Collaboration implies sharing. Sharing of many things is common with the exception of IP. Somehow IP remains out of bounds. And yet, in today’s economy this is precisely what collaboration could be based on. Recently, two automotive giants and competitors Mazda and Toyota entered into a collaborative arrangement […]
My first experience in freelancing was some 20 years ago as a photographer. Freelancing was not new then but it certainly was not the best way to make a living. Some professions were always more aligned with the practice of freelancing and for some people that way of […]
Early in my working life I figured out that I would never make an exemplary sales person. My problem is that I am either passionate about an issue or I fall asleep from boredom. So collaboration being in the former category, I do not tire easy. Some of […]
Have you noticed how often we talk about the possible threat to our jobs as a result of robots and artificial intelligence? Most of this dialogue is often expressed in the context of disruption, and especially digital disruption. We have heard some notable pundits suggest that we may […]
One day you may find yourself in a position as Director of Collaboration, reporting to a Chief Collaboration Officer. The career prospects for such work are now a reality, however are yet to reach full potential. To help you along the way to what could be the most […]
Good things can get even better, despite what our cultural norms sometimes tell us. Not meaning to sound flippant when implying that even when things are challenging they are good as they give rise to opportunity, but there’s something in it. What is meant by ‘good news everyone’ […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
If your enterprise is fairly flatly structured, not too steeped in massive infrastructure which is still being paid off, and your capacity only allows you to reinvest in innovation in order to stay relevant, then the leapfrogging strategy may be a genuine alternative. One specific way to achieve […]
No doubt the biggest collaboration news this week was the ending of one of the longest corporate collaborations between LEGO and Shell. I for one am not too surprised given the range of factors involved. It seems the sentiment of the collaboration has not kept up with […]
Some people have worked out long time ago that, at the very least, collaboration equals saving. In itself, this may be all that is needed for a collaboration to produce the desired outcomes. Personally I think might be cutting it short of the full potential that a collaborative […]
The forerunner in this week’s selected recommendations is a brilliant piece co-authored by several thinkers who dig deep into collaboration and published in the April issue of Harvard Business Review. As a strategist I am somewhat reluctant to single out one point they make over another, but in […]
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