Nothing is more appropriate in the new year than to talk about the shifts you are going to make. In the collaboration space most of these are shifts in behavior. Behavior is very hard to change. If you don't believe me just look at the weight loss or stop smoking industries in the U.S.. They are about $5 billion each, and their success rate is something under 5%. It is much easier to change a line of code than to change a person's behavior. Trying to get people to collaborate is like pushing on a string... you can do lots of pushing and not get anywhere.

For collaboration to be successful the shift has to happen earlier. It has to happen through a change in the way people view the world, or in their mental models. For examplein supply chain management most people's models today are sequential, focused on a step by step process not simultaneous. While process provides a context and subsequently a value for collaboration, process is also the hobgoblin of creativity. Collaboration is often intricatley tied to the innovation process, but that's another blog.

How do you get people to shift their world view and mental models? It is not easy and usually requires some hard evidence, some training or learning on the part of the shiftee, and some guidance on how to appropriately apply this new model to work in the enterprise. There is no one more zealous than the newly converted and some zealots will want to try to use this new world view on everything... "if my problem is the nail, then collaboration is the hammer!"

I invite you to make a shift in your world around collaboration. Look at the processes you are involved in with a new eye, or "the beginner's mind" as they say in Zen philosophy. Throw all the rules out the window, and say "what if I had the perfect ability to interact with anyone I wanted to whenever I wanted to, or could find any information I wanted whenever I needed it." Yes Grasshopper, you can do it! The past maybe the hardest to let go of.

I have found this concept so facinating that I am considering writing my next (sixth) book about it. The title I have been considering is "Collaborative Shift:  Shifting Your Mental Models for Outrageous Productivity."  Let me know what you think?

David Coleman, Founder and Managing Director of Collaborative Strategies, has been involved with groupware, collaborative technologies, and knowledge management since 1989. He is a frequent public speaker, an industry analyst, and author of books and magazine articles on electronic collaboration and knowledge management. David can be reached by e-mail at: davidc@collaborate.com. Follow David on Twitter.