate with a robot” If we are to believe an increasing number of recent headlines then we are going to see robots coming: to take our jobs. […]
More collaboration! That seems to be the loud and clear message across the business world in its endeavour to deal with a host of business challenges; from disruption to business slumps. While reports continue to indicate that collaboration can temporarily frustrate people, it should be remembered that collaboration […]
I have been fortunate to have had opportunities to live in different parts of the world and to learn different languages. What I have learned in that organic process of adapting to new environments and cultures is that language skills are far more than an ability to communicate […]
One sure sign that collaboration is becoming an indispensable part of business strategy for smart businesses that understand competitive advantage, is an increasing investment in collaboration-focused technology. A very exciting aspect of this is immersive technology. How technology might shape collaboration is yet to be seen. Ultimately it […]
Machiavellian cynicism is bad – that is, if you are hoping to work with people who are collaborative. A research paper recently presented its findings following a longitudinal study investigating the impact of cynical beliefs on work life and income. In these findings researchers argued that “cynical individuals […]
Collaboration is rich ground for keen researchers. It is important that more research into collaboration is conducted as the discipline continues to mature. At the same time, as with all research, one has to be aware that findings are not automatically taken as truth. It is important to […]
This is not a paid promotion. It is not even a recommendation. Rather; it is positive feedback which is, of course, subjective. I am talking about the Kennedy app. ‘A minimalist journal that helps you contextualise your memories’, is how the app was described when it was launched […]
“Collaboration is good business”. So asserts Forbes’ contributor Erica Dhawan in “The Secret Weapon For Collaboration”; an article that is included this edition of recommended reading. That simple message is worth repeating as we know that collaboration thrives when the right culture is in place. And, as with […]
The hype surrounding the start-up culture that has gripped western economies over the past decade or so has become a de facto yardstick for any kind of achievement. Essentially, one struggles to find enough people to understand that not all businesses should be built upon the start-up model; […]
Collaboration watchers may have observed that there were times when collaboration was seen as a threat to a highly prized culture of individualism. Collaboration was somehow perceived as being about collectives, group-thinks, and against individual brilliance. Today that has changed a lot since we have come to embrace […]
