Monday
May032010
Trends Driving Collaboration
03 May 2010 Tweet Studies suggest that collaboration is a top priority today for senior executives. Collaboration is experiencing a growth in impact and importance in the enterprise. Numerous driving forces are responsible, which include: trends in globalization and outsourcing, workforce demand for flexibility, critical need for rapid innovation, co-creating value with vendors and customers, technology and tools enabling a networked world, and behavior and expectations of Gen-Y.
Share your pinion with us on trends that are driving collaboration.
Update on 25 December 2010 by
Lokesh Datta
Lokesh Datta
Reader Comments (4)
I posted this question on LinkedIn: What trends are driving collaboration? Is collaboration a strategic or tactical imperative? Why?
I received interesting responses that I would like to share.
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Frank Feather, ►CEO NorthStar ►Ex-Banker ►Futurist ►Speaker ►Your Future is My Business
The need to innovate, which often cannot be done alone or in-house.
Innovation is a strategic imperative. Without it, you will fall behind and ultimately die.
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Curt Braverman, Regional Field Service Operations professional
Collaboration feeds innovation which is strategic. Innovation drives tactics.
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Joe Giordano, Principal at Synecticsworld, Inc.
Collaboration fuels Creativity, Creativity fuels Innovation. Without the ability to take risk in any situation, true long-term strategic breakthroughs will not occur. So the answer to your questions may be multiple: technology, outsourcing, insourcing, etc...the way we collaborate is tactical, why we need to collaborate is strategic.
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Steven J Krisfalusy, Business & Technology Advisor
Good Question. I believe the Strategic direction drives the tactical and collaboration is a means to achieve.
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Octavio Ballesta, Global Thinker ★ Corporate Strategist with Operational Master Plan
Collaboration in the workplace is a tactic imperative to drive business from different strategic viewpoints. Let´s see why and how:
1. Innovation as a driver for reaching sustained competitiveness may be only achieved applying technologies, policies and practices of collaboration that encourage true initiatives of knowledge sharing between teams and professionals that may be dispersed around the world.
2. In a context on which knowledge sharing is crucial for achieving a competitive edge through innovation is commonplace encouraging a culture of mentoring in virtue of which leaders and managers with greater experience have the willingness to share their knowledge, practices and experiences with younger professionals to achieve and exceed the goals that have been envisioned for the different projects in the organisation in accordance with the business strategy.
3. Most of the latest technological advances revolve around Internet driven technologies that thanks to the ubiquity of its access from different devices make possible the goal of sharing in real time, information, knowledge and decisions relevant for an excellent project execution.
4. In most of the current Fortune 500´s organisations is usual that their employees are considered like their most important assets. From this perspective, a professional may grow with his/her organisation and learn from his/her involvement in several teams for different projects in a dynamic of interaction where collaboration is truly important and is a value inherent to the organisational culture.
5. With the increasing costs of real estate assets in big cities, emerging trends like remote work driven by technology and with a focus in decentralized collaboration should be commonplace at the near future. when a professional already may gain access to Internet from any device (Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops or Netbooks), from any place to all of the information and knowledge relevant for his/her projects.
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Michael V Littlejohn, Vice President and Partner, IBM Business Consulting Services
While innovation is a key driver of collaboration, I am seeing more clients venture down this path for two other reasons.
The first reason is that they are starting to recognize that viable alternatives are needed to the traditional development model of "learn-then-do". They view collaboration as a key enabler of "just-in-time" learning which costs less to deploy and which protects learning investments from increasingly fast workforce turnovers (voluntary and otherwise). Said another way... companies are starting to view collaboration as a way to apply "group think" towards solving problems historically solved via structured training programs.
The second reason has more to do with an appreciation for the role that tacit knowledge plays in productivity and efficiency. It is very difficult to teach tacit knowledge in a structured mode. Companies thus look to knowledge management and collaboration to tap into this "vein" that resides in every institution (also known as institutional knowledge).
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Kimberly Siméus, Consultant, Coach, Non-Profit Leader, Author
I think collaboration is both strategic and tactical. And frankly, it doesn't matter how it is defined, it works!
I have experienced an extreme turnaround business situation (high employee turnover, loss in customers, behind financial plan) where collaboration by all levels of the company, along with feedback mechanisms for customers, shareholders and employees, led to a dramatic turnaround in results. A facilitative collaboration process fed creativity and innovation in solving big business problems. Successful solutions drove measurable improvements for all stakeholders and resulted in financial rewards for all employees who contributed to the success, regardless of level.
A very rewarding experience.
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Bruce Lewin, Co-Founder at Fit Forum
For me its...
1. Reducing (transaction) costs
2. Dealing with increased complexity
3. The emergence of technology makes it easier and easier
It could be strategic or tactical, it depends on the situation and people involved but from a macro point of view, I'd say strategic. After all, people are our greatest asset!!!
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Jerome MAYBON, Managing Director at E&PC --►Accelerate Change --►Innovate in Organization Development --►Deliver Results
From my 15 years experience in China, I would add to the excellent answers:
- Social Power (an experience widely unknown in the western world)
- Handling Complexity
- Reducing the cost of transactional relationships
- Simplification and acceleration of Process (Process kill collaboration)
It used to be tactical in the West and strategic in China.
I believe the trends and technologies will allow to make "managed collaboration" as a strategic advantage to handle accelerated complexity of business.
But if you read again Sun Zhu there is nothing new there since 3000 years: you cannot separate strategic from tactic thinking to breakthrough.
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James Beeler, Owner, Acquired Consulting
Trends that are driving collaboration stems from the economy. Unable to hire/train promotes shifting/retraining.
Collaboration is both. Tactical in that it normally is short lived in that it has a shelf life. Strategic in knowing how to revamp your organization should times change. Most organizations seemingly failed this on the front end of the economy, and may have been the cause for their failure.
Comments from our very own LinkedIn discussion group, All Collaboration.
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By Bob Sos, Retired from Union Bank (of California)
Collaboration via electronic tools such as email, chat, and electronic storage of documentation in tools such as Lotus Notes, File Net, and requirements tools such as Caliber, allow for various areas of expertise to be brought together and to bear easily and with low cost It is strategic in allowing for maximum value from skill and knowledge workers across the organization for both operational and project work, and tactical for immediate problem solving and resolution. With these tools, highly skilled and knowledgeable workers can effectively "cover" for each other regardless of geographic location, such as for credit approvers for highly complex commercial and real estate loans. Project teams can work across geographical boundaries, between cities, states, and countries.
Feedback from the LinkedIn discussion group, Official Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University
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By Robert Nitschke, Consultant in Business, Management, Strategy, Operations Improvement, Planning, Projects, Financing and Author
Creating Collaborative Enterprises happens to be a passion of mine. To answer your question, it is both strategic and tactical; and it is essential for a corporation to be sustainable. The problem with most traditional organizations is that they see it as "program" (usually tied to their supply chain management function) and not a cultural component. The true Collaborative Enterprise knows that it is the cultural attributes that set them apart, and ahead of, the traditional organizations in their efficiency and effectiveness.
I posted this question in the Concordia University Alumni discussion group on LinkedIn:
What trends are driving collaboration? Is collaboration a strategic or tactical imperative? Why?
I received interesting responses that I would like to share.
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Michel Di Stefano, Owner, Documentation Michel Di Stefano Inc.
People have always collaborated in business - if the parties find that it is beneficial for them. Remember that in the free enterprise system, right or wrong - the shareholder is king. If a company can make more money by collaborating, they will. If collaboration does not satisfy the shareholders, then there is no collaboration.
In business, it is not what you deserve that counts, it is what you negotiate.
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David Katz, Owner, Sustainable Environmental Solutions and Renewables & Environment Consultant
In many situations the client's needs that extend past your own capabilities require collaboration with others to get the project completed as required. I have been collaborating for over 15 years since leaving the corporate world. I join and use networks like Linkdin and www.internationalexpertdirectory.com to find partners for collaboration.
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Erika Bailey, M.A., Human Systems Consultant at Erika Lee Bailey and Associates
Collaboration in its truest sense is a type of conflict (see Thomas Kilmann). It implies that people come together with many ideas, do not compromise, accommodate, or compete, but agree to build upon their singular ideas to create something new or better. It is a method of building on ideas that is creative, generative, and sometimes time-consuming. Therefore it is useful at times and not at others.
I'm also feeling the need to differentiate the term collaboration from "cooperation" which is different. Though collaborators can be "cooperative" the essence of the "collaboration" is the concept of entering the interchange from a lens of "we see things differently" or "we have difference in approach or strategy" and then being willing to harness that diversity.
So, do I think it is essential for business? Yes, if your business is about innovation and building newer and better ideas, methods and products. But it is not for all--especially those who desire and seek agreement early in the process.
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Doug Noftall, Owner, Skyline Montreal
You make some good points Erika and Michel!
The need to seek out additional expertise (collaborate with others outside your own organization) to deliver projects or innovate is the foundation of finding solutions at it's most economical source. I have often seen companies try to find the solution to a client need or challenge by using their unqualified or inexperienced internal resources. It costs them an arm and a leg, not to mention the loss of time put towards their regular tasks at hand. Understanding who you are and what you offer is the foundation to evaluating where and how far you should go above and beyond compared to looking at alternatives. For those reasons, and others, today's world demands outsourcing on many levels - manufacturing, distribution, sales force, design, shipping, service, consulting, recruiting, accounting, legal, banking, etc ...
In dealing with the word "collaboration", as Erika says, there is the negative context meaning having to work through third parties to get to an end. For example: Customs. If you want to ship goods or travel through borders, you must collaborate with the rules and regulations of customs. In another sense, some countries or checkpoints require cash payments in order to get through. It's unwritten, but not adhering to the black market may just get you into trouble and stand in your way of delivering as promised.
All in all, the answer is absolutely yes, people and businesses must collaborate in order to be successful. It's the norms of today as opposed to thinking outside the box.
Perhaps a different train of thought is looking at barter systems and how they work. I'm a member of ITEX and it works ok, but if they just offered better services, they could generate much more business. By simply getting to know their members needs and seeking other members to fulfill those needs, more business could be generated. There's lots of barter organization out there, but them legit or non-legit.
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Mark Sadovnick, CEO RezBuzz/CorpShorts and Sadovnick Partners
Our company - RezBuzz - absolutely believes and is based on open collaboration. Individuals can set themselves apart with a PVR (prof'l video resume) and/or a Video Profile for biz dev. We are now developing and growing RezBuzz Rezources to offer businesses the opportunity to differentiate themselves on RezBuzz.com, all for free. All with goal to promote more interaction and effective job search, recruitment and business development and recommendations. Will post more info and comments.... as time permits.