Some people simply won’t collaborate. Not really that surprising except when you find there are senior managers in the mix. I suppose, because collaboration is a disruptive process since it is creative and innovative, and as long term researcher into creativity Prof Barry M. Staw points out, most […]
To collaborate one needs to face the pressures that come with it. Like, for instance, what happens when we run out of things to say to one another? Well, maybe that’s not a problem for all of us, but the gist of the point is this; in the […]
Good business is always made better when it solves problems. The story of a business that is relevant is more compelling when its product or a service is something that at first can seem trivial. As the world changes, and it changes with more disruption and unknowns than […]
Do you know the one about the fox and the hedgehog? No. Let me gist it for you. A long, long time ago (around 700 BCE) a smart (ancient) Greek man remarked that the fox knows many things and the hedgehog knows one big thing. Fast forward to […]
ROADMENDER is 100% about collaboration. It is normal then that it continuously builds a case for businesses to adopt the practice as a vital element of competitive and sustainable enterprise. This particular site, with appreciation to the ROADMENDER community for its input, has accumulated a possibly unprecedented amount […]
Collaboration. Such a warm and fuzzy term and yet so terrifying at times. It implies all the things humans crave. Being included in a group. Sharing your knowledge and ideas. Sharing goals and celebrating wins and successes. All true. However, it also brings up anxieties of all kinds. […]
How good is this? Australians are falling in love! With collaboration that is. I hope it’s not an ‘on the rebound’ thing. According to most indicators the love is real. Australians are joining the global trend which has been long time coming. A summary of findings from a […]
There’s an ever increasing number of collaboration tools on the market. That is a good thing. I guess. But the tools are not the strategy as some seem to believe. In the age of mass proliferation of business tools that can make almost everything we do on a […]
No matter how good something is there will always be plenty of sceptics. That in itself is a PhD opportunity. But, staying on point, I want to share my excitement about the increasing proliferation of new tools and technologies that focus on collaboration. In fact, I think it […]
Humans are social beings. We crave connection with others and we define purpose in life in strong reference to fellow human beings. The workplace today is a dominant social organisation and as such it has become the most central point for us to define and live out our […]
The retail sector is one of the most ferociously aggressive areas of economy. And the fashion industry is right up there with the most competitive. It comes as no surprise then that the fashion sector very strongly embraces collaboration. Take a look at the advice published by Fashionista […]
It is rare to have a conversation about collaboration and not hear something like “trust is important”. But I have never heard anyone mention that courage is also important. I recently read a really cool piece in Forbes by Liz Ryan (see link below**) who examines why so […]
Strategists of all persuasion are well aware of the growing importance of creativity in the solution design process. It’s not only analytical skills that can define competitive strategy. With that in mind, it is useful to reflect on what has become a well-established fact about collaboration: it is […]
For collaboration to count it needs to produce the desired outcome. And the real measure of any serious outcome is how much of an impact it creates. This inevitably puts pressure on managers to ensure that the impact they produce holds water and thus the need to consider […]
Have you heard about ‘mosaic careers’? Or how about ‘bow-tie business to business relationships’? These and many more interesting concepts and ideas about making your enterprise more competitive form part of this week’s selection of recommended reading. As usual ROADMENDER is mostly focused on all things collaboration, but […]
Every collaboration starts as an idea. Simples, as the beloved meerkat says (apologies to readers beyond Australia, but this is an Australian reference to a popular ad for an insurance company). Those who have come up with ideas in the past know that excitement for the originator of […]
Collaboration is only as good as its collaborating parties. So, in a way, it all should start with self-knowledge, self-improvement etc. This first edition of recommended reading for 2015 brings in a few things that may just do that; help us learn things that can make us better […]
One of the most ‘normal’ things to do in any kind of business is to reduce risk. A whole industry has been developed around risk management, which by the way is now one of the sacred cows of business. No surprises there. Poor risk management is a big […]
Only a few days to go before we farewell 2014. As much as it is good to reflect on great things and accomplishments on which 2015 can be built, there is always that feeling that a just a bit more could have been achieved in the year past. […]
In case you hadn’t noticed, 2014 was marked by an increase in media coverage of collaboration practices. The tone of the messages was very positive and encouraging as we saw a lot more commentary, analysis and studies proving that collaboration is on the increase. The investment in collaboration […]
Several months ago I wrote about a new model of collaboration which I developed as a strategy to help a small not for profit organisation move towards an independent stream of revenue. Independent of limited government funding that is. This model is best described as the ‘enterprising collaborative’ […]
2014 will be remembered, among other things, for a marked increase in collaboration appeal to the business and government sectors. The not-for-profit sector, while very much aware of the need to shift gears, is slightly lagging. Irrespective of all of this, it is now very clear that 2015 […]
There have been reports recently indicating that collaboration in the workforce has been steadily on the rise. The potential for it to continue to grow has been also identified and the word on the street is that employees want more of it. Now, new studies are continuing to […]
Millennials are said to be the change makers of the modern workforce. They are also demanding more collaboration. Shared workspaces are now the norm. Cultural nuances are vital when it comes to working together. And let’s not forget leadership. In the words of Dr Janice Presser, one of […]
“You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?” So said Steven Wright, whose unique sense of humour is as insightful as it is creative and a bit outré. That, though, makes a serious segue into a bothersome question for many collaboration inclined professionals. In fact, I find […]
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