These days, everyone is connected. Everyone is into following, liking, endorsing, linking, sharing, updating and so on. That is how we ‘do’ relationships now. So it seems anyway. A flurry of activities such as these may create a sense of relationship and make us feel good, but (and […]
Chances are that one can be a bit tired of hearing about collaboration these days. The word is on everyone’s lips. And yet there’s always something new happening. New collaborative solutions spring up all the time. More surveys and research are revealing the good and the challenging sides […]
Hands up those who work for an organisation that has a vision statement. Hands up those who think that a company’s vision inspires them to collaborate. No such in-depth research exists but maybe it should; given that the likelihood of better workplace collaboration can be inspired directly by […]
There is evidence to suggest that people who collaborate tend to work faster and harder. They achieve more. So, should hiring managers pay more attention to the collaboration capacity and attitudes of new staff? I think yes. In fact, I think there would have to be an exceptional […]
Collaboration in the entertainment industry is hot right now. Essentially, all pop music stars maintain their relevance by collaborating at one point or another with other musicians. It is not only pop stars that collaborate. The fashion industry, sport, gaming and others all embrace collaboration. It has become […]
Right now we are experiencing a mini boom in the proliferation of collaboration focused tech tools. There is a sense of a race currently underway, with major players pouring resources into collaboration tools and starts-ups cropping up everywhere. I see that as a good thing because it also […]
Let’s be clear; collaboration is not the answer to every business challenge. But ignoring its potential is quite likely to make every aspect of your business more complicated and costlier. With that in mind I recommend that in the current oscillating climate of business confidence uncertainty and disruption, […]
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 […]
Collaboration is a strategy. So, it only works as it should when it is approached as a strategy. But how we approach strategy is an even larger question. Over the years I have taken part in strategic planning in a range of capacities. Some I led myself, in […]
Not all collaborators get their start in the same way. Some get hooked after they stumble across it while working on an exciting project; others react after a dose of FOMO. Whatever the case, the evidence is clear: everyone is increasingly aware that collaboration is a factor that […]
Collaborator /kəˈlabəreɪtə/ (noun) – an associate or assistant in labour, particularly literary or scientific Over time, the meaning of many words changes. In most cases the changes take effect very slowly, to the point that we barely notice it. Some words change meaning almost completely; others only slightly. […]
Some people approach collaboration with suspicion. It’s a deep seated attitude going back to the days when competition was defined in terms that neglected a very simple fact; common good and common goals underpin all healthy competition. Competition and collaboration are the new marriage made in heaven for […]
A recently held forum of nearly 200 community organisations found that collaboration is the top ranking challenge. What does that mean in real terms? Looking back over my 20 odd years of working with community organisations in a variety of roles, I can clearly understand the importance of […]
Collaboration makes some people uneasy. That then can easily translate into defensive behaviour, as people generally tend to rationalise their feelings. And then things are likely to snowball into something you can call anything under the sun except collaboration. But frankly it’s still early days with regard to […]
When people enter into a close working arrangement whereby the outcome of one party depends on the action of another, it is only natural that tension may arise; sometimes even dangerously so. The threat of conflict in itself can be a real turnoff, even for the most enthusiastic […]
In a long list of the benefits of collaboration, learning is one of the all-time stand outs. Every business manager knows that organisations that intend keeping their light on year after year must be ‘learning organisations’. And one of the massive benefits of collaboration in business is learning […]
Collaboration is as much about shared value creation as it is about innovation and disruption. The mix of these factors is not easy to come to terms with for the savviest of managers, let alone the conservatively educated ones who still adhere to last century’s management textbooks. There’s […]
Police and lawyers tell us that you can’t solve a crime without knowing the motivation behind it. A ‘no motive no crime’ sort of logic. Businesses can’t work without a motive either. And the same goes for collaboration. I would not suggest that collaboration enthusiasts befriend a criminal […]
Business is all about competition, which is not possible without a strategy that takes care of relevance and survival in any market. Could it be that the ultimate tool for survival is the way businesses collaborate? If we take a long view of say the next 20 years, […]
Many businesses fear collaboration. Despite any good will and/or interest in it managers, in particular in small to medium sized businesses, are often confronted with the risk of being taken advantage of by seemingly good collaborating partners. An interesting development in this regard is the recent publication of […]
The proliferation of collaboration platforms is one indicator of the growth and demand for systems that businesses are increasingly turning to in order to make the best of their talent. It’s great to see that level of motivation and entrepreneurialism on a global scale. And just when we […]
My late father used to say ‘you have to eat a kilo of salt with someone before you get to really know them’; meaning, it takes a very long time. In business, nobody gets that luxury thus the perennial challenge: how can you tell if collaboration with another […]
“Collaboration is not a buzzword”. So says Jason Martin (see below) and I could not agree more. Included in this week’s recommended reading list is a piece by Mr Martin who lays out a clear business case for collaboration that start-ups should follow to the letter. Buzzwords can […]
‘Things end. It is the way we deal with things ending that matters.’ That’s a line from Analyse This, a film starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal. Billy plays a ‘head doctor’ (in mafia speak) who offers these words of well-meaning advice to one of his regular […]
Creativity matter. It always mattered. It matters in everyday life and business alike. As we slowly evolve into the ‘homo colaboratus’ species, creativity is also becoming a prerequisite. But, despite an unprecedented level of writing and advice on how to tap into one’s creative inner hero, researchers point […]
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